PDF vs HTML: Difference and Comparison

PDF stands for Portable Document Format, and HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language. PDF is a document format, while HTML is a computer language.

Key Takeaways

PDF files are portable document formats designed for sharing and preserving content, whereas HTML is a markup language for creating web pages.

PDFs maintain consistent formatting across devices, while HTML content may display differently depending on the device and browser.

PDF files can be password-protected for security, whereas HTML pages are less secure and more susceptible to hacking.

PDF vs HTML

Portable Document Format (PDF) is a non-editable file that can include texts and images in a document format. It is used for sharing and printing files. HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) is a programming language used to display documents in a web browser. It is an editable file for viewing a document.

The full form of PDF is Portable Document Format. The extension of a PDF document is .pdf, and it was initially released around 28 years ago, in 1993.

The full form of HTML is HyperText Markup Language. As it can be derived from the full form itself, HTML is a computer language that is designed to display web documents.

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IT Quiz

Test your knowledge about topics related to technology

1 / 10

What is the radix of the octal number system?

2 / 10

Systems for differently-abled individuals is an example of

Face recognition

Content-Based Image Retrieval

Smart Interactions

Environment Perception

3 / 10

'.MOV' extension usually refers to what kind of file?

Image file

Animation/movie file

Audio file

MS Office document

4 / 10

The main function of smart assistants like Apple Siri and Amazon Alexa is

Trying to recognize the voice

Trying to read from the dictionary

Searching the word from the database

None of these

5 / 10

What does the acronym RAM stand for?

Random Access Memory

Random Archival Method

Really Awful Methods

Rotating Arm Memory

6 / 10

For which of the following Android is mainly developed?

Servers

Desktops

Laptops

Mobile Devices

7 / 10

Which mobile company first introduced Emoji internationally on their mobile devices

Apple

Samsung

Motorola

Blackberry

8 / 10

'.BAK' extension usually refers to what kind of file?

Backup file

Audio file

Animation/movie file

MS Encarta document

9 / 10

Who is considered as the father of computing

Claude Shannon

Charles Babbage

Von Neumann

Graham Bell

10 / 10

WWW Stands for

World Warrior web

World Wide Web

All options

World Wider web

Your score is

Comparison Table

Parameters of Comparison	PDF	HTML
Editing	PDF files are non-editable.	HTML is editable.
Category	PDF is a format of the file and is great for printing files out as original photocopy.	HTML is a computer language great for on-screen viewing of a document.
Additional Software	PDF requires a PDF viewer to be viewed.	HTML does not need any additional software to be opened.
Labor	PDF is much more simple and easier to share.	HTML is very labor-consuming to be made.
Utility	PDF is used for sharing all kinds of files in a single file.	HTML is mainly used for uploading web documents.

What is a PDF?

PDF stands for Portable Document Format. It is a document format containing various elements all at once. The pdf is a non-editable file, which is easy to share.

PDFs may contain various types of files. The files to be mentioned can be vector graphics, text, bitmap graphics, vector graphics for illustrations, and raster graphics for a photograph.

It can be said that the PDF is a much-simplified version of the PostScript language. PostScript is a page description language run in an interpreter to generate an image, a process requiring many resources.

Nowadays, PDF is the most used file format for sharing information. For academic purposes, PDFs were taken the place of books for students, especially in online studies.

What is HTML?

HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language, which is a computer language designed for web purposes. It is great for on-screen viewing but may not be as helpful in printing the whole document accurately.

There are certain building blocks of HTML. Any error in these building blocks will not format the document in the desired way. Every HTML starts with <HTML> and closes with </HTML>.

To view HTML, one does not need any other application because HTML is a computer language itself. HTML documents make it hard to deliver hard copies.

Main Differences Between PDF and HTML

PDf is not for the web browser. HTML works great for the web. INfact HTML is generally used for uploading web documents in a browse4r from a server.
PDFs are mostly read-only files when shared, whereas HTML is editable.

References

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Sandeep Bhandari

Sandeep Bhandari holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Computers from Thapar University (2006). He has 20 years of experience in the technology field. He has a keen interest in various technical fields, including database systems, computer networks, and programming. You can read more about him on his bio page.