This is a work in progress! For the latest updates from the HTML WG, possibly including important bug fixes, please look at the editor's draft instead. There may also be a more up-to-date Working Draft with changes based on resolution of Last Call issues.
HTML5 4.6 Text-level semantics 4.6.1 Thea element
href
target
rel
media
hreflang
type
interface HTMLAnchorElement : HTMLElement {
stringifier attribute DOMString href;
attribute DOMString target;
attribute DOMString rel;
readonly attribute DOMTokenList relList;
attribute DOMString media;
attribute DOMString hreflang;
attribute DOMString type;
attribute DOMString text;
// URL decomposition IDL attributes
attribute DOMString protocol;
attribute DOMString host;
attribute DOMString hostname;
attribute DOMString port;
attribute DOMString pathname;
attribute DOMString search;
attribute DOMString hash;
};
If the a element has an href attribute, then it represents a hyperlink (a hypertext anchor).
If the a element has no href attribute, then the element represents a placeholder for where a link might otherwise have been placed, if it had been relevant.
The target, rel, media, hreflang, and type attributes must be omitted if the href attribute is not present.
If a site uses a consistent navigation toolbar on every page, then the link that would normally link to the page itself could be marked up using an a element:
<nav> <ul> <li> <a href="/">Home</a> </li> <li> <a href="/news">News</a> </li> <li> <a>Examples</a> </li> <li> <a href="/legal">Legal</a> </li> </ul> </nav>
The href, target attributes affect what happens when users follow hyperlinks created using the a element. The rel, media, hreflang, and type attributes may be used to indicate to the user the likely nature of the target resource before the user follows the link.
The activation behavior of a elements that create hyperlinks is to run the following steps:
If the click event in question is not trusted (i.e. a click() method call was the reason for the event being dispatched), and the a element's target attribute is such that applying the rules for choosing a browsing context given a browsing context name, using the value of the target attribute as the browsing context name, would result in there not being a chosen browsing context, then raise an INVALID_ACCESS_ERR exception and abort these steps.
If the target of the click event is an img element with an ismap attribute specified, then server-side image map processing must be performed, as follows:
click event was a real pointing-device-triggered click event on the img element, then let x be the distance in CSS pixels from the left edge of the image's left border, if it has one, or the left edge of the image otherwise, to the location of the click, and let y be the distance in CSS pixels from the top edge of the image's top border, if it has one, or the top edge of the image otherwise, to the location of the click. Otherwise, let x and y be zero.Finally, the user agent must follow the hyperlink created by the a element. If the steps above defined a hyperlink suffix, then take that into account when following the hyperlink.
text
Same as textContent.
The IDL attributes href, target, rel, media, hreflang, and type, must reflect the respective content attributes of the same name.
The IDL attribute relList must reflect the rel content attribute.
The text IDL attribute, on getting, must return the same value as the textContent IDL attribute on the element, and on setting, must act as if the textContent IDL attribute on the element had been set to the new value.
The a element also supports the complement of URL decomposition IDL attributes, protocol, host, port, hostname, pathname, search, and hash. These must follow the rules given for URL decomposition IDL attributes, with the input being the result of resolving the element's href attribute relative to the element, if there is such an attribute and resolving it is successful, or the empty string otherwise; and the common setter action being the same as setting the element's href attribute to the new output value.
The a element may be wrapped around entire paragraphs, lists, tables, and so forth, even entire sections, so long as there is no interactive content within (e.g. buttons or other links). This example shows how this can be used to make an entire advertising block into a link:
<aside class="advertising"> <h1>Advertising</h1> <a href="http://ad.example.com/?adid=1929&pubid=1422"> <section> <h1>Mellblomatic 9000!</h1> <p>Turn all your widgets into mellbloms!</p> <p>Only $9.99 plus shipping and handling.</p> </section> </a> <a href="http://ad.example.com/?adid=375&pubid=1422"> <section> <h1>The Mellblom Browser</h1> <p>Web browsing at the speed of light.</p> <p>No other browser goes faster!</p> </section> </a> </aside>4.6.2 The
em element
HTMLElement.
The em element represents stress emphasis of its contents.
The level of emphasis that a particular piece of content has is given by its number of ancestor em elements.
The placement of emphasis changes the meaning of the sentence. The element thus forms an integral part of the content. The precise way in which emphasis is used in this way depends on the language.
These examples show how changing the emphasis changes the meaning. First, a general statement of fact, with no emphasis:
<p>Cats are cute animals.</p>
By emphasizing the first word, the statement implies that the kind of animal under discussion is in question (maybe someone is asserting that dogs are cute):
<p><em>Cats</em> are cute animals.</p>
Moving the emphasis to the verb, one highlights that the truth of the entire sentence is in question (maybe someone is saying cats are not cute):
<p>Cats <em>are</em> cute animals.</p>
By moving it to the adjective, the exact nature of the cats is reasserted (maybe someone suggested cats were mean animals):
<p>Cats are <em>cute</em> animals.</p>
Similarly, if someone asserted that cats were vegetables, someone correcting this might emphasize the last word:
<p>Cats are cute <em>animals</em>.</p>
By emphasizing the entire sentence, it becomes clear that the speaker is fighting hard to get the point across. This kind of emphasis also typically affects the punctuation, hence the exclamation mark here.
<p><em>Cats are cute animals!</em></p>
Anger mixed with emphasizing the cuteness could lead to markup such as:
<p><em>Cats are <em>cute</em> animals!</em></p>
The em element isn't a generic "italics" element. Sometimes, text is intended to stand out from the rest of the paragraph, as if it was in a different mood or voice. For this, the i element is more appropriate.
The em element also isn't intended to convey importance; for that purpose, the strong element is more appropriate.
strong element
HTMLElement.
The strong element represents strong importance for its contents.
The relative level of importance of a piece of content is given by its number of ancestor strong elements; each strong element increases the importance of its contents.
Changing the importance of a piece of text with the strong element does not change the meaning of the sentence.
Here is an example of a warning notice in a game, with the various parts marked up according to how important they are:
<p><strong>Warning.</strong> This dungeon is dangerous. <strong>Avoid the ducks.</strong> Take any gold you find. <strong><strong>Do not take any of the diamonds</strong>, they are explosive and <strong>will destroy anything within ten meters.</strong></strong> You have been warned.</p>4.6.4 The
small element
HTMLElement.
The small element represents side comments such as small print.
Small print typically features disclaimers, caveats, legal restrictions, or copyrights. Small print is also sometimes used for attribution, or for satisfying licensing requirements.
The small element does not "de-emphasize" or lower the importance of text emphasized by the em element or marked as important with the strong element. To mark text as not emphasized or important, simply do not mark it up with the em or strong elements respectively.
The small element should not be used for extended spans of text, such as multiple paragraphs, lists, or sections of text. It is only intended for short runs of text. The text of a page listing terms of use, for instance, would not be a suitable candidate for the small element: in such a case, the text is not a side comment, it is the main content of the page.
In this example, the small element is used to indicate that value-added tax is not included in a price of a hotel room:
<dl> <dt>Single room <dd>199 € <small>breakfast included, VAT not included</small> <dt>Double room <dd>239 € <small>breakfast included, VAT not included</small> </dl>
In this second example, the small element is used for a side comment in an article.
<p>Example Corp today announced record profits for the second quarter <small>(Full Disclosure: Foo News is a subsidiary of Example Corp)</small>, leading to speculation about a third quarter merger with Demo Group.</p>
This is distinct from a sidebar, which might be multiple paragraphs long and is removed from the main flow of text. In the following example, we see a sidebar from the same article. This sidebar also has small print, indicating the source of the information in the sidebar.
<aside> <h1>Example Corp</h1> <p>This company mostly creates small software and Web sites.</p> <p>The Example Corp company mission is "To provide entertainment and news on a sample basis".</p> <p><small>Information obtained from <a href="http://example.com/about.html">example.com</a> home page.</small></p> </aside>
In this last example, the small element is marked as being important small print.
<p><strong><small>Continued use of this service will result in a kiss.</small></strong></p>4.6.5 The
s element
HTMLElement.
The s element represents contents that are no longer accurate or no longer relevant.
The s element is not appropriate when indicating document edits; to mark a span of text as having been removed from a document, use the del element.
In this example a recommended retail price has been marked as no longer relevant as the product in question has a new sale price.
<p>Buy our Iced Tea and Lemonade!</p> <p><s>Recommended retail price: $3.99 per bottle</s></p> <p><strong>Now selling for just $2.99 a bottle!</strong></p>4.6.6 The
cite element
HTMLElement.
The cite element represents the title of a work (e.g. a book, a paper, an essay, a poem, a score, a song, a script, a film, a TV show, a game, a sculpture, a painting, a theatre production, a play, an opera, a musical, an exhibition, a legal case report, etc). This can be a work that is being quoted or referenced in detail (i.e. a citation), or it can just be a work that is mentioned in passing.
A person's name is not the title of a work — even if people call that person a piece of work — and the element must therefore not be used to mark up people's names. (In some cases, the b element might be appropriate for names; e.g. in a gossip article where the names of famous people are keywords rendered with a different style to draw attention to them. In other cases, if an element is really needed, the span element can be used.)
This next example shows a typical use of the cite element:
<p>My favorite book is <cite>The Reality Dysfunction</cite> by Peter F. Hamilton. My favorite comic is <cite>Pearls Before Swine</cite> by Stephan Pastis. My favorite track is <cite>Jive Samba</cite> by the Cannonball Adderley Sextet.</p>
This is correct usage:
<p>According to the Wikipedia article <cite>HTML</cite>, as it stood in mid-February 2008, leaving attribute values unquoted is unsafe. This is obviously an over-simplification.</p>
The following, however, is incorrect usage, as the cite element here is containing far more than the title of the work:
<!-- do not copy this example, it is an example of bad usage! --> <p>According to <cite>the Wikipedia article on HTML</cite>, as it stood in mid-February 2008, leaving attribute values unquoted is unsafe. This is obviously an over-simplification.</p>
The cite element is obviously a key part of any citation in a bibliography, but it is only used to mark the title:
<p><cite>Universal Declaration of Human Rights</cite>, United Nations, December 1948. Adopted by General Assembly resolution 217 A (III).</p>
A citation is not a quote (for which the q element is appropriate).
This is incorrect usage, because cite is not for quotes:
<p><cite>This is wrong!</cite>, said Ian.</p>
This is also incorrect usage, because a person is not a work:
<p><q>This is still wrong!</q>, said <cite>Ian</cite>.</p>
The correct usage does not use a cite element:
<p><q>This is correct</q>, said Ian.</p>
As mentioned above, the b element might be relevant for marking names as being keywords in certain kinds of documents:
<p>And then <b>Ian</b> said <q>this might be right, in a gossip column, maybe!</q>.</p>4.6.7 The
q element
cite
HTMLQuoteElement.
The q element represents some phrasing content quoted from another source.
Quotation punctuation (such as quotation marks) that is quoting the contents of the element must not appear immediately before, after, or inside q elements; they will be inserted into the rendering by the user agent.
Content inside a q element must be quoted from another source, whose address, if it has one, may be cited in the cite attribute. The source may be fictional, as when quoting characters in a novel or screenplay.
If the cite attribute is present, it must be a valid URL potentially surrounded by spaces. To obtain the corresponding citation link, the value of the attribute must be resolved relative to the element. User agents should allow users to follow such citation links.
The q element must not be used in place of quotation marks that do not represent quotes; for example, it is inappropriate to use the q element for marking up sarcastic statements.
The use of q elements to mark up quotations is entirely optional; using explicit quotation punctuation without q elements is just as correct.
Here is a simple example of the use of the q element:
<p>The man said <q>Things that are impossible just take longer</q>. I disagreed with him.</p>
Here is an example with both an explicit citation link in the q element, and an explicit citation outside:
<p>The W3C page <cite>About W3C</cite> says the W3C's mission is <q cite="http://www.w3.org/Consortium/">To lead the World Wide Web to its full potential by developing protocols and guidelines that ensure long-term growth for the Web</q>. I disagree with this mission.</p>
In the following example, the quotation itself contains a quotation:
<p>In <cite>Example One</cite>, he writes <q>The man said <q>Things that are impossible just take longer</q>. I disagreed with him</q>. Well, I disagree even more!</p>
In the following example, quotation marks are used instead of the q element:
<p>His best argument was ❝I disagree❞, which I thought was laughable.</p>
In the following example, there is no quote — the quotation marks are used to name a word. Use of the q element in this case would be inappropriate.
<p>The word "ineffable" could have been used to describe the disaster resulting from the campaign's mismanagement.</p>4.6.8 The
dfn element
dfn element descendants.
title attribute has special semantics on this element.
HTMLElement.
The dfn element represents the defining instance of a term. The paragraph, description list group, or section that is the nearest ancestor of the dfn element must also contain the definition(s) for the term given by the dfn element.
Defining term: If the dfn element has a title attribute, then the exact value of that attribute is the term being defined. Otherwise, if it contains exactly one element child node and no child text nodes, and that child element is an abbr element with a title attribute, then the exact value of that attribute is the term being defined. Otherwise, it is the exact textContent of the dfn element that gives the term being defined.
If the title attribute of the dfn element is present, then it must contain only the term being defined.
The title attribute of ancestor elements does not affect dfn elements.
An a element that links to a dfn element represents an instance of the term defined by the dfn element.
In the following fragment, the term "GDO" is first defined in the first paragraph, then used in the second.
<p>The <dfn><abbr title="Garage Door Opener">GDO</abbr></dfn> is a device that allows off-world teams to open the iris.</p> <!-- ... later in the document: --> <p>Teal'c activated his <abbr title="Garage Door Opener">GDO</abbr> and so Hammond ordered the iris to be opened.</p>
With the addition of an a element, the reference can be made explicit:
<p>The <dfn id=gdo><abbr title="Garage Door Opener">GDO</abbr></dfn> is a device that allows off-world teams to open the iris.</p> <!-- ... later in the document: --> <p>Teal'c activated his <a href=#gdo><abbr title="Garage Door Opener">GDO</abbr></a> and so Hammond ordered the iris to be opened.</p>4.6.9 The
abbr element
title attribute has special semantics on this element.
HTMLElement.
The abbr element represents an abbreviation or acronym, optionally with its expansion. The title attribute may be used to provide an expansion of the abbreviation. The attribute, if specified, must contain an expansion of the abbreviation, and nothing else.
The paragraph below contains an abbreviation marked up with the abbr element. This paragraph defines the term "Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group".
<p>The <dfn id=whatwg><abbr title="Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group">WHATWG</abbr></dfn> is a loose unofficial collaboration of Web browser manufacturers and interested parties who wish to develop new technologies designed to allow authors to write and deploy Applications over the World Wide Web.</p>
An alternative way to write this would be:
<p>The <dfn id=whatwg>Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group</dfn> (<abbr title="Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group">WHATWG</abbr>) is a loose unofficial collaboration of Web browser manufacturers and interested parties who wish to develop new technologies designed to allow authors to write and deploy Applications over the World Wide Web.</p>
This paragraph has two abbreviations. Notice how only one is defined; the other, with no expansion associated with it, does not use the abbr element.
<p>The <abbr title="Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group">WHATWG</abbr> started working on HTML5 in 2004.</p>
This paragraph links an abbreviation to its definition.
<p>The <a href="#whatwg"><abbr title="Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group">WHATWG</abbr></a> community does not have much representation from Asia.</p>
This paragraph marks up an abbreviation without giving an expansion, possibly as a hook to apply styles for abbreviations (e.g. smallcaps).
<p>Philip` and Dashiva both denied that they were going to get the issue counts from past revisions of the specification to backfill the <abbr>WHATWG</abbr> issue graph.</p>
If an abbreviation is pluralized, the expansion's grammatical number (plural vs singular) must match the grammatical number of the contents of the element.
Here the plural is outside the element, so the expansion is in the singular:
<p>Two <abbr title="Working Group">WG</abbr>s worked on this specification: the <abbr>WHATWG</abbr> and the <abbr>HTMLWG</abbr>.</p>
Here the plural is inside the element, so the expansion is in the plural:
<p>Two <abbr title="Working Groups">WGs</abbr> worked on this specification: the <abbr>WHATWG</abbr> and the <abbr>HTMLWG</abbr>.</p>
Abbreviations do not have to be marked up using this element. It is expected to be useful in the following cases:
abbr element with a title attribute is an alternative to including the expansion inline (e.g. in parentheses).abbr element with a title attribute or include the expansion inline in the text the first time the abbreviation is used.abbr element can be used without a title attribute.Providing an expansion in a title attribute once will not necessarily cause other abbr elements in the same document with the same contents but without a title attribute to behave as if they had the same expansion. Every abbr element is independent.
time element
time element descendants.
datetime
pubdate
interface HTMLTimeElement : HTMLElement {
attribute DOMString dateTime;
attribute boolean pubDate;
readonly attribute Date valueAsDate;
};
The time element represents either a time on a 24 hour clock, or a precise date in the proleptic Gregorian calendar, optionally with a time and a time-zone offset. [GREGORIAN]
This element is intended as a way to encode modern dates and times in a machine-readable way so that, for example, user agents can offer to add birthday reminders or scheduled events to the user's calendar.
The time element is not intended for encoding times for which a precise date or time cannot be established. For example, it would be inappropriate for encoding times like "one millisecond after the big bang", "the early part of the Jurassic period", or "a winter around 250 BCE".
For dates before the introduction of the Gregorian calendar, authors are encouraged to not use the time element, or else to be very careful about converting dates and times from the period to the Gregorian calendar. This is complicated by the manner in which the Gregorian calendar was phased in, which occurred at different times in different countries, ranging from partway through the 16th century all the way to early in the 20th.
The pubdate attribute is a boolean attribute. If specified, it indicates that the date and time given by the element is the publication date and time of the nearest ancestor article element, or, if the element has no ancestor article element, of the document as a whole. If the element has a pubdate attribute specified, then the element needs a date. For each article element, there must be no more than one time element with a pubdate attribute whose nearest ancestor is that article element. Furthermore, for each Document, there must be no more than one time element with a pubdate attribute that does not have an ancestor article element.
The datetime attribute, if present, gives the date or time being specified. Otherwise, the date or time is given by the element's contents.
If the element needs a date, and the datetime attribute is present, then the attribute's value must be a valid date string with optional time.
If the element needs a date, but the datetime attribute is not present, then the element's textContent must be a valid date string in content with optional time.
If the element does not need a date, and the datetime attribute is present, then the attribute's value must be a valid date or time string.
If the element does not need a date, but the datetime attribute is not present, then the element's textContent must be a valid date or time string in content.
The date, if any, must be expressed using the Gregorian calendar.
If the datetime attribute is present, the user agent should convey the attribute's value to the user when rendering the element.
The time element can be used to encode dates, for example in Microformats. The following shows a hypothetical way of encoding an event using a variant on hCalendar that uses the time element:
<div class="vevent"> <a class="url" href="http://www.web2con.com/">http://www.web2con.com/</a> <span class="summary">Web 2.0 Conference</span>: <time class="dtstart" datetime="2007-10-05">October 5</time> - <time class="dtend" datetime="2007-10-20">19</time>, at the <span class="location">Argent Hotel, San Francisco, CA</span> </div>
(The end date is encoded as one day after the last date of the event because in the iCalendar format, end dates are exclusive, not inclusive.)
The time element is not necessary for encoding dates or times. In the following snippet, the time is encoded using time, so that it can be restyled (e.g. using XBL2) to match local conventions, while the year is not marked up at all, since marking it up would not be particularly useful, and doing so is thus not allowed.
<p>I usually have a snack at <time>16:00</time>.</p> <p>I've liked model trains since at least 1983.</p>
Using a styling technology that supports restyling times, the first paragraph from the above snippet could be rendered as follows:
I usually have a snack at 4pm.
Or it could be rendered as follows:
I usually have a snack at 16h00.
The dateTime IDL attribute must reflect the datetime content attribute.
The pubDate IDL attribute must reflect the pubdate content attribute.
User agents, to obtain the date, time, and time-zone offset represented by a time element, must follow these steps:
datetime attribute is present, then use the rules to parse a date or time string with the flag in attribute from the value of that attribute, and let the result be result.textContent, and let the result be result.valueAsDate
Returns a Date object representing the specified date and time.
The valueAsDate IDL attribute must return either null or a new Date object initialised to the relevant value as defined by the following list:
When a Date object is to be returned, a new one must be constructed.
In the following snippet:
<p>Our first date was <time datetime="2006-09-23">a Saturday</time>.</p>
...the time element's valueAsDate attribute would have the value 1,158,969,600,000ms.
In the following snippet:
<p>Many people get up at <time>08:00</time>.</p>
...the time element's valueAsDate attribute would have the value 28,800,000ms.
In this example, an article's publication date is marked up using time:
<article> <h1>Small tasks</h1> <footer>Published <time pubdate>2009-08-30</time>.</footer> <p>I put a bike bell on his bike.</p> </article>
Here is another way that could be marked up. In this example, legacy user agents would say "today", while newer user agents would render the time in a locale-specific manner based on the value of the attribute.
<article> <h1>Small tasks</h1> <footer>Published <time pubdate datetime="2009-08-30">today</time>.</footer> <p>I put a bike bell on his bike.</p> </article>
Here is the same thing but with the time included only. Because the element is empty, legacy user agents will not show anything useful; user agents that implement this specification, on the other hand, would show the date and time in a locale-specific manner.
<article> <h1>Small tasks</h1> <footer>Published <time pubdate datetime="2009-08-30T07:13Z"></time>.</footer> <p>I put a bike bell on his bike.</p> </article>4.6.11 The
code element
HTMLElement.
The code element represents a fragment of computer code. This could be an XML element name, a filename, a computer program, or any other string that a computer would recognize.
Although there is no formal way to indicate the language of computer code being marked up, authors who wish to mark code elements with the language used, e.g. so that syntax highlighting scripts can use the right rules, may do so by adding a class prefixed with "language-" to the element.
The following example shows how the element can be used in a paragraph to mark up element names and computer code, including punctuation.
<p>The <code>code</code> element represents a fragment of computer code.</p> <p>When you call the <code>activate()</code> method on the <code>robotSnowman</code> object, the eyes glow.</p> <p>The example below uses the <code>begin</code> keyword to indicate the start of a statement block. It is paired with an <code>end</code> keyword, which is followed by the <code>.</code> punctuation character (full stop) to indicate the end of the program.</p>
The following example shows how a block of code could be marked up using the pre and code elements.
<pre><code class="language-pascal">var i: Integer; begin i := 1; end.</code></pre>
A class is used in that example to indicate the language used.
See the pre element for more details.
var element
HTMLElement.
The var element represents a variable. This could be an actual variable in a mathematical expression or programming context, or it could just be a term used as a placeholder in prose.
In the paragraph below, the letter "n" is being used as a variable in prose:
<p>If there are <var>n</var> pipes leading to the ice cream factory then I expect at <em>least</em> <var>n</var> flavors of ice cream to be available for purchase!</p>
For mathematics, in particular for anything beyond the simplest of expressions, MathML is more appropriate. However, the var element can still be used to refer to specific variables that are then mentioned in MathML expressions.
In this example, an equation is shown, with a legend that references the variables in the equation. The expression itself is marked up with MathML, but the variables are mentioned in the figure's legend using var.
<figure> <math> <mi>a</mi> <mo>=</mo> <msqrt> <msup><mi>b</mi><mn>2</mn></msup> <mi>+</mi> <msup><mi>c</mi><mn>2</mn></msup> </msqrt> </math> <figcaption> Using Pythagoras' theorem to solve for the hypotenuse <var>a</var> of a triangle with sides <var>b</var> and <var>c</var> </figcaption> </figure>4.6.13 The
samp element
HTMLElement.
The samp element represents (sample) output from a program or computing system.
See the pre and kbd elements for more details.
This example shows the samp element being used inline:
<p>The computer said <samp>Too much cheese in tray two</samp> but I didn't know what that meant.</p>
This second example shows a block of sample output. Nested samp and kbd elements allow for the styling of specific elements of the sample output using a style sheet.
<pre><samp><span class="prompt">jdoe@mowmow:~$</span> <kbd>ssh demo.example.com</kbd> Last login: Tue Apr 12 09:10:17 2005 from mowmow.example.com on pts/1 Linux demo 2.6.10-grsec+gg3+e+fhs6b+nfs+gr0501+++p3+c4a+gr2b-reslog-v6.189 #1 SMP Tue Feb 1 11:22:36 PST 2005 i686 unknown <span class="prompt">jdoe@demo:~$</span> <span class="cursor">_</span></samp></pre>4.6.14 The
kbd element
HTMLElement.
The kbd element represents user input (typically keyboard input, although it may also be used to represent other input, such as voice commands).
When the kbd element is nested inside a samp element, it represents the input as it was echoed by the system.
When the kbd element contains a samp element, it represents input based on system output, for example invoking a menu item.
When the kbd element is nested inside another kbd element, it represents an actual key or other single unit of input as appropriate for the input mechanism.
Here the kbd element is used to indicate keys to press:
<p>To make George eat an apple, press <kbd><kbd>Shift</kbd>+<kbd>F3</kbd></kbd></p>
In this second example, the user is told to pick a particular menu item. The outer kbd element marks up a block of input, with the inner kbd elements representing each individual step of the input, and the samp elements inside them indicating that the steps are input based on something being displayed by the system, in this case menu labels:
<p>To make George eat an apple, select
<kbd><kbd><samp>File</samp></kbd>|<kbd><samp>Eat Apple...</samp></kbd></kbd>
</p>
Such precision isn't necessary; the following is equally fine:
<p>To make George eat an apple, select <kbd>File | Eat Apple...</kbd></p>4.6.15 The
sub and sup elements
HTMLElement.
The sup element represents a superscript and the sub element represents a subscript.
These elements must be used only to mark up typographical conventions with specific meanings, not for typographical presentation for presentation's sake. For example, it would be inappropriate for the sub and sup elements to be used in the name of the LaTeX document preparation system. In general, authors should use these elements only if the absence of those elements would change the meaning of the content.
In certain languages, superscripts are part of the typographical conventions for some abbreviations.
<p>The most beautiful women are <span lang="fr"><abbr>M<sup>lle</sup></abbr> Gwendoline</span> and <span lang="fr"><abbr>M<sup>me</sup></abbr> Denise</span>.</p>
The sub element can be used inside a var element, for variables that have subscripts.
Here, the sub element is used to represents the subscript that identifies the variable in a family of variables:
<p>The coordinate of the <var>i</var>th point is (<var>x<sub><var>i</var></sub></var>, <var>y<sub><var>i</var></sub></var>). For example, the 10th point has coordinate (<var>x<sub>10</sub></var>, <var>y<sub>10</sub></var>).</p>
Mathematical expressions often use subscripts and superscripts. Authors are encouraged to use MathML for marking up mathematics, but authors may opt to use sub and sup if detailed mathematical markup is not desired. [MATHML]
<var>E</var>=<var>m</var><var>c</var><sup>2</sup>
f(<var>x</var>, <var>n</var>) = log<sub>4</sub><var>x</var><sup><var>n</var></sup>4.6.16 The
i element
HTMLElement.
The i element represents a span of text in an alternate voice or mood, or otherwise offset from the normal prose in a manner indicating a different quality of text, such as a taxonomic designation, a technical term, an idiomatic phrase from another language, a thought, or a ship name in Western texts.
Terms in languages different from the main text should be annotated with lang attributes (or, in XML, lang attributes in the XML namespace).
The examples below show uses of the i element:
<p>The <i class="taxonomy">Felis silvestris catus</i> is cute.</p> <p>The term <i>prose content</i> is defined above.</p> <p>There is a certain <i lang="fr">je ne sais quoi</i> in the air.</p>
In the following example, a dream sequence is marked up using i elements.
<p>Raymond tried to sleep.</p> <p><i>The ship sailed away on Thursday</i>, he dreamt. <i>The ship had many people aboard, including a beautiful princess called Carey. He watched her, day-in, day-out, hoping she would notice him, but she never did.</i></p> <p><i>Finally one night he picked up the courage to speak with her—</i></p> <p>Raymond woke with a start as the fire alarm rang out.</p>
Authors can use the class attribute on the i element to identify why the element is being used, so that if the style of a particular use (e.g. dream sequences as opposed to taxonomic terms) is to be changed at a later date, the author doesn't have to go through the entire document (or series of related documents) annotating each use.
Authors are encouraged to consider whether other elements might be more applicable than the i element, for instance the em element for marking up stress emphasis, or the dfn element to mark up the defining instance of a term.
Style sheets can be used to format i elements, just like any other element can be restyled. Thus, it is not the case that content in i elements will necessarily be italicized.
b element
HTMLElement.
The b element represents a span of text to which attention is being drawn for utilitarian purposes without conveying any extra importance and with no implication of an alternate voice or mood, such as key words in a document abstract, product names in a review, actionable words in interactive text-driven software, or an article lede.
The following example shows a use of the b element to highlight key words without marking them up as important:
<p>The <b>frobonitor</b> and <b>barbinator</b> components are fried.</p>
In the following example, objects in a text adventure are highlighted as being special by use of the b element.
<p>You enter a small room. Your <b>sword</b> glows brighter. A <b>rat</b> scurries past the corner wall.</p>
Another case where the b element is appropriate is in marking up the lede (or lead) sentence or paragraph. The following example shows how a BBC article about kittens adopting a rabbit as their own could be marked up:
<article> <h2>Kittens 'adopted' by pet rabbit</h2> <p><b class="lede">Six abandoned kittens have found an unexpected new mother figure — a pet rabbit.</b></p> <p>Veterinary nurse Melanie Humble took the three-week-old kittens to her Aberdeen home.</p> [...]
As with the i element, authors can use the class attribute on the b element to identify why the element is being used, so that if the style of a particular use is to be changed at a later date, the author doesn't have to go through annotating each use.
The b element should be used as a last resort when no other element is more appropriate. In particular, headings should use the h1 to h6 elements, stress emphasis should use the em element, importance should be denoted with the strong element, and text marked or highlighted should use the mark element.
The following would be incorrect usage:
<p><b>WARNING!</b> Do not frob the barbinator!</p>
In the previous example, the correct element to use would have been strong, not b.
Style sheets can be used to format b elements, just like any other element can be restyled. Thus, it is not the case that content in b elements will necessarily be boldened.
u element
HTMLElement.
The u element represents a span of text with an unarticulated, though explicitly rendered, non-textual annotation, such as labeling the text as being a proper name in Chinese text (a Chinese proper name mark), or labeling the text as being misspelt.
In most cases, another element is likely to be more appropriate: for marking stress emphasis, the em element should be used; for marking key words or phrases either the b element or the mark element should be used, depending on the context; for marking book titles, the cite element should be used; for labeling text with explicit textual annotations, the ruby element should be used; for labeling ship names in Western texts, the i element should be used.
The default rendering of the u element in visual presentations clashes with the conventional rendering of hyperlinks (underlining). Authors are encouraged to avoid using the u element where it could be confused for a hyperlink.
mark element
HTMLElement.
The mark element represents a run of text in one document marked or highlighted for reference purposes, due to its relevance in another context. When used in a quotation or other block of text referred to from the prose, it indicates a highlight that was not originally present but which has been added to bring the reader's attention to a part of the text that might not have been considered important by the original author when the block was originally written, but which is now under previously unexpected scrutiny. When used in the main prose of a document, it indicates a part of the document that has been highlighted due to its likely relevance to the user's current activity.
This example shows how the mark element can be used to bring attention to a particular part of a quotation:
<p lang="en-US">Consider the following quote:</p> <blockquote lang="en-GB"> <p>Look around and you will find, no-one's really <mark>colour</mark> blind.</p> </blockquote> <p lang="en-US">As we can tell from the <em>spelling</em> of the word, the person writing this quote is clearly not American.</p>
(If the goal was to mark the element as misspelt, however, the u element, possibly with a class, would be more appropriate.
Another example of the mark element is highlighting parts of a document that are matching some search string. If someone looked at a document, and the server knew that the user was searching for the word "kitten", then the server might return the document with one paragraph modified as follows:
<p>I also have some <mark>kitten</mark>s who are visiting me these days. They're really cute. I think they like my garden! Maybe I should adopt a <mark>kitten</mark>.</p>
In the following snippet, a paragraph of text refers to a specific part of a code fragment.
<p>The highlighted part below is where the error lies:</p> <pre><code>var i: Integer; begin i := <mark>1.1</mark>; end.</code></pre>
This is separate from syntax highlighting, for which span is more appropriate. Combining both, one would get:
<p>The highlighted part below is where the error lies:</p> <pre><code><span class=keyword>var</span> <span class=ident>i</span>: <span class=type>Integer</span>; <span class=keyword>begin</span> <span class=ident>i</span> := <span class=literal><mark>1.1</mark></span>; <span class=keyword>end</span>.</code></pre>
This is another example showing the use of mark to highlight a part of quoted text that was originally not emphasized. In this example, common typographic conventions have led the author to explicitly style mark elements in quotes to render in italics.
<article>
<style scoped>
blockquote mark, q mark {
font: inherit; font-style: italic;
text-decoration: none;
background: transparent; color: inherit;
}
.bubble em {
font: inherit; font-size: larger;
text-decoration: underline;
}
</style>
<h1>She knew</h1>
<p>Did you notice the subtle joke in the joke on panel 4?</p>
<blockquote>
<p class="bubble">I didn't <em>want</em> to believe. <mark>Of course
on some level I realized it was a known-plaintext attack.</mark> But I
couldn't admit it until I saw for myself.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>(Emphasis mine.) I thought that was great. It's so pedantic, yet it
explains everything neatly.</p>
</article>
Note, incidentally, the distinction between the em element in this example, which is part of the original text being quoted, and the mark element, which is highlighting a part for comment.
The following example shows the difference between denoting the importance of a span of text (strong) as opposed to denoting the relevance of a span of text (mark). It is an extract from a textbook, where the extract has had the parts relevant to the exam highlighted. The safety warnings, important though they may be, are apparently not relevant to the exam.
<h3>Wormhole Physics Introduction</h3> <p><mark>A wormhole in normal conditions can be held open for a maximum of just under 39 minutes.</mark> Conditions that can increase the time include a powerful energy source coupled to one or both of the gates connecting the wormhole, and a large gravity well (such as a black hole).</p> <p><mark>Momentum is preserved across the wormhole. Electromagnetic radiation can travel in both directions through a wormhole, but matter cannot.</mark></p> <p>When a wormhole is created, a vortex normally forms. <strong>Warning: The vortex caused by the wormhole opening will annihilate anything in its path.</strong> Vortexes can be avoided when using sufficiently advanced dialing technology.</p> <p><mark>An obstruction in a gate will prevent it from accepting a wormhole connection.</mark></p>4.6.20 The
ruby element
rt element, or an rp element, an rt element, and another rp element.
HTMLElement.
The ruby element allows one or more spans of phrasing content to be marked with ruby annotations. Ruby annotations are short runs of text presented alongside base text, primarily used in East Asian typography as a guide for pronunciation or to include other annotations. In Japanese, this form of typography is also known as furigana.
A ruby element represents the spans of phrasing content it contains, ignoring all the child rt and rp elements and their descendants. Those spans of phrasing content have associated annotations created using the rt element.
In this example, each ideograph in the Japanese text 漢字 is annotated with its reading in hiragana.
... <ruby>漢<rt>かん</rt>字<rt>じ </rt></ruby> ...
This might be rendered as:
In this example, each ideograph in the traditional Chinese text 漢字 is annotated with its bopomofo reading.
<ruby>漢<rt>ㄏㄢˋ</rt>字<rt>ㄗˋ </rt></ruby>
This might be rendered as:
In this example, each ideograph in the simplified Chinese text 汉字 is annotated with its pinyin reading.
...<ruby>汉<rt>hàn</rt>字<rt>zì </rt></ruby>...
This might be rendered as:
4.6.21 Thert element
ruby element.
HTMLElement.
The rt element marks the ruby text component of a ruby annotation.
An rt element that is a child of a ruby element represents an annotation (given by its children) for the zero or more nodes of phrasing content that immediately precedes it in the ruby element, ignoring rp elements.
An rt element that is not a child of a ruby element represents the same thing as its children.
rp element
ruby element, either immediately before or immediately after an rt element.
HTMLElement.
The rp element can be used to provide parentheses around a ruby text component of a ruby annotation, to be shown by user agents that don't support ruby annotations.
An rp element that is a child of a ruby element represents nothing and its contents must be ignored. An rp element whose parent element is not a ruby element represents its children.
The example above, in which each ideograph in the text 漢字 is annotated with its phonetic reading, could be expanded to use rp so that in legacy user agents the readings are in parentheses:
... <ruby> 漢 <rp>(</rp><rt>かん</rt><rp>)</rp> 字 <rp>(</rp><rt>じ</rt><rp>)</rp> </ruby> ...
In conforming user agents the rendering would be as above, but in user agents that do not support ruby, the rendering would be:
... 漢 (かん) 字 (じ) ...4.6.23 The
bdi element
dir global attribute has special semantics on this element.
HTMLElement.
The bdi element represents a span of text that is to be isolated from its surroundings for the purposes of bidirectional text formatting. [BIDI]
The dir global attribute defaults to auto on this element (it never inherits from the parent element like with other elements).
For the purposes of applying the bidirectional algorithm to the contents of a bdi element, user agents must treat the element as a paragraph-level container.
For the purposes of applying the bidirectional algorithm to the paragraph-level container that a bdi element finds itself within, the bdi element must be treated like a U+FFFC OBJECT REPLACEMENT CHARACTER (in the same manner that an image or other inline object is handled).
The requirements on handling the bdi element for the bidirectional algorithm may be implemented indirectly through the style layer. For example, an HTML+CSS user agent could implement these requirements by implementing the CSS 'unicode-bidi' property. [CSS]
This element is especially useful when embedding user-generated content with an unknown directionality.
In this example, usernames are shown along with the number of posts that the user has submitted. If the bdi element were not used, the username of the Arabic user would end up confusing the text (the bidirectional algorithm would put the colon and the number "3" next to the word "User" rather than next to the word "posts").
<ul> <li>User <bdi>jcranmer</bdi>: 12 posts. <li>User <bdi>hober</bdi>: 5 posts. <li>User <bdi>إيان</bdi>: 3 posts. </ul>4.6.24 The
bdo element
dir global attribute has special semantics on this element.
HTMLElement.
The bdo element represents explicit text directionality formatting control for its children. It allows authors to override the Unicode bidirectional algorithm by explicitly specifying a direction override. [BIDI]
Authors must specify the dir attribute on this element, with the value ltr to specify a left-to-right override and with the value rtl to specify a right-to-left override.
If the element's dir attribute is in the rtl state, then for the purposes of the bidirectional algorithm, the user agent must act as if there was a U+202D LEFT-TO-RIGHT OVERRIDE character at the start of the element, and a U+202C POP DIRECTIONAL FORMATTING at the end of the element.
If the element's dir attribute is in the ltr, then for the purposes of the bidirectional algorithm, the user agent must act as if there was a U+202E RIGHT-TO-LEFT OVERRIDE character at the start of the element, and a U+202C POP DIRECTIONAL FORMATTING at the end of the element.
The requirements on handling the bdo element for the bidirectional algorithm may be implemented indirectly through the style layer. For example, an HTML+CSS user agent could implement these requirements by implementing the CSS 'unicode-bidi' property. [CSS]
span element
interface HTMLSpanElement : HTMLElement {};
The span element doesn't mean anything on its own, but can be useful when used together with the global attributes, e.g. class, lang, or dir. It represents its children.
In this example, a code fragment is marked up using span elements and class attributes so that its keywords and identifiers can be color-coded from CSS:
<pre><code class="lang-c"><span class="keyword">for</span> (<span class="ident">j</span> = 0; <span class="ident">j</span> < 256; <span class="ident">j</span>++) {
<span class="ident">i_t3</span> = (<span class="ident">i_t3</span> & 0x1ffff) | (<span class="ident">j</span> << 17);
<span class="ident">i_t6</span> = (((((((<span class="ident">i_t3</span> >> 3) ^ <span class="ident">i_t3</span>) >> 1) ^ <span class="ident">i_t3</span>) >> 8) ^ <span class="ident">i_t3</span>) >> 5) & 0xff;
<span class="keyword">if</span> (<span class="ident">i_t6</span> == <span class="ident">i_t1</span>)
<span class="keyword">break</span>;
}</code></pre>4.6.26 The br element
interface HTMLBRElement : HTMLElement {};
The br element represents a line break.
While line breaks are usually represented in visual media by physically moving subsequent text to a new line, a style sheet or user agent would be equally justified in causing line breaks to be rendered in a different manner, for instance as green dots, or as extra spacing.
br elements must be used only for line breaks that are actually part of the content, as in poems or addresses.
The following example is correct usage of the br element:
<p>P. Sherman<br> 42 Wallaby Way<br> Sydney</p>
br elements must not be used for separating thematic groups in a paragraph.
The following examples are non-conforming, as they abuse the br element:
<p><a ...>34 comments.</a><br> <a ...>Add a comment.</a></p>
<p><label>Name: <input name="name"></label><br> <label>Address: <input name="address"></label></p>
Here are alternatives to the above, which are correct:
<p><a ...>34 comments.</a></p> <p><a ...>Add a comment.</a></p>
<p><label>Name: <input name="name"></label></p> <p><label>Address: <input name="address"></label></p>
If a paragraph consists of nothing but a single br element, it represents a placeholder blank line (e.g. as in a template). Such blank lines must not be used for presentation purposes.
Any content inside br elements must not be considered part of the surrounding text.
A br element should separate paragraphs for the purposes of the Unicode bidirectional algorithm. This requirement may be implemented indirectly through the style layer. For example, an HTML+CSS user agent could implement these requirements by implementing the CSS 'unicode-bidi' property. [BIDI] [CSS]
wbr element
HTMLElement.
The wbr element represents a line break opportunity.
In the following example, someone is quoted as saying something which, for effect, is written as one long word. However, to ensure that the text can be wrapped in a readable fashion, the individual words in the quote are separated using a wbr element.
<p>So then he pointed at the tiger and screamed "there<wbr>is<wbr>no<wbr>way<wbr>you<wbr>are<wbr>ever<wbr>going<wbr>to<wbr>catch<wbr>me"!</p>
Any content inside wbr elements must not be considered part of the surrounding text.
This section is non-normative.
Element Purpose Examplea Hyperlinks
Visit my <a href="drinks.html">drinks</a> page.
em Stress emphasis
I must say I <em>adore</em> lemonade.
strong Importance
This tea is <strong>very hot</strong>.
small Side comments
These grapes are made into wine. <small>Alcohol is addictive.</small>
s Inaccurate text
Price: <s>£4.50</s> £2.00!
cite Titles of works
The case <cite>Hugo v. Danielle</cite> is relevant here.
q Quotations
The judge said <q>You can drink water from the fish tank</q> but advised against it.
dfn Defining instance
The term <dfn>organic food</dfn> refers to food produced without synthetic chemicals.
abbr Abbreviations
Organic food in Ireland is certified by the <abbr title="Irish Organic Farmers and Growers Association">IOFGA</abbr>.
time Date and/or time
Published <time>2009-10-21</time>.
code Computer code
The <code>fruitdb</code> program can be used for tracking fruit production.
var Variables
If there are <var>n</var> fruit in the bowl, at least <var>n</var>÷2 will be ripe.
samp Computer output
The computer said <samp>Unknown error -3</samp>.
kbd User input
Hit <kbd>F1</kbd> to continue.
sub Subscripts
Water is H<sub>2</sub>O.
sup Superscripts
The Hydrogen in heavy water is usually <sup>2</sup>H.
i Alternative voice
Lemonade consists primarily of <i>Citrus limon</i>.
b Keywords
Take a <b>lemon</b> and squeeze it with a <b>juicer</b>.
u Annotations
The mixture of apple juice and <u class="spelling">eldeflower</u> juice is very pleasant.
mark Highlight
Elderflower cordial, with one <mark>part</mark> cordial to ten <mark>part</mark>s water, stands a<mark>part</mark> from the rest.
ruby, rt, rp Ruby annotations
<ruby> OJ <rp>(<rt>Orange Juice<rp>)</ruby>
bdi Text directionality isolation
The recommended restaurant is <bdi lang="">My Juice Café (At The Beach)</bdi>.
bdo Text directionality formatting
The proposal is to write English, but in reverse order. "Juice" would become "<bdo dir=rtl>Juice</bdo>"
span Other
In French we call it <span lang="fr">sirop de sureau</span>.
br Line break
Simply Orange Juice Company<br>Apopka, FL 32703<br>U.S.A.
wbr Line breaking opportunity
www.simply<wbr>orange<wbr>juice.com
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