Template:Gloss/doc

The template is used with  to explicitly bracket a glossary or glossary-like description list (also called a definition list or association list), especially in a template-structured glossary, although such lists can be used more generally. This is required for template=structured glossaries, and is good practice anywhere description/definition lists are used for glossaries. The template pair invoke the  description list HTML element. Unfortunately, the mnemonic is not available as a redirect as of this writing.

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

Typical usage:

{{#ifeq:{{BASEPAGENAME}}|Gloss|

Parameters

 * }}


 * id  can be used to assign a one-word ID name (which must begin with an alphabetic letter) to the glossary. This can be used as a #link target, and could have other metadata uses.
 * style  will pass CSS styling on to the  element. I.e., 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.

{{#ifeq:{{BASEPAGENAME}}|Gloss|

Examples

 * }}

This shows both a very simple and a rather complex instance in a structured glossary:



applesnorkel: Definition of term 1.

arglefarst: Beginning of first definition of term 2

Conclusion of first definition of term 2. Second definition of term 2.

{{#ifeq:{{BASEPAGENAME}}|Gloss|

Scope

 * }}

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

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.

{{#ifeq:{{BASEPAGENAME}}|Gloss| {{Term/doc}} {{Defn/doc}}