Web Fundamentals: The developing
(Web) Story
Lab Purpose
The purpose of this lab is to establish a development environment for your
web work. Having good tools -- and understanding how they work -- provides
significant advantage to a web developer. We will look at some more complicated
tools along the way, but we will begin with a simple editor and a small browser
set.
Our goals include:
- ... Beginning to develop a
web page using basic HTML elements.
- ... Learning how to validate
a web page to insure compliance to standards
- ... Begin working toward
publication of lab work on your HTA web space
Lab Description
This is our beginning foray into the web. At first, you won't even put your
finished work on the web (that's our next lab!). You'll complete this lab and
we will just review it. But make sure you save a copy, because in the very next
lab we create a class course page, add this lab to it as a link, and publish it
to a department server. However, first things
first.
As an overview, you are going to copy and paste some code into a simple
editor. If you are using Windows, your editor should be Notepad++. If you are a
Mac user, TextEdit is a fine tool. Once you have
copied the HTML source code into your editor, you'll make a simple edit to the
code and save your file. Each step along the way, you'll view your file in both
the Windows and Mozilla browsers. Finally, you will validate your file using a
free online validation tool. Remember, this is our first and last lab. After
this, we are on the web, baby!
Lab Deliverables
- Edited and validated HTML
file.
- Installed text editor (your
choice) and testing process that includes viewing your work in at least
the Mozilla and IE browsers.
Lab Directions
- Install at least the Mozilla
and IE browsers. (Why? Because Mozilla is the best browser for developers
and IE has market share). (If you want to expand your browser base, you
should include Safari, Chrome and Opera, but that's not a requirement.)
Below are links to download our required browsers:
- Access a low end editor. Why
low end? Because we want you to start off controlling every part of the
process. If you like, you can switch to a "Do More For
Us" higher end tool later. But for now, we want the power that
learning a low end editor will give us. Plus, the low end editors are free
(and we like free!) You can substitute other low end editors, but here are
my suggestions, with active links for downloads:
- For Windows users,
access Notepad++.
- For Mac users, access TextWrangler from the BareBones
link or via the Apple Store
- Once you have set up your
browsers and editor, you are ready to work with some html
- Launch your editor (Notepad++
or TextWrangler), and open a new file
- Copy the following code and
paste it into your new file in your editor. Make sure you copy everything
from the first "<" (those less than and greater than signs
are called chevrons aka angle brackets aka carrots) to the last
">". Make sure you start at the chevron.
<!doctype html>
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<title>Title of page goes here</title>
<!-- Author: JoeBlow Student -->
<style type = "text/css">
body {
width:760px;
margin:5px auto;
border-radius:15px;
margin-left: auto;
margin-right: auto;
text-align:center;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1>My first valid HTMl5 File</h1>
<p>
Nooooooo! The semester can't be starting already!
</p>
</body>
</html>
- Save your file as
myFirst.html, and choose an html file format. Hang in there, we are
almost done!
- Look at your file in Mozilla
and IE. You can do this inside your editor (The "Run" link in
Notepad++ on the upper toolbar) or outside your editor by opening your
browser and using the appropriate File open options (Firefox, New Tab,
Open File) and (IE, File, Open). Make sure you see a "rendered"
page without chevrons. Click here to see what the file should look like.
- Validate your file by
uploading it to the free validation site (validator.w3.org)
maintained by the World Wide Web organization (W3W). Bookmark this site,
because you'll be coming here alot. Use the
Browse button to select your myFirst.html file, and then press
"Check". Verify that you get a message on a green background
that says: "This document was successfully checked to HTML5
standards" (or something along those lines)
- Make edits to your
myFirst.html file. Change Author: Joe Blow to reflect your name (of
course, if you really are Joe Blow, you don't have to change anything!).
And, find the paragraph tags (the "<p>" tag) and change
wording from "Noooooo The semester can't be
starting already" to read "I am going to love this N241 class!". Save your file, again as myFirst.html
- Re-view your file in the
browsers and check for validation
- You did GREAT!
Lab DeBrief
- What you just accomplished is
significant! You edited, validated, and tested a strictly compliant web
page. Next, you'll publish to the web. Whoo-hoo,
you're on your way to Zen Master-dom,
Grasshopper!