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2. HTML Specification

2.8 The Body Element and Related Elements

2.8.1 - Body
2.8.2 - Address
2.8.3 - Anchor
2.8.4 - Blockquote
2.8.5 - Headings

The following elements may be included in the body of an HTML document:

2.8.1 Body

<BODY> ... </BODY>

Level 0

The Body element identifies the body component of an HTML document. Specifically, the body of a document may contain links, text, and formatting information within <BODY> and </BODY> tags.

2.8.2 Address

<ADDRESS> ... </ADDRESS>

Level 0

The Address element specifies such information as address, signature and authorship, often at the top or bottom of a document.

Typically, an Address is rendered in an italic typeface and may be indented. The Address element implies a paragraph break before and after.

Example of use:

<ADDRESS>
Newsletter editor<BR>
J.R. Brown<BR>
JimquickPost News, Jumquick, CT 01234<BR>
Tel (123) 456 7890
</ADDRESS>

2.8.3 Anchor

<A> ... </A>

Level 0

An anchor is a marked text that is the start and/or destination of a hypertext link. Anchor elements are defined by the <A> tag. The <A> tag accepts several attributes, but either the NAME or HREF attribute is required.

Attributes of the <A> tag:

HREF
Level 0

If the HREF attribute is present, the text between the opening and closing anchor tags becomes hypertext. If this hypertext is selected by readers, they are moved to another document, or to a different location in the current document, whose network address is defined by the value of the HREF attribute.

Example:

See <A HREF="http://www.hal.com/">HaL</A>'s information for more details.

In this example, selecting "HaL" takes the reader to a document at http://www.hal.com. The format of the network address is specified in the URI specification for print readers.

With the HREF attribute, the form HREF="#identifier" can refer to another anchor in the same document.

Example:

The <A HREF="document.html#glossary">glossary</A> defines terms used in this document.

In this example, selecting "glossary" takes the reader to another anchor (i.e., <A NAME="glossary">Glossary</A>) in the same document (document.html). The NAME attribute is described below. If the anchor is in another document, the HREF attribute may be relative to the document's address or the specified base address (see 2.7.2 Base).

NAME
Level 0

If present, the NAME attribute allows the anchor to be the target of a link. The value of the NAME attribute is an identifier for the anchor. Identifiers are arbitrary strings but must be unique within the HTML document.

Example of use:

<A NAME="coffee">Coffee</A> is an example of ...

...

An example of this is <A HREF="#coffee">coffee</A>.

Another document can then make a reference explicitly to this anchor by putting the identifier after the address, separated by a hash sign:

<A NAME="drinks.html#coffee">

TITLE
Level 1

The TITLE attribute is informational only. If present, the TITLE attribute should provide the title of the document whose address is given by the HREF attribute.

The TITLE attribute is useful for at least two reasons. The HTML user agent may display the title of the document prior to retrieving it, for example, as a margin note or on a small box while the mouse is over the anchor, or while the document is being loaded. Another reason is that documents that are not marked up text, such as graphics, plain text and Gopher menus, do not have titles. The TITLE attribute can be used to provide a title to such documents. When using the TITLE attribute, the title should be valid and unique for the destination document.

REL
Level 1

The REL attribute gives the relationship(s) described by the hypertext link from the anchor to the target. The value is a comma-separated list of relationship values. Values and their semantics will be registered by the HTML registration authority. The default relationship if none other is given is void. The REL attribute is only used when the HREF attribute is present.

REV
Level 1

The REV attribute is the same as the REL attribute, but the semantics of the link type are in the reverse direction. A link from A to B with REL="X" expresses the same relationship as a link from B to A with REV="X". An anchor may have both REL and REV attributes.

URN
Level 1

If present, the URN attribute specifies a uniform resource name (URN) for a target document. The format of URNs is under discussion (1994) by various working groups of the Internet Engineering Task Force.

METHODS
The METHODS attributes of anchors and links provide information about the functions that the user may perform on an object. These are more accurately given by the HTTP protocol when it is used, but it may, for similar reasons as for the TITLE attribute, be useful to include the information in advance in the link. For example, the HTML user agent may chose a different rendering as a function of the methods allowed; for example, something that is searchable may get a different icon.

The value of the METHODS attribute is a comma separated list of HTTP methods supported by the object for public use.

See also: 2.7.4 Link

2.8.4 Blockquote

<BLOCKQUOTE> ... </BLOCKQUOTE>

Level 0

The Blockquote element is used to contain text quoted from another source.

A typical rendering might be a slight extra left and right indent, and/or italic font. The Blockquote element causes a paragraph break, and typically provides space above and below the quote.

Single-font rendition may reflect the quotation style of Internet mail by putting a vertical line of graphic characters , such as the greater than symbol (>), in the left margin.

Example of use:

I think the poem ends
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<P>Soft you now, the fair Ophelia. Nymph, in thy orisons, be all my sins remembered.
</BLOCKQUOTE>
but I am not sure.

2.8.5 Headings

<H1> ... </H1> through <H6> ... </H6>

Level 0

HTML defines six levels of heading. A Heading element implies all the font changes, paragraph breaks before and after, and white space necessary to render the heading.

The highest level of headings is H1, followed by H2 ... H6.

Example of use:

<H1>This is a heading</H1>
Here is some text
<H2>Second level heading</H2>
Here is some more text.
The rendering of headings is determined by the HTML user agent, but typical renderings are:

<H1> ... </H1>
Bold, very-large font, centered. One or two blank lines above and below.

<H2> ... </H2>
Bold, large font, flush-left. One or two blank lines above and below.

<H3> ... </H3>
Italic, large font, slightly indented from the left margin. One or two blank lines above and below.

<H4> ... </H4>
Bold, normal font, indented more than H3. One blank line above and below.

<H5> ... </H5>
Italic, normal font, indented as H4. One blank line above.

<H6> ... </H6>
Bold, indented same as normal text, more than H5. One blank line above.

Although heading levels can be skipped (for example, from H1 to H3), this practice is discouraged as skipping heading levels may produce unpredictable results when generating other representations from HTML.

HTML 2.0 Specification (Internet Draft) - 29 NOV 94
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