New Tags in HTML 4.0

Changes between HTML 3.2 and HTML 4.0 lists eight new tags
in HTML 4.0. A brief description of these tags follows.

<Q>...</Q>  

The <Q>...</Q> tag acts much the same as the <BLOCKQUOTE> tag, but applies to shorter quoted sections, ones that don't need paragraph breaks. Example:

HTML 4.0 requires both the start tag and the end tag for <Q>.

<ACRONYM>...</ACRONYM>  

The <ACRONYM>...</ACRONYM> tag indicates an acronym in the text. <ACRONYM> is a "phrasal" tag, meaning that it helps define the structure of a text phrase. Make sure to use <ACRONYM> for the acronym itself, not the title that the letters stand for. <ACRONYM> behaves like <EM>, <STRONG>, and <CODE>. Example:

Working with the World Wide Web requires a good head for acronyms. <ACRONYM>HTML</ACRONYM>, <ACRONYM>WWW</ACRONYM>, and <ACRONYM>HTTP</ACRONYM> are but a few of the acronyms found around the Web.

HTML 4.0 requires both the start tag and the end tag for <ACRONYM>.

<INS>...</INS> and <DEL>...</DEL>  

Use <INS>...</INS> to mark parts of a document that have been added since the document's last version. <DEL>...</DEL>, similarly, marks document text that has been deleted since a previous version. Example:

Welcome to our online personnel policy guide. <INS>In the spirit of relaxed living, our dress code now requires only that you meet TV's decency standard.</INS> <DEL>In the spirit of conservative virtues, we require every employee to wear a suit to work every day.</DEL>

HTML 4.0 requires both the start tag and the end tag for both <INS> and <DEL>.

<COLGROUP>...</COLGROUP>  

<COLGROUP>...</COLGROUP> allows you finer control over the formatting of tables by specifying groups of columns that share width and alignment properties. Every table must have at least one <COLGROUP>; without any specific <COLGROUP> definition, HTML 4.0 assumes the table consists of a single column group that contains all the columns of the table. If you wanted, for example, to create a table that had a single, wide description column followed by a series of small check boxes, you would code:

<TABLE> <COLGROUP span="10" width="30"> <COLGROUP span="1" width="0*"> <THEAD> <TR>... </TABLE>

This way, the first <COLGROUP> tag formats all ten check boxes, much nicer than typing in ten identical specifications--for each row!

The start tag for <COLGROUP> is required; the end tag is optional.

<FIELDSET>...</FIELDSET>  

With the <FIELDSET>...</FIELDSET> tag, you can group related form fields, making your form easier to read and use. Human brains like to be able to classify information, and <FIELDSET> helps do just that. When you enclose a group of form elements in the <FIELDSET> tags, the browser will group the elements so you can easily tell they belong together.

HTML 4.0 requires both the start tag and the end tag for <FIELDSET>.