In
computing, an
HTML element indicates structure in an
HTML document and a way of hierarchically arranging content. More specifically, an HTML element is an
SGML element that meets the requirements of one or more of the HTML
Document Type Definitions (DTDs). These elements have properties both
attributes and
content, as specified (both allowable and required) according to the appropriate HTML DTD (for example, the HTML 4.01 strict DTD). Elements may represent headings, paragraphs, hypertext links, lists, embedded media, and a variety of other structures.
HTML elements may be either containers or empty.
Informally, HTML elements are sometimes referred to as “tags” (an example of synecdoche), though many prefer the term tag strictly in reference to the markup delimiting the start and end of an element.
Element (and attribute) names may be written in either upper or lower case in HTML, but must be in lower case in XHTML.[2] Upper-case is the older usage, and is used in HTML standards, but lower-case is more common.
