science

HCalendar

HCalendar is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand HCalendar rather than just read about it. In short: hCalendar (short for HTML iCalendar) is a microformat standard for displaying a semantic (X)HTML representation of iCalendar-format calendar information about an event, on web pages, using HTML classes and rel attributes. It allows parsing tools (for example other websites, or browser add-ons like Firefox's Operator extension) to extract the details of the event, and display them using some other website, index or s…

Key takeaways

HCalendar belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect HCalendar to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of HCalendar from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

hCalendar (short for HTML iCalendar) is a microformat standard for displaying a semantic (X)HTML representation of iCalendar-format calendar information about an event, on web pages, using HTML classes and rel attributes. It allows parsing tools (for example other websites, or browser add-ons like Firefox's Operator extension) to extract the details of the event, and display them using some other website, index or search them, or to load them into a calendar or diary program, for instance. Multiple instances can be displayed as timelines.

Example Consider this semi-fictional example:

The English Wikipedia was launched on 15 January 2001 with a party from 2-4pm at Jimmy Wales' house (more information).

The HTML mark-up might be:

hCalendar mark-up may be added using span HTML elements and the classes vevent, summary, dtstart (start date), dtend (end date), location and url:

Note the use of the abbr element to contain the machine readable, ISO8601, date-time format for the start and end times.

Accessibility concerns Concerns have been expressed that, where it occurs, the use of the abbr element (using the so-called abbr-design-pattern) in the above manner causes accessibility problems, not least for users of screen readers and aural browsers. The newer h-event microformat therefore uses the HTML5 element time instead:

Geo The Geo microformat is a part of the hCalendar specification, and is often used to include the coordinates of the event's location within an hCalendar.

Attributes For a full list of attributes, see the hCalendar cheat-sheet.

Users Notable organisations and other websites using hCalendar include:

Birmingham Town Hall and Symphony Hall Facebook Google (in Google maps and in Search Engine Results Pages ) The Opera web browser website The Radio Times The University of Bath The University of Washington Upcoming.org Wikipedia Yahoo!, on Yahoo! Local

References

External links hCalendar at the Microformats Wiki

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with HCalendar

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what HCalendar claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to HCalendar before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about HCalendar ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of HCalendar

In research: HCalendar appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses HCalendar in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: HCalendar is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Microformats, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for HCalendar outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “HCalendar” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study HCalendar in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what HCalendar means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain HCalendar out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is HCalendar in simple terms?

Why does HCalendar matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study HCalendar?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on HCalendar.