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How does a web browser interpret HTML?
A web browser interprets HTML by parsing it to construct the Document Object Model (DOM) of a webpage.
HTML, or HyperText Markup Language, is the standard language for creating webpages. When a web browser receives HTML from a server, it doesn't just display the raw code. Instead, it interprets the HTML, which means it reads and understands the structure and content of the webpage as described by the HTML.
The process begins with the browser parsing the HTML, which involves breaking down the HTML document into individual elements. These elements include tags such as <head>, <body>, <p>, <div>, and many others, as well as the content within these tags. The browser reads the HTML from top to bottom, and as it encounters each element, it creates a corresponding node in the Document Object Model (DOM).
The DOM is a tree-like representation of the webpage, with each node representing an HTML element. The DOM allows the browser to understand the structure of the webpage and how the elements relate to each other. For example, a <p> tag within a <div> tag in the HTML would result in a 'p' node as a child of a 'div' node in the DOM.
Once the DOM is constructed, the browser can then render the webpage. This involves taking the structure and content as described by the DOM, and displaying it on the screen in the way specified by the HTML and any associated CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). For example, a <p> tag might be displayed as a block of text, while an <img> tag would be displayed as an image.
In addition, the browser can also use the DOM to interact with the webpage. For example, JavaScript code running in the browser can manipulate the DOM to change the content or appearance of the webpage in response to user actions.
In summary, a web browser interprets HTML by parsing it to construct the DOM, which it then uses to render and interact with the webpage. This process allows the browser to understand and display the webpage as intended by the HTML code.
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