HTML Computer Code Elements

If you are a developer sharing code with a tech blogger for writing how-to guides, or just someone who wants to show code clearly on the webpage, HTML gives you special tags called HTML computer code elements. These tags help make your code easy to read and understandable for everyone. In this guide, you will learn the important HTML tags used for displaying computer code.

Table of Contents:

• HTML Code Elements
  1. The <code> Tag
  2. The <pre> Tag
  3. The <kbd> Tag
  4. The <samp> Tag
  5. The <var> Tag
• Combining These Tags Together
• Best Practices
• Browser Support
• Conclusion

HTML Code Elements

HTML code elements are special tags that are used to represent code-related content on a webpage because code needs special treatment to preserve its formatting, spacing, and meaning. These tags help you to write code, keyboard input, output from programs, and variables in a clean and understandable way. Here are some of the important HTML code elements:

1. The <code> Tag

The <code> tag is used to display a single line or small snippet of code, such as a function name or command. By default, it prints the content in a monospace font.

Syntax:

<code>Put Your Code Here</code>

Example:

Output:

Tip: For multi-line code, wrap the <code> tag inside a <pre> tag to preserve indentation and line breaks.

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2. The <pre> Tag

The <pre> tag stands for “preformatted text.” It keeps all the whitespace, line breaks, and tabs exactly the same as you write them. This is helpful for displaying entire blocks of code.

Syntax:

<pre>
    Multiline
    Code
</pre>

Example:

Output:

Note: Always escape HTML characters like < and > if you’re writing HTML code inside these tags.

3. The <kbd> Tag

The <kbd> tag is used when you want to show what a user should type using the keyboard. This is very common in tutorials or documentation where you have to explain shortcuts or commands.

Syntax:

<kbd>Key or Commands</kbd>

Example:

Output:

Tip: Pair this with CSS to style your keyboard keys like real buttons.

4. The <samp> Tag

When you want to show output from a computer program or terminal, the <samp> tag is used. It represents sample output that users might see on their screen.

Syntax:

<samp>Your Code Output Here</samp>

Example:

Output:

5. The <var> Tag

The <var> tag is used to mark up variables or mathematical symbols in programming. Browsers usually render this text in italic to differentiate it from the normal text.

Syntax:

<var>x</var>

Example:

Output:

Combining These Tags Together

You can also combine several of these tags to show the code. Here is an example that uses multiple code elements together:

Example:

Output:

Best Practices

• Use <pre> + <code> together for writing multi-line code. 
• Avoid using code elements for non-code text.
• Always escape characters like <, >, and & inside the <code> tag.
• Make use of semantic tags because they increase accessibility for developers.

Browser Support

Here is the list of browsers that support HTML computer code elements:

• Google Chrome
• Mozilla Firefox
• Safari
• Microsoft Edge
• Opera

Conclusion

By using the right HTML tags, you can describe your code with clarity and accessibility. Tags like <code>, <pre>, <kbd>, <samp>, and <var> help your code stand out and look good in the browser. Learn all these tags to write a tutorial, article, or even documentation that contains code.

HTML Computer Code Elements – FAQs