W3C Publishes HTML 5 Draft, Future of Web Content

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Tue Jan 22, 2008 11:00am EST 

Web Community Forges Next HTML Standard in Public W3C Forum
http://www.w3.org/--(Business Wire)--W3C today published an early draft of HTML 5, a major revision of
the markup language for the Web. The HTML Working Group is creating
HTML 5 to be the open, royalty-free specification for rich Web content
and Web applications. The group operates entirely in public with
nearly five hundred participants, including representatives from W3C
Members ACCESS, AOL, Apple, Google, IBM, Microsoft, Mozilla, Nokia,
and Opera.

   "HTML is of course a very important standard," said Tim
Berners-Lee, author of the first version of HTML and W3C Director. "I
am glad to see that the community of developers, including browser
vendors, is working together to create the best possible path for the
Web. To integrate the input of so many people is hard work, as is the
challenge of balancing stability with innovation, pragmatism with
idealism."

   Why the Community Wants HTML 5

   Engineers, designers, marketing departments, and users have
learned much about the Web as a medium since HTML 4 was first
published in December 1997. Web sites reflect this progress: no longer
static page collections, they are now media-rich communities that
leverage participation and evolve dynamically to better meet customer
needs. Ajax and related innovations have propelled demands for a new
standard that allows people to create Web applications that
interoperate across desktop and mobile platforms.

   W3C launched the HTML Working Group in March 2007 as a forum for
building consensus around the new standard. The group has already
published a set of HTML design principles, which include: ensuring
support for existing content, codifying widespread practice,
separating concerns (markup from presentation), and enabling universal
access. These principles help guide the group's decision-making.

   What's New in HTML 5

   Some of the most interesting new features for authors are APIs for
drawing two-dimensional graphics, embedding and controlling audio and
video content, maintaining persistent client-side data storage, and
for enabling users to edit documents and parts of documents
interactively. Other features make it easier to represent familiar
page elements, including 
 
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