<hr> : The Thematic Break (Horizontal Rule) element

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Introduction

The <hr> element in HTML is used to create a thematic break or a horizontal rule. It is a self-closing tag, meaning it doesn’t have a closing tag, and it is used to visually separate content within a document. The horizontal rule is often displayed as a horizontal line across the width of its containing element.

Here’s a simple example:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
  <title>Thematic Break Example</title>
  <style>
    body {
      font-family: Arial, sans-serif;
      max-width: 600px;
      margin: 0 auto;
      padding: 20px;
    }
    hr {
      margin-top: 20px;
      margin-bottom: 20px;
      border: 0;
      border-top: 2px solid #333;
    }
  </style>
</head>
<body>
    <h1>Main Heading</h1>
    <p>This is some introductory text.</p>
    <hr>
    <h2>Subheading</h2>
    <p>This is some content below the thematic break.</p>
    <hr>
    <p>Another section of content.</p>
</body>
</html>

Output :

In this example, the <hr> element creates a horizontal line, visually separating the text before and after it.

Key points about the <hr> element:

1. Thematic Break: It is primarily used as a thematic break, indicating a shift in the content or a separation between different sections.

2. Visual Representation: It creates a visible line or rule on the webpage to enhance the document’s visual structure.

3. Default Styling: Browsers typically render <hr> with a line across the full width of its containing element. The appearance can be customized using CSS.

4. Self-Closing Tag: <hr> is a self-closing tag, meaning it doesn’t have a closing tag (</hr>).

5. Attributes: The <hr> element doesn’t have many attributes. Commonly used attributes include width, size, and color, though these are considered deprecated in HTML5 in favor of CSS styling.

Example with deprecated attributes:

<hr width="50%" size="2" color="blue">

Modern CSS styling is preferred for controlling the appearance of the horizontal rule:

<style>
  hr {
    width: 50%;
    height: 2px;
    background-color: blue;
  }
</style>

In practice, the <hr> element is often used to visually break up content or to indicate a transition between different parts of a webpage. It is a straightforward way to add a horizontal line without using additional structural elements.

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