var (HTML element)
| Depr. | Empty | Version |
|---|---|---|
| No | No | HTML 2 |
| IE5.5+ | FF1+ | SA1.3+ | OP9.2+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full | Full | Full | Full |
Syntax
Description
The
var element is used to indicate that the text is a
variable and shouldn’t be taken literally. Instead, it’s an example that
should be replaced with your own value.
The example code would render as shown in Figure 1.
var
Example
In the following example, a customer is asked to enter two pieces of information, which are marked up as variables:
<p>To get access to the system you first need to enter your
username, e.g. <var>monkeyboy123</var>, followed by your unique
6-digit customer ID beginning with C, e.g. <var>C13345</var>.</p>
Use This For …
This element is used to indicate that the phrase is a variable of some kind—most likely in the context of showing an example value, as illustrated in the example HTML above.
Compatibility
| Internet Explorer | Firefox | Safari | Opera | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.5 | 6.0 | 7.0 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 1.3 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 9.2 | 9.5 |
| Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full |
The var has good browser support; most of the
major browsers render the variable in italics (similar to other
reference-type phrase elements, such as cite and dfn).
User-contributed notes
- ID:
- #1
- Date:
- Fri, 28 Mar 2008 10:54:37 GMT
That example is not very good. You'd normally use VAR to mark up a *placeholder*, not a sample value.
A more realistic example would be something like this (perhaps from an instruction manual for a corporate telephone system):
<p>To forward incoming calls to another extension, press <kbd>* 21 * <var>extension</var> #</kbd>.</p>
The VAR markup indicates that you're not supposed to punch in the letters e-x-t-e-n-s-i-o-n, but replace that placeholder with the actual extension number.
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