DFN - defining occurrence (Not in HTML 2.0!)
Purpose
To
indicate that a term (or phrase) appears in a context where it is
defined.
Typical rendering
Obviously, the element should be presented with some kind of distinction
from normal text, such as italic or bold italic
(as the HTML 2.0 specification suggests).
Unfortunately many browsers,
including Netscape 4, do not effectively support it:
they present DFN as normal text.
See also
general notes on rendering markup.
Basic syntax
<DFN>text</DFN>
Possible attributes
None.
Allowed context
Text container, i.e.
any element that may contain text elements.
This includes most HTML elements. In particular,
text elements can be nested.
Contents
Text elements.
Notice that this disallows e.g. paragraph breaks.
Examples
Example DFN-1.html:
<DFN>Ichthyology</DFN> is the branch of natural science which
studies fish.
Notes
Since current implementations do not effectively support DFN,
as explained above, it is probably best to present defining occurrences
using either EM or STRONG.
The HTML 2.0 specification does not include DFN but mentions it
as an element which "has been deployed to some extent".
See also
general remarks on phrase elements.
Date of last update:
2010-12-16.