Preface

	Why should students of Materials Science (or any student) learn Hyper Text Mark-up Language (HTML)? There are several reasons:
		You are going to do a lot of writing, especially scientific or professional writing, in HTML or whatever system will succeed it. That is, you notice, a prediction. Time will tell (rather soon) if this prediction will come true.
		Why this prediction? Because the fact that everybody in the world has instant access to everything written in HTML is an advantage unparalleled by any other method of communication. Internet journals willing time replace a lot of the more special scientific journals - yet another prediction - and Internet presentations will nearly completely replace the fliers, brochures, booklets, etc., which are sent around the world to announce or sell things including higher education.
	There are more reasons for writing in HTML; lets look only at keywords
		It is easy to include all kinds of graphics in HTML documents.
		It is easy to include "multimedia" modules as e.g., videos or audio files.
		It is easy to include programs written in JavaScript or JAVA that can do almost everything. Well not really easy, but certainly possible.
	And most important: All this can be linked in a multitude of ways that makes information retrieving and processing easy.
	This leads to more predictions:
		HTML and the Internet will change the way people work together. A lot of administration business can be done a lot easier by using HTML and its cousins.
		HTML and the Internet will change the way we find and learn things. Three feet your book shelf will no longer hold 100 pounds of encyclopedias, and the same might be true for textbooks. (Note that I'm not claiming that novels etc. on your shelf will no longer exist).
	And now the final predictions: Once you get the hang of it, HTML will change the way you do your work. You will find yourself more and more writing whatever you write in HTML. And that helps to organize your thoughts in connections - within a given level and on to other levels. And this way of thinking will be very useful for doing science!

	If you don´t believe all or part of these prediction; there is still one good reason:
		You are now asked, and your fellow students in a few years will be required, to hand in your term papers in HTML.

HTML-Version von: Helmut Foell, erstellt am 024.10.97 10:29

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