any alternative of <xmp> tag to renders html to as plain text [duplicate]

Question

I want to show HTML code as plain text.
for example

<div style="width:250px;">
<xmp>
<a href="#"> new element  dummy text new element  dummy text new element  dummy text new element  dummy text new element  dummy text</a>
</xmp>
<div>

The problem is while using <xmp> tag its ignore the div width that contain text. How can I fix it out. Any other solution instead of <xmp> tag?

Answer 1

Simply using <xmp> or <pre> tag won't help you display HTML as plain text. The just help to format the text. In order to show HTML to your users you need to escape all special characters.

For example, replace all < signs with < and all > signs with >.

I've shown just two symbols, a quick google search will help you to find all the symbols and their replacements.

And in case you're using PHP, it has built in function to do this. i.e. htmlentities($str). Search for whatever language you are using.

Note that <xmp> Tag has been deprecated.

Answer 2

<div style="width:250px; background:yellow;">
<pre>
<script type="text/plain" style="display:block;">
<a href="#"> new element  dummy 
text new element  dummy text new 
element 
element 
dummy text new element 
dummy text new element 
dummy text</a>
</script>
</pre>
<div>