HTML and CSS Reference
In-Depth Information
Optional Attributes
value
: The value of the parameter.
embed
As the HTML5 spec states, the
embed
element is “an integration point for an external (typically non-HTML)
application or interactive content.” In simpler terms, this element embeds content that requires a plug-in.
It's similar to the
object
element in that regard, but unlike
object
,
embed
is a void element that can't hold
any contents, meaning you can't readily provide any fallback content within the element. If the browser
lacks the requisite plug-in to process the embedded resource, the
embed
element won't do anything at all.
Listing 5-9 shows an example of the
embed
element, here embedding an MP4 video file. Some browsers
can play MP4 video natively, but only in a
video
element. If you embed the file directly with an
embed
element (or
object
), the browser will attempt to invoke the appropriate plug-in (such as QuickTime) to
handle the media.
Listing 5-9.
An MP4 video clip embedded in a document with the
embed
element
<embed src="video/feature.mp4" type="video/mp4" width="394" height="298">
The
video
element is a far better way to embed videos in your web pages. However, you can use
embed
within a
video
(or
audio
) element to include the fallback for older browsers—either embedding a Flash-
based media player or embedding the media directly—the same way you would use the
object
element:
<video controls width="468" height="350">
<source src="video/mechanical-monsters.mp4" type="video/mp4">
<source src="video/mechanical-monsters.webm" type="video/webm">
<embed src="flash/video-player.swf" flashvars="video/mechanical-monsters.mp4"
type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="468" height="350">
</video>
The
embed
element is newly standardized in HTML5, though it's actually been around for a long time as a
non-standard and invalid element. Not so long ago,
embed
enjoyed better cross-browser support than
object
, even though
embed
wasn't part of any standardized HTML specification—it was introduced by
Netscape years ago and other browsers imitated Netscape's implementation.
The
object
element is fully supported in current browsers, but because so many websites used the non-
standard
embed
element for so long,
embed
became a de facto standard simply through common usage.
HTML5 has followed the “pave the cow paths” methodology: observe what people are using in the real
world, then tidy it up and make it official. The
embed
element is now valid in HTML5, but
object
is still
preferable.
Required Attributes
The
embed
element doesn't require any attributes, though a
src
attribute is usually required to provide the
resource's address. An
embed
element with no attributes is technically valid, but represents nothing.
