HTML and CSS Reference
In-Depth Information
The
code
element can designate any sort of computer code. It's not specific to any programming
language, so its contents could be HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Python, Perl, C#, or any computer language
that needs to be distinguished from surrounding human-language content:
<p>You can declare fonts in CSS with the
<code>font-family</code>
property.</p>
The
kbd
element defines text or commands that the user should enter (usually by keyboard, though it
could be a voice or menu command), whereas the
samp
element illustrates sample output of a program or
script:
<p>At the prompt, enter your username,
<kbd>henchman21</kbd>
,
and your password. If it's accepted, the display will read
<samp>ACCESS GRANTED</samp>
and the portal will activate.</p>
The
var
element designates a programming variable or argument, or a variable in a mathematical
expression. You can also use
var
in normal prose to mark a placeholder term:
<p>
<var>Something</var>
-Man,
<var>Something</var>
-Man,
does whatever a
<var>something</var>
can.</p>
The
code
,
kbd
, and
samp
elements are frequently combined with the
pre
element to preserve the
formatting of their contents, as you can see in Listing 4-36.
Listing 4-36.
A JavaScript function marked up with a
code
element
<pre>
<code>
function helloWorld() {
var button = document.getElementById("button");
if (button) {
button.onclick = function(){
alert("Hello, World!");
}
}
}
</code>
</pre>
To aid readability, most browsers display
code
,
kbd
, and
samp
elements in a monospace typeface—one in
which every character is the same width, such as Courier. The
var
element is usually rendered in an
italicized font. Figure 4-22 shows all the previous examples together.