HTML Code MiniChapter 6: Clean Code, Comments, and Escape Codes

< back to the previous chapter

Clean code means that your HTML coding follows all specifications, I personally don't use true clean code, but very close to it. Here are a few ways to keep your code clean:

• Don't type special characters into your code, instead type their escape code... many characters should NEVER be typed directly into HTML code... for example the "<", ">", the "©", "&", and the " itself. Instead, type &escape_code; (Ampersand, Escape Code for Character, then a semicolon). For these 5 characters, here are the escape codes...
  • For the < type &lt;
  • For the > type &gt;
  • For the © type &copy;
  • For the & type &amp;
  • For the " type &quot;


• Use quotes around values in attributes... For example, if you want a horizontal rule that is half of the screen width, type <hr width="50%"> rather than <hr width=50%>, or if you want one that is size 5 type <hr size="5"> rather than <hr size=5>. Isn't it ironic that I don't? <g>
  
  
• Don't overlap tags... Overlapping occurs when Tag A starts, Tag B starts, Tag A closes, then Tag B closes. This will cause errors in sensitive browsers.
Examples:

• Wrong Way (Overlaps):
  <font size=+1><b>This is Bold and One Font Size Bigger</font></b>
  Right Way (Doesn't Overlap):
  <font size=+1><b>This is Bold and One Font Size Bigger</b></font>
  
• Wrong Way (Overlaps):
  <a href="here.html"><i>This link is italicized</a></i>
  Right Way (Doesn't Overlap):
  <a href="here.html"><i>This link is italicized</i></a>