HTML?Here's a question that both of you could probably answer for me. If someone says, "Are you familiar with html?" what exactly does that mean? I mean, I can open pictures and stuff like that, but I don't really know how to attach anything but word documents. Does it have to do with actually writing content ON a website, or knowing how to construct or set up a site? Anything you could tell me would be awesome.
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3 comments:
Hey Jess,
You were moving closer to the point as you went on...
In my experience, when someone asks "Do you know html?" generally they want to know if you are able post content (i.e. text and pictures) to the web. There are many ways to do this these days, which complicates the question a bit.
On the high end, which Keith is probably more familiar with, the question has more to do with whether you know how to code a page from scratch using html and upload it to a web site.
In a business setting, it likely means, can you use a program like front page or dreamweaver to upload content and then know enough about the code itself to figure out if/how you screwed up. Regarding the last part, you honestly don't need to know that much html to figure out if/how you screwed up. This is how I would describe my functional knowledge, as I can figure stuff out as I go along.
In your case, I would think alot of what you will need to know how to do is dependent on the type of job and if the job is asking for this knowledge, you may want to ask what is involved and whether they are using an html editor.
Anyway, I have spoken enough. I will let Keith Chime in...
My initial response before reading Joe's:
In short: No, Jess, you are not familiar with HTML.
In long: HTML is the language used to create web pages. A simple page
looks like this:
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
<html>
<head>
<title>My little web page</title>
</head>
<body>
<p>Here is a little web page.</p>
</body>
</html>
If you don't understand what the significance of all that was, then you do
not know HTML.
HOWEVER, after reading Joe's comments, he is probably right. They basically want to know whether you could do some basic editing of a web page. Actually, Joe is probably more knowledgeable about what it means to "be familiar with HTML" in a business setting. I'm in such a highly technical field that things like "knowing HTML" take on a whole new meaning, in the sense that knowing HTML in my world means that you can make web pages completely from scratch. :)
It actually, to wander from the point, brings up the issue of semiotics a bit (remember Mary Marchand's class, Jess? :D). Something as simple as "do you know HTML?" elicited a somewhat different explanation from Joe and me.
To give my actual opinion on this topic, then: I would say that they want you to know some basic web formatting but not much else; is this for a jop description? Knowing the context of the question would help me figure out what they're really asking.
Although didn't take Mary Marchand's class and the word "semiotic" never came to mind, I also thought it was interesting how we gave two different responses to get to the same place.
In any case, I agree, the context will help. For my last two jobs, I was asked, "Do you know html?" and in one I was asked outright, "Can you build a web page from scratch?" I have not touched a web editor or had to do anything regarding the web for either. Ironically, in my newest position, I am expected to know some html, as I have to upkeep our intranet pages, however I was never really asked about my background knowledge.
Another funny thought that came to my head when you asked, "Do you know html?" was when Homestarrunner asked StrongBad, "Excuse me, do you know the times?" "Do you know the times? How do you even answer question like, 'Do you know the times?'"
Anyway, I digress. Jess: I hope our answers were helpful.
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