Definitions of semantic format elements

Larry Masinter (masinter@parc.xerox.com)
Mon, 15 May 95 14:00:35 EDT

(reading http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/MarkUp/html-spec/...)

The semantic format elements in HTML 2.0 are <CITE>, <CODE>, <EM>,
<KBD>, <SAMP>, <STRONG>, <VARIABLE>. I think the draft should say more
about what the semantics *are*, before giving a typical rendering. I
would suggest changing 'typically rendered' to 'often rendered'. Is it
necessary to name the elements with a different name than the tag
name? I.e., why do we say 'The Citation element' rather than just 'The
CITE element'? I suggest:

================================================================
CITE

<CITE>...</CITE> Level 1

The CITE element is used for citations, e.g., such as when a document
quotes another source. This is often rendered as italics. Cited
paragraphs are often rendered nested.

CODE

<CODE>...</CODE> Level 1

The CODE element is used for examples of text in computer programming
languages. In many contexts, this is rendered in a monospaced font.

EM

<EM> ...</EM> Level 1

The EM element is used for emphasis, e.g., it is rendered as italics
in graphical browsers or emphasized when spoken.

================================================================

Also, the standard should say what SAMP means that is different from
CODE, what STRONG means that is different from EM, and what VAR means
in general.