What are good coding practices? How can these be integrated into the learning of how to code in XHTML? What effects will it have on a web page if container tags or stand-alone non-empty tags are not used when coding in HTML?

I am so new to the internet please can someone help me I have tried to look for information and I also tried to look in my book. I am so lost thanks

Good coding practices are essential for writing clean, efficient, and maintainable code. They help improve code readability, make it easier to debug, and enhance collaboration with other developers. Here are some general coding practices:

1. Consistent Formatting: Use proper indentation, naming conventions, and coding style. This makes code easier to read and understand.

2. Modularity: Break code into smaller, manageable functions or classes. This improves code reusability, scalability, and maintainability.

3. Commenting: Add meaningful comments to explain the code's purpose, logic, and any complex algorithms. This helps other developers understand the code and makes it easier to maintain.

4. Error Handling: Implement proper error-handling mechanisms to catch and handle exceptions. This leads to more robust and reliable code.

5. Test-driven Development: Write automated tests to verify that your code functions correctly. This ensures that any changes made in the future won't break existing functionality.

To integrate these practices into learning how to code in XHTML (which is a variant of HTML), you can follow these steps:

1. Study XHTML Coding Conventions: Look for online resources or tutorials that provide guidelines for writing XHTML code. Familiarize yourself with the recommended conventions for formatting, naming, and structuring XHTML tags.

2. Practice Modularity: Start breaking down your code into smaller functions or blocks of content. Think about how you can encapsulate related content within container tags, grouping them logically.

3. Add Comments: As you write XHTML code, make it a habit to add comments to explain what each tag or section does. Describe its purpose, its relationship to other elements, and any other important details.

4. Handling Errors: Learn about common XHTML validation errors and how to fix them. Familiarize yourself with error messages and how to interpret them. Be diligent in resolving errors to ensure your XHTML code is valid and error-free.

Regarding the effects of not using container tags or stand-alone non-empty tags when coding in HTML, here's the impact it can have on a web page:

1. Incomplete Structure: Container tags such as `<div></div>` and stand-alone non-empty tags like `<img>` or `<br>` play a vital role in defining the structure and organization of web page elements. Without them, the page may lack proper structure, making it difficult to understand and navigate.

2. Visual Rendering Issues: Web browsers rely on HTML tags to interpret and render web page content. If container tags or stand-alone non-empty tags are missing, or not used correctly, the browser may have difficulty displaying or styling the content properly.

3. Accessibility Challenges: Web pages that do not adhere to proper HTML structure and semantic markup might pose accessibility challenges, such as difficulty for screen readers to interpret page elements correctly for visually impaired users.

In conclusion, adopting good coding practices is crucial when learning how to code in XHTML or any other programming language. It helps in writing clean and maintainable code, improves collaboration with others, and avoids issues that can arise from incorrect coding practices.