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Text Level Semantics - Part 4

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1 May 2016CPOL3 min read 4.5K  
Text level semantics

The time Element

The time element represents a date/time. It can be in a large number of formats:

  • <time>2016</time> represents the year 2016
  • <time>2016-02</time> represents February 2016
  • <time>08:05</time> represents 5 past 8 in the morning.
  • <time>2016-04-16T18:34:08.240</time> represents 16th of April 2016 at 6:34 pm and 8.24 seconds.

Since this doesn't have a time zone, it represents the given time in each time zone.

whereas:

  • <time>2016-04-16T18:34:08.240-0800</time> represents the same date but only for one timezone, and is therefore a globally unique event.

The time attribute also has a datetime attribute. If it is populated, it must contain a machine readable representation of the time elements content.

The machine readable representation in the examples above would be the values I have placed in the time element. But I can also do this:

<time datetime="2016-12-25">Christmas 2016<time>

which is perfectly valid.

As long as the datetime attribute is included, then the value of the time element does not have to stick to the formats prescribed above. However, it should still represent a date/time in some form.

The data Element

The data element represents a piece of data and must contain a machine readable form of the data.

This is done by including the value attribute on the data element.

XML
<data ID="NumberOfPeople" value="144">12 Dozen Men</data>

In the example above, the value of the data is 144 which is 12 * 12. (A dozen is 12 things)

This data can be used within scripts, etc.

The data attribute should be used when you want to display the text as well as it having a data value, but the data-* attributes that are global to all elements could also be used.

The mark Element

The mark element represents a run of text in one document marked or highlighted for reference purposes, due to its relevance in another context.

It can be used in two ways.

Either to highlight part of a document in a way that the author didn't originally intend. Such as to bring attention to specific parts of it.

Or to highlight parts of a document to imply something is more relevant to the users' current activity.

The code Element

The code element represents a fragment of computer code.

It can be a fragment of any length, so using it for a variable name is still perfectly valid.

An example would be:

HTML
<p>All C# programs start with a <code>main</code> method</p>

You can also write out larger pieces of code such as

HTML
<code class="language-CSharp">
public void main()
{
       Console.Writeline("Hello World");
}
</code>

As you can see from the code sample above, I have included a class on the code element.

The HTML 5 Specification recommends that you indicate the language used within the code element with a class that is prefixed with "language-"

The code element is often also linked with the pre element which represents pre-formatted text (such as computer code).

The var Element

The var element represents a variable. This can be used in a variety of contexts such as maths, physics and programming code.

The var element can be used in plain text such as:

<p>In the below sample you will see that the <var>count</var> 
variable is used as a counter for the loop.</p>

or within a code fragment:

HTML
<code>
foreach (var <var>item</var> in list)
{
     <var>item</var>.DoAction();
}
</code>

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License

This article, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)


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