When I create webpages, am I “programing with code” or “authoring with markup”?
You are authoring with markup; here’s why: An HTML file itself is not a program; it can be more accurately described as a “datafile”. But, what we use to render that datafile is a program. We commonly refer to those programs as “browsers” or “user agents”. Programs, as defined by any knowledgeable person of computer science, revolve around iterations and conditional executions. Certain instructions are carried out based on variables and equations. A program has the potential to branch out into different actions. HTML datafiles to not have that potential or “ability”. By determining that HTML datafiles are not programs, you can then make the statement that when you create an HTML datafile, you are not “programing” it. You are, in fact, authoring it using markup. Hence, HyperText Markup Language; not HyperText Programing Language.
