+4  A: 

YES, a declarative programming language.

You really want to list the most important things you know that are relative to the job you're applying for on your resume. If you list ASP.NET but don't list HTML, even though it's somewhat obvious, there are a lot of managers and/or HR types that will assume you don't know HTML since it's not listed. I've had it happen to me before.

Update - Some say no it isn't a programming language, and you may not agree with me on this, but regardless on a resume it IS a programming language. You get HR types looking at your resume before the hiring manager even sees it. If the manager says you need to know HTML, and it's not listed in the 'programming languages' section then the HR person may disregard you resume thinking you don't know it because it's not listed.

Chris Pietschmann
If hello world is a program, then html pages are programs, since they are merely a more complex hello world. Ergo, html _is_ a programming language, since it instructs the computer on what to do. I am with this guy.
freespace
Not true. Even hello world has logic in it. Just because your favorite IDE prepares the necessary program structure under the covers, or only a few keywords are needed to print to the output, there is logic at work. I do agree with Chris here about HR though.
Ed Swangren
Voted because 1. it's 2009-04-01, and 2. I guess it's a declarative language that can express a certain subset of constant programs with no inputs, and 3. there's a serious point about how HR types will see the question.
Edmund
@freespace - by that definition, nearly everything is a programming language, which makes it a virtually useless classification.
Kaz Dragon
@freespace: That argument is nonsense. It is essentially that same as saying: Dogs have fur. Cats have fur. Therefore, cats are dogs.
James Curran
@Kaz Dragon - well, isn't that what programming is? Telling the computer how to do things? If you use a language for it, isn't it a programming language?
freespace
@James Curran that is not a valid analogy. A more apt analogy is furry animals have fur, cats have fur, cats are furry animals. Distinction here being that dogs are not the superset of cats, whereas programming languages are (as I argue here) the superset of HTML.
freespace
@freespace - as I said, that would be a useless classification. That would include, say, Notepad as a programming language because you're telling the computer how to display a set of text. In a language, no less.
Kaz Dragon
Like I said, HTML is a declarative programming language. Just like XAML.
Chris Pietschmann
+14  A: 

No, the clue is in the M - it's a Markup Language.

insin
+133  A: 

No, HTML is not a programming language. The "M" stands for "Markup". Generally, a programming language allows you to describe some sort of process of doing something, whereas HTML is a way of adding context and structure to text.

If you're looking to add more alphabet soup to your CV, don't classify them at all. Just put them in a big pile called "Technologies" or whatever you like. Remember, however, that anything you list is fair game for a question.

HTML is so common that I'd expect almost any technology person to already know it (although not stuff like CSS and so on), so you might consider not listing every initialization you've ever come across. I tend to regard CVs listing too many things as suspicious, so I ask more questions to weed out the stuff that shouldn't be listed. :)

However, if your HTML experience includes serious web design stuff including Ajax, JavaScript, and so on, you might talk about those in your "Experience" section.

brian d foy
I wish I could vote this up more times
Steve g
+1 for calling it an initialization instead of an acronym
Jason
Here, have a great answer badge.
Brad Gilbert
LaTeX also falls in this category, it is a Markup, not programming, language.
rlb.usa
@rib.usa Except that LaTeX is a set of routines in TeX, which is a programming language that happens to be used primarily in a markup fashion.
Michael E
TeX is a Turing-complete language, so its classification as a programming language or markup language is a bit blurry. :)
mipadi
A: 

List it under technologies or something. I'd just leave it off if I were you as it's pretty much expected that you know HTML and XML at this point.

Jon
+9  A: 

I think not exactly a programming language, but exactly what its name says: a markup language. We cannot program using just pure, HTML. But just annotate how to present content.

But if you consider programming the act of tell the computer how to present contents, it is a programming language.

paulosuzart
+8  A: 

The 'M' stands for a 'Markup'. It's a 'Markup Language' not a programming language. Some people will disagree with this, but my opinion is that if it lacks logical constructs (conditional branching, iteration, etc) its not really a programming language.

As for the resume, I would suggest putting HTML and XML under a section like 'Technologies'. I usually have a section like this where I list things like version control software, OS's I've developed for, build systems, etc.

Mark Roddy
+6  A: 

I think that it definitely has its place on a resume. Knowledge of HTML is valuable, and there really is a lot to know, what with cross-browser compatibility issues and standards which should be followed.

I wouldn't list HTML under "programming languages" alongside C# or something, but it's worth noting your experience.

sledgebox
+10  A: 

On some level Chris Pietschmann is correct. SQL isn't Turing complete (at least without stored procedures) yet people will list that as a language, TeX is Turing complete but most people regard it as a markup language.

Having said that: if you are just applying for jobs, not arguing formal logic, I would just list them all as technologies. Things like .NET aren't languages but would probably be listed as well.

Martin Beckett
+2  A: 

Well, L is for language, but it doesn't imply programming language. After all, English or French are (natural) languages too! ;-)

As said above, put them under a subsidiary section, Technology seems to be a good term.

(Looking at my own resume, not updated in a while) I have made a section just called "Languages", so I can't get wrong... :-D
I have put "(X)HTML and CSS, XML/DTD/Schema and SVG" at the end of the section, clearly separated.

In French, I have a section "Langages" (programming and markup) and another "Langues" (French/English). In the English version, I titled both at "Languages", which is clumsy now that I think of it, although context clarify this. I should find a better formulation.

PhiLho
+3  A: 

HTML is in no way a programming language.

Programming languages deals with ''proccessing functions'', etc. HTML just deals with the visual interface of a web page, where the actual programming handles the proccessing. PHP for example.

If anyone really knows programming, I really can't see how people can mistake HTML for an actual programming language.

+2  A: 

No - there's a big prejudice in IT against web design; but in this case the "real" programmers are on pretty firm ground.

If you've done a lot of web design work you've probably done some JavaScript, so you can put that down under 'programming languages'; if you want to list HTML as well, then I agree with the answer that suggests "Technologies".

But unless you're targeting agents who're trying to tick boxes rather than find you a good job, a bare list of things you've used doesn't really look all that good. You're better off listing the projects you've worked on and detailing the technologies you used on each; that demonstrates that you've got real experience of using them rather than just that you know some buzzwords.

Simon
+2  A: 

I get around this problem by not having a "programming languages" section on my resume. Instead I label it simply as "languages", and I stick HTML and CSS at the end. I'd rather make life easier for the reviewer so that they can see whether mine checks-off all their requirements.

Only fools would disregard an applicant because he or she listed HTML under "languages" instead of some other label, especially since there is no industry standard. And who wants to work for fools?

David
A: 

In recruitment terms, having been on both sides of the fence, definitely put HTML under 'programming languages', or perhaps more safely under 'technologies'

Yes, we all know that it is a Markup Language and not a Programming Language. but a) Recruitment Agencies don't know and don't care, and b) employers don't know and don't care. Really.

And pointing out their ignorance will only serve you ill. And the techies who eventually see your CV will be grateful for a candidate who has heard of HTML, and won't worry about the taxonomy.

Honestly, it isn't an issue.

CJM
Techies who will see your resume will be grateful for a candidate who has heard of HTML? I haven't graduated from college yet, but I already scorn people who list HTML under programming languages. But to each his own I guess.
MiseryIndex
If you're planning on working for anyone else once you graduate, Misery, don't forget to practice hiding the scorn so you don't fail every interview due to "applicant acts like a jerk" :)
Peter Recore
A bit harsh, Peter, but you might be right - on a serious note, you will often be faced with misguided interviewers; tactfully disagreeing might get you the job, but if you appear contemptuous and superior you are going to miss out - regardless of how 'right' you might be.
CJM
+1  A: 

In the advanced programming languages class I took in college, we had what I think is a pretty good definition of "programming language": a programming language is any (formal) language capable of expressing all computable functions, which the Church-Turing thesis implies is the set of all Turing-computable functions.

By that definition, no, HTML is not a programming language, even a declarative one. It is, as others have explained, a markup language.

But the people reviewing your resume may very well not care about such a formal distinction. I'd follow the good advise given by others and list it under a "Technologies" type of section.

Michael E