HTML Entities

When creating web content, you might encounter situations where you need to display characters that have special meanings in HTML, such as <, >, &, and ". HTML entities are a way to include these special characters in your web pages without confusing the HTML parser. Let’s explore what HTML entities are, why they are important, and how to use them effectively.

What are HTML Entities?

HTML entities are a way to represent characters that are reserved in HTML or that cannot be easily typed using a standard keyboard. They are defined using a specific syntax that the browser interprets and displays as the intended character.

Basic Syntax of HTML Entities:

• Named Entities: &entity_name;
• Numeric Entities: &#entity_number;
• Hexadecimal Entities: &#xentity_number;

Common HTML Entities:

Here are some of the most commonly used HTML entities:

1. Less Than and Greater Than:
   • < is represented as <
   • > is represented as >
   • <!-- Displaying less than and greater than symbols -->
<p>Use &lt; and &gt; to represent < and > respectively.</p>
2. Ampersand:
   • & is represented as &
   • <!-- Displaying an ampersand symbol -->
<p>Use &amp; to represent the & symbol.</p>
3. Quotation Marks:
   • " is represented as "
   • ' is represented as ' (not supported in HTML 4)
   • <!-- Displaying quotation marks -->
<p>Use &quot; for double quotes and &apos; for single quotes.</p>
4. Non-Breaking Space:
   • is represented as  
   • <!-- Adding extra spaces between words -->
<p>This&nbsp;is&nbsp;a&nbsp;sentence&nbsp;with&nbsp;non-breaking&nbsp;spaces.</p>
5. Copyright and Trademark Symbols:
   • © is represented as ©
   • ® is represented as ®
   • <!-- Displaying copyright and trademark symbols -->
<p>&copy; 2024 Your Company. All rights reserved.</p>
<p>This is a registered trademark: &reg;.</p>

Using HTML Entities in Context:

HTML entities are particularly useful when you need to ensure that your content is displayed correctly without being interpreted as HTML code.

Example in Code Context:

<p>The correct way to write an HTML tag is &lt;tag&gt;.</p>

In this example, the less than < and greater than > symbols are displayed correctly, and the browser does not interpret them as HTML tags.

Unicode and HTML Entities:

HTML entities can also represent characters from the Unicode character set, allowing you to include a wide range of international characters and symbols.

Example of Unicode Entities:

• The euro symbol (€) can be represented as € or €.
• The Japanese character for “love” (愛) can be represented as 愛.

<p>The euro symbol: &euro;</p>
<p>The Japanese character for love: &#x611b;</p>

HTML Entity Reference:

Here is a small reference table of some commonly used HTML entities:

Character	Entity Name	Numeric	Hexadecimal
<	&lt;	&#60;	&#x3C;
>	&gt;	&#62;	&#x3E;
&	&amp;	&#38;	&#x26;
"	&quot;	&#34;	&#x22;
'	&apos;	&#39;	&#x27;
¢	&cent;	&#162;	&#xA2;
£	&pound;	&#163;	&#xA3;
¥	&yen;	&#165;	&#xA5;
€	&euro;	&#8364;	&#x20AC;
©	&copy;	&#169;	&#xA9;
®	&reg;	&#174;	&#xAE;

Conclusion:

HTML entities are an essential tool for web developers, ensuring that special characters and symbols are displayed correctly on web pages. By using HTML entities, you can avoid issues with reserved characters and enhance the readability and presentation of your content. Keep this guide handy as a reference for incorporating HTML entities into your web projects, and start creating more robust and visually accurate web pages today.