HTML Symbols and Character Entities Tutorial

1. What are Character Entities?

Character entities are a way to represent special characters in HTML that might otherwise be interpreted as HTML code. They begin with an ampersand (&) and end with a semicolon (;).

For example, the less than symbol (<) is represented as <.

2. Common HTML Character Entities

Here are some of the most commonly used HTML character entities:

• < → < (less than)
• > → > (greater than)
• & → & (ampersand)
• " → " (double quote)
• ' → ' (single quote)
•   →   (non-breaking space)

3. Using Character Entities in HTML

To use character entities, simply include them in your HTML code where you want the special character to appear. For example:

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<p>Tom & Jerry is a famous cartoon</p>
                    

This example displays the text Tom & Jerry is a famous cartoon using the character entity for the ampersand.

4. HTML Symbols and Unicode

In addition to character entities, HTML also supports Unicode characters, which can be represented in the format &#xHHHH; for hexadecimal or &#NNNN; for decimal values.

For example:

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<p>The heart symbol: &#x2764;</p>  <!-- Displays: ♥ -->
                    

This example displays a heart symbol using its Unicode representation.

5. Conclusion

Understanding HTML symbols and character entities is crucial for correctly displaying special characters on your web pages. Use character entities for common symbols and Unicode for a broader range of characters.