An ordered list, created using the OL element, should contain information
where order should be emphasized, as in a recipe:
Mix dry ingredients thoroughly.
Pour in wet ingredients.
Mix for 10 minutes.
Bake for one hour at 300 degrees.
Definition lists, created using the DL element, generally consist of a
series of term/definition pairs (although definition lists may have other
applications). Thus, when advertising a product, one might use a definition
list:
Lower cost
The new version of this product costs significantly less than the previous
one!
Easier to use
We've changed the product so that it's much easier to use!
Safe for kids
You can leave your kids alone in a room with this product and they won't
get hurt (not a guarantee).
defined in HTML as:
<DL>
<DT><STRONG>Lower cost</STRONG>
<DD>The new version of this product costs significantly less than the
previous one!
<DT><STRONG>Easier to use</STRONG>
<DD>We've changed the product so that it's much easier to use!
<DT><STRONG>Safe for kids</STRONG>
<DD>You can leave your kids alone in a room with this product and
they won't get hurt (not a guarantee).
</DL>
Lists may also be nested and different list types may be used together, as
in the following example, which is a definition list that contains an unordered
list (the ingredients) and an ordered list (the procedure):
The ingredients:
100 g. flour
10 g. sugar
1 cup water
2 eggs
salt, pepper
The procedure:
Mix dry ingredients thoroughly.
Pour in wet ingredients.
Mix for 10 minutes.
Bake for one hour at 300 degrees.
Notes:
The recipe may be improved by adding raisins.
The exact presentation of the three list types depends on the user agent. We
discourage authors from using lists purely as a means of indenting text. This
is a stylistic issue and is properly handled by style sheets.
Deprecated. This
attribute sets the style of a list item. Currently available values are
intended for visual user agents. Possible values are
described below (along with case information).
Deprecated. For
OL
only. This attribute specifies the starting number of the first item in an
ordered list. The default starting number is "1". Note that while the value of
this attribute is an integer, the corresponding label may be non-numeric. Thus,
when the list item style is uppercase latin letters (A, B, C, ...),
start=3 means "C". When the style is lowercase roman numerals,
start=3 means "iii", etc.
Deprecated. For
LI
only. This attribute sets the number of the current list item. Note that while
the value of this attribute is an integer, the corresponding label may be
non-numeric (see the start attribute).
Deprecated. When
set, this boolean attribute gives a hint to visual user agents to render the
list in a more compact way. The interpretation of this attribute depends on the
user agent.
Ordered and unordered lists are rendered in an identical manner except that
visual user agents number ordered list items. User agents may present those
numbers in a variety of ways. Unordered list items are not numbered.
Both types of lists are made up of sequences of list items defined by the LI element (whose end tag may be
omitted).
This example illustrates the basic structure of a list.
<UL>
<LI> ... first list item...
<LI> ... second list item...
...
</UL>
<UL>
<LI> ... Level one, number one...
<OL>
<LI> ... Level two, number one...
<LI> ... Level two, number two...
<OL start="10">
<LI> ... Level three, number one...
</OL>
<LI> ... Level two, number three...
</OL>
<LI> ... Level one, number two...
</UL>
Details about number order. In ordered
lists, it is not possible to continue list numbering automatically from a
previous list or to hide numbering of some list items. However, authors can
reset the number of a list item by setting its value
attribute. Numbering continues from the new value for subsequent list items.
For example:
<ol>
<li value="30"> makes this list item number 30.
<li value="40"> makes this list item number 40.
<li> makes this list item number 41.
</ol>
Definition lists vary only slightly from other types of lists in that list
items consist of two parts: a term and a description. The term is given by the
DT
element and is restricted to inline content. The description is given with a DD
element that contains block-level content.
Here is an example:
<DL>
<DT>Dweeb
<DD>young excitable person who may mature
into a <EM>Nerd</EM> or <EM>Geek</EM>
<DT>Hacker
<DD>a clever programmer
<DT>Nerd
<DD>technically bright but socially inept person
</DL>
Here is an example with multiple terms and descriptions:
<DL>
<DT>Center
<DT>Centre
<DD> A point equidistant from all points
on the surface of a sphere.
<DD> In some field sports, the player who
holds the middle position on the field, court,
or forward line.
</DL>
Another application of DL, for example, is for marking up dialogues, with
each
DT naming a speaker, and each DD containing his or her words.
Note. The following is an informative description of
the behavior of some current visual user agents when formatting lists. Style
sheets allow better control of list formatting (e.g., for numbering,
language-dependent conventions, indenting, etc.).
Visual user agents generally indent nested lists with respect to the current
level of nesting.
For both
OL and UL, the type attribute specifies rendering options
for visual user agents.
For the
UL element, possible values for the
type attribute are disc, square, and
circle. The default value depends on the level of nesting of the
current list. These values are case-insensitive.
How each value is presented depends on the user agent. User agents should
attempt to present a "disc" as a small filled-in circle, a "circle" as a small
circle outline, and a "square" as a small square outline.
A graphical user agent might render this as:
for the
value "disc"
for
the value "circle"
for
the value "square"
For the
OL element, possible values for the type
attribute are summarized in the table below (they are case-sensitive):
For example, using CSS, one may specify that the style of numbers for list
elements in a numbered list should be lowercase roman numerals. In the excerpt
below, every
OL element belonging to the class "withroman" will have roman
numerals in front of its list items.
The rendering of a definition list also depends on the user agent. The
example:
<DL>
<DT>Dweeb
<DD>young excitable person who may mature
into a <EM>Nerd</EM> or <EM>Geek</EM>
<DT>Hacker
<DD>a clever programmer
<DT>Nerd
<DD>technically bright but socially inept person
</DL>
might be rendered as follows:
Dweeb
young excitable person who may mature into a Nerd or Geek
Hacker
a clever programmer
Nerd
technically bright but socially inept person
The
DIR element was designed to be used for creating multicolumn
directory lists. The MENU element was designed to be used for single column menu
lists. Both elements have the same structure as UL, just different rendering. In
practice, a user agent will render a DIR or MENU list exactly as a UL list.
We strongly recommend using UL instead of these elements.
for the
value "disc"
for
the value "circle"
for
the value "square"