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EricBess
Guest
"executable" isn't very meaningful 
HTML isn't a programming language at all. As mentioned, it is just a bunch of tags and text that tells the browser how to display information on the screen.
It is possible to create a website, for example, strictly using HTML, but it is going to be a static website. In other words, it will be exactly the same everytime you pull it up and as you traverse the website, all you are doing is going from one point to the next within the website.
For example, the magicthegathering.com website could be created strictly in HTML because you don't actually interact with it except to navigate from one page to the next. Obviously, they have introduced sections, such as the puzzles, where that it not so, but for the most part...BTW - just because it could have been created using HTML, I'm certain it is not.
The thing is, HTML has 2 problems. First, it is a pain to use because you have to get things just right. Second, and more importantly, it has changed over time and is often different from browser to browser.
Advanced programming languages used for web development, such as ASP.NET, have built-in functionality for "HTML writers" and they can detect the browser information and format the HTML appropriately for the browser on the other end. In addition, they interface directly with other programming languages such as Java, C#, C++, VB, etc. to put everything together.
In other words, most websites aren't actually "written" it HTML, but are written in other programming languages and it is the responsibility of the underlying code to produce the HTML that is sent to the browser for display.
Historical note - Basic historically was not compiled, it was interpreted. However, it has always been, as Mooseman points out, a "compilable" language and compilers have been created for it.
Much of the .NET stuff isn't actually compiled, but goes through a "pre-compile". The final compilation doesn't actually happen until it is run. That wouldn't have been possible in the past because compilation is a very involved process and would have taken too long. Now days it is quick and the language technology has advanced to allowing for compilation of just the subroutine being used.
HTML isn't a programming language at all. As mentioned, it is just a bunch of tags and text that tells the browser how to display information on the screen.
It is possible to create a website, for example, strictly using HTML, but it is going to be a static website. In other words, it will be exactly the same everytime you pull it up and as you traverse the website, all you are doing is going from one point to the next within the website.
For example, the magicthegathering.com website could be created strictly in HTML because you don't actually interact with it except to navigate from one page to the next. Obviously, they have introduced sections, such as the puzzles, where that it not so, but for the most part...BTW - just because it could have been created using HTML, I'm certain it is not.
The thing is, HTML has 2 problems. First, it is a pain to use because you have to get things just right. Second, and more importantly, it has changed over time and is often different from browser to browser.
Advanced programming languages used for web development, such as ASP.NET, have built-in functionality for "HTML writers" and they can detect the browser information and format the HTML appropriately for the browser on the other end. In addition, they interface directly with other programming languages such as Java, C#, C++, VB, etc. to put everything together.
In other words, most websites aren't actually "written" it HTML, but are written in other programming languages and it is the responsibility of the underlying code to produce the HTML that is sent to the browser for display.
Historical note - Basic historically was not compiled, it was interpreted. However, it has always been, as Mooseman points out, a "compilable" language and compilers have been created for it.
Much of the .NET stuff isn't actually compiled, but goes through a "pre-compile". The final compilation doesn't actually happen until it is run. That wouldn't have been possible in the past because compilation is a very involved process and would have taken too long. Now days it is quick and the language technology has advanced to allowing for compilation of just the subroutine being used.