Maddog's HTML Primer for Real People

Chapter 2, Lesson 5

Ch 2, L 5 - Paragraphs and End-Of-Line Breaks

If you already know how to create a paragraph and how to create an end-of-line break, you can skip this lesson.

HTML would be an insane document language if it didn't have the means to cause an end-of-line (EOL) break. And if it was just a "sqeenchy bit" more fancy, it would provide a "start-paragraph" method, also. Well, HTML uses a standalone tag (remember HTML tags?) to accomplish both of those very handy actions. Here they are:

means"BReak to a new line" (hard EOL)
 means "start a new Paragraph, skipping one line"

Let's see if it really works:


The quick <BR>
brown fox <BR>
jumps over <BR>
the lazy dog. <BR>
<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
 Ask me if I care.   Ask me if I care.  Ask me if I care.  Ask me if I care.   
 Ask me if I care.   Ask me if I care.  Ask me if I care.  Ask me if I care
 Ask me if I care.   Ask me if I care.  Ask me if I care.  Ask me if I care.
<P>
I need a real job.  I need a real job.  I need a real job.  I need a real job. 
I need a real job.  I need a real job.  I need a real job.  I need a real job. 
I need a real job.  I need a real job.  I need a real job.  I need a real job.
<P>
<P>
<P>
I'm really losing it now.  I'm really losing it now.  I'm really losing it now. 
I'm really losing it now.  I'm really losing it now.  I'm really losing it now. 
I'm really losing it now.  I'm really losing it now.  I'm really losing it now.

The quick
brown fox
jumps over
the lazy dog.

Ask me if I care. Ask me if I care. Ask me if I care. Ask me if I care. Ask me if I care. Ask me if I care. Ask me if I care. Ask me if I care. Ask me if I care. Ask me if I care. Ask me if I care. Ask me if I care.

I need a real job. I need a real job. I need a real job. I need a real job. I need a real job. I need a real job. I need a real job. I need a real job. I need a real job. I need a real job. I need a real job. I need a real job.

I'm really losing it now. I'm really losing it now. I'm really losing it now. I'm really losing it now. I'm really losing it now. I'm really losing it now. I'm really losing it now. I'm really losing it now. I'm really losing it now.

There are several things to notice here about how the browser works to pretty-up the HTML text:

the tag causes a hard EOL (end-of-line BReak);
however many tags you insert in your text, that's how many hard EOL's you'll have at the browser's end;
No matter how many hard EOLs (not tags, but carriage-returns / line feeds) you insert in your source text, the browser ignores them;
NO matter how many tags in a row you insert, the browser only inserts ONE.

A quick note about these HTML tags: and are good examples of HTML standalone tags. A standalone tag accomplishes its special feature with just that tag, in contrast to tag pairs, which begin their action with an opening tag, and keep that feature turned on until there's a closing tag. Standalone tags require no closing action.

Overseer: Monty Northrup ...

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