HTML and CSS Reference
In-Depth Information
Character Encoding
Character encoding associates each symbol from a character set with a numeric value
called the numeric character reference . For example, the copyright symbol © from the
UTF-8 character set is encoded with the number 169. If you know the character encod-
ing number, you can insert the corresponding character directly into your Web page
using the entity
&# code ;
where code is the encoding number. Thus, to display the © symbol in your Web page,
you would enter
©
into your HTML fi le.
Character Entity References
Another way to insert a special symbol is to use a character entity reference , which is
a short memorable name used in place of the encoding number. Character entity refer-
ences are inserted using the syntax
& char ;
where char is the character's entity reference. The character entity reference for the
copyright symbol is copy . So to display the © symbol in your Web page, you could insert
©
into your HTML code.
Inserting Symbols from a Character Set
• To insert a symbol based on the encoding number, use the entity
&# code ;
where code is the encoding number.
• To insert a symbol based on a character entity reference, use the entity
& char ;
where char is the name assigned to the character.
• To insert a nonbreaking space, use the following entity:
 
• To insert the < symbol, use the following entity:
&lt;
• To insert the > symbol, use the following entity:
&gt;
You can explore various encoding numbers and character entity references by open-
ing the demo page supplied with your Data Files.
To view the demo page:
1. Use your Web browser to open the demo_characters.htm file from the
tutorial.01\demo data folder.
2. Type &#163 ; in the input box and then click the Show button. The Web browser
displays the £ symbol in the ivory-colored box below.
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