Template:Glossary/doc

Usage

The {{glossary}} template is used with {{Glossary end}} to explicitly bracket a glossary or glossary-like description list (also called a definition list or association list). This is a good practice anywhere description/definition lists are used for defining large lists of technical terms. The template pair invoke the <dl>...</dl> description list HTML element.

The pair of templates incidentally prevent Kodi Wiki's MediaWiki software engine from auto-creating redundant definition list code (<dl>...</dl>) around terms and definitions if they have blank lines between them, as they often do, especially in non-structured glossaries.

Typical usage:

{{glossary}}
{{Term}}
{{Defn}}
{{glossary end}}

Parameters

• |id= can be used to assign a one-word ID name to the glossary. This can be used as a #id link target, and could have other metadata uses.
• |style= will pass CSS styling on to the <dl> element. This styles the definition list itself, as a container, not the individual terms and definitions with it. There is rarely any reason to do this.
• |class= will pass one or more space-delimited CSS classes on to the <dl> element, in addition to the automatically included class glossary. There is rarely any reason to do this, either.

Examples

This shows both a very simple then a rather complex instance in a structured glossary (including an entry with a block quotation):

== A&ndash;M == {{Glossary}} {{Term|1=applesnorkel}} {{Defn|1=Definition of first term.}} {{Term|term=arglefarst|content=''arglefarst''{{Anchor|argle-farst|argle farst}}}} {{Defn|num=1|defn=Beginning of first definition of second term <blockquote class="templatequote glossary-blockquote" style="line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0 0 -1.35em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0 0 1.6em 2.5em; text-align: left;">Block quotation in first definition of second term.</blockquote> Conclusion of first definition of second term. }} {{Defn|num=2|defn=Second definition of second term.}} {{Glossary end}}

A–M applesnorkel Definition of first term. arglefarst 1.  Beginning of first definition of second term Block quotation in first definition of second term. Conclusion of first definition of second term. 2.  Second definition of second term.

Scope

This family of templates, like the underlying definition list code, is primarily intended for definitional uses, but can have other applications. The HTML 4.01 Specification itself says:

Definition lists...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).

Thus, editors should feel free to use definition list markup as an alternative to bulleted or numbered lists when the material is well-suited to definition list presentation.