Entities

HTML Entities

HTML entities are used to represent characters that may not be available on a standard keyboard. They are commonly utilized for:

• Copyright and trademark symbols (©, ™)
• Special characters from different languages (á, ñ, €)
• Mathematical notations (∞, ≠)
• Symbols like bullets and section marks (§, •)

Example

This text contains a copyright symbol © and a euro symbol €.

Ways to Represent Entities

1. Character Entities
2. Non-Breaking Space

Character Entities

Some characters are reserved in HTML and need to be represented using entities to prevent conflicts with HTML tags.

• The entity format follows this pattern:

&entity_name;

• Numeric references use this format:

&#entity_number;

For instance, to display <, you can use < or <.

Character entities start with &# and can either be:

• A decimal reference number representing the Unicode decimal code (e.g., © for ©).
• A named entity for widely used symbols (e.g., © for ©).

Non-Breaking Space

One of the most frequently used entities is the non-breaking space.

This entity prevents automatic line breaks, ensuring words remain together in a sentence.

Common HTML Entities

Combining Diacritical Marks

A diacritical mark is a small symbol added to a letter.

Accents such as grave ( ̀ ) and acute ( ́ ) modify letters, forming characters that may not exist in certain character sets.

Using Character Entities in HTML

Character entities can be included directly in HTML like this:

This text contains a copyright symbol © and a euro symbol €.

Conclusion

HTML entities are essential for representing characters that aren't directly available on a keyboard or could cause conflicts with HTML tags. They can represent special symbols like copyright (©), trademark (™), currency symbols (€, £), and even mathematical notations.