DXARTS 411

Text MARK-UP Languages

1. What is a Mark-up Language?
   Mark-up languages are used to distinguish (3) three types of information that a document may contain:
• CONTENT of the document to be typeset
• INSTRUCTIONS for the typesetter (real person/software program)
• (other -- or meta -- information about the document including comments which is not meant to be typeset)
2. Samples of Mark-up Tags
• \paragraph (TeX/LaTeX)
• @par (Scribe)
• <p> (HTML)
3. Why Text Mark-up?
1. Mark-up languages (YAFIYAGI) separate two functions (which are usually combined in most modern wordprocessors (WYSIWYG)):
• text editing - adding/deleting text, moving text
• tex formatting - text size, font, alignment
2. Mark-up languages provide LCD method to exchange information across various operating systems, charater encodings, and data transfer protocols:
• ASCII data representations
• System of ELEMENTS or TAGS
4. HTML - HyperText Mark-up Language (The Language of the WEB)
• Standard Generalized Mark-up Language (SGML)
• Extended/extensible Mark-up Language (XML)
5. IMPORTANT! What is the purpose of "tagging" a text?
   In general, when marking-up a text, use descriptive tagging and avoid procedural mark-up.
• Procedural mark-up (specific: aims at appearance)
• Descriptive mark-up (general: aims at structure)

txt_tag.html (3/2005)