HTML glossary: Master level
53 HTML terms at the Master level, each with a short definition and a link to its full page.
Updated
- Adoption agency algorithm
- The tree-construction procedure that repairs certain misnested formatting elements.
- Character token
- A parser token representing one or more characters of document text.
- Comment node
- A DOM node containing the text of an HTML comment.
- Comment token
- A parser token representing an HTML comment.
- Content category
- A named group of HTML elements that share roles used by content-model rules.
- Content model
- The rule describing which kinds of child content an HTML element may contain.
- Context element
- The element whose type and state guide how an HTML fragment is parsed.
- Custom element content model
- The rules governing which children are valid in an author-defined custom element.
- Data state
- The tokenizer's normal state for reading document text and recognizing markup.
- Document node
- The DOM node representing the whole document and serving as the tree's root.
- DOM tree
- The in-memory tree of document, element, text, comment, and other nodes produced from HTML.
- Element node
- A DOM node representing an element and its attributes.
- Embedded content
- Content that imports or draws another resource, such as an image, video, iframe, or canvas.
- End-of-file token
- The token indicating that no more input remains for the parser.
- Flow content
- The broad category containing most elements allowed in a document body.
- Foreign content
- SVG or MathML content parsed within an HTML document under its own namespace rules.
- Foster parenting
- Parser behavior that relocates certain misplaced table content outside the table structure.
- Heading content
- The h1 through h6 and hgroup elements used to identify section headings.
- HTML conformance checker
- A tool that reports whether markup follows the requirements placed on HTML authors.
- HTML fragment parsing
- Parsing an HTML string as a fragment using a supplied element as its context.
- HTML namespace
- The namespace URI that identifies ordinary HTML elements in the DOM.
- HTML parser
- The browser component that turns HTML source into a document tree.
- HTML serialization
- Converting a document or node tree back into HTML text.
- HTML tokenization
- The parsing stage that converts input characters into tags, text, comments, and end-of-file tokens.
- Implied end tag
- An end tag the parser acts as though it encountered when certain later markup makes it unnecessary.
- Insertion mode
- The parser state that selects tree-construction rules based on the current document context.
- Integration point
- A location in SVG or MathML where the parser can switch between foreign-content and HTML parsing rules.
- Interactive content
- Elements specifically intended for user interaction, such as links and form controls.
- List of active formatting elements
- Parser state used to reconstruct and repair formatting elements across misnested markup.
- MathML namespace
- The namespace URI that identifies inline MathML elements in a document tree.
- Metadata content
- Elements that set presentation, behavior, relationships, or other information about a document.
- Node document order
- The order nodes appear when a document tree is traversed from beginning to end.
- Obsolete feature
- An old HTML feature that current documents should not use.
- Optional tag
- A start or end tag that HTML syntax permits an author to omit under specific conditions.
- Palpable content
- Content expected to contribute something users can perceive rather than existing only as structure.
- Parse error
- HTML input that violates a parsing rule but is still handled through defined recovery behavior.
- Parser error recovery
- The standardized rules browsers follow to build a predictable document tree from malformed HTML.
- Parser-blocking script
- A script whose fetching or execution pauses further HTML parsing.
- Parser-inserted script
- A script element created by the HTML parser rather than by a DOM operation.
- Phrasing content
- Elements and text used within paragraphs and other runs of text.
- RAWTEXT state
- A tokenizer state that treats content as text until the matching end tag, while recognizing no character references.
- RCDATA state
- A tokenizer state that treats content as text but still recognizes character references and the matching end tag.
- Script preparation
- The HTML processing steps that determine a script's type, source, readiness, and execution behavior.
- Script-supporting element
- An element used to support scripts without directly representing page content, such as script or template.
- Sectioning content
- Elements that create major thematic sections, including article, aside, nav, and section.
- Stack of open elements
- The parser's ordered list of elements that have started but have not yet been fully closed.
- SVG namespace
- The namespace URI that identifies inline SVG elements in a document tree.
- Tag token
- A parser token representing a start tag or end tag and its parsed attributes.
- text/html MIME type
- The media type that identifies a resource as an HTML document parsed with HTML syntax.
- Tokenizer state
- The current rule set the HTML tokenizer uses to interpret the next input characters.
- Transparent content model
- A content model that largely adopts the content rules of the element's surrounding context.
- Tree construction
- The parsing stage that uses tokens to create and arrange nodes in the document tree.
- XHTML syntax
- XML syntax used to represent HTML elements under XML parsing rules.