{"id":284,"date":"2009-10-15T16:01:18","date_gmt":"2009-10-15T15:01:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.setfiremedia.com\/blog\/?p=284"},"modified":"2009-10-15T16:11:00","modified_gmt":"2009-10-15T15:11:00","slug":"whats-the-point-of-html5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.setfiremedia.com\/blog\/whats-the-point-of-html5","title":{"rendered":"What’s the point of HTML5?"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/p>\n
The various reports and discussions around HTML5 in the past year have been a source of much confusion. In order to do my bit to help clear that up, I thought I’d offer a broad overview of what it is, and what it represents for the web.<\/p>\n
Yes. But why? Well, there are a few ways to answer that, which I’ve tried to elaborate for you below.<\/p>\n
One of the biggest differences between HTML5 and previous markup specifications, indeed between HTML5 and any other web standard, is the process that is being used to put it together. Generally web specifications are created by the W3C<\/a> using working groups who draft specifications in a closed process that has left some people dissatisfied.<\/p>\n In a break with this convention, HTML5 has been developed externally to the W3C by a group called the WHATWG. This group developed as a response to dissatisfaction with the W3C’s direction<\/a> with XHTML and “…apparent disregard for the needs of real world authors.”<\/p>\n Although still driven in the main by browser vendors, WHATWG does use a much more open process, developing the spec for HTML5 through a mailing list that anyone can participate in. This has lead to a process that is faster and better supported by the web development community as a whole. So much so that HTML5 has now been formally adopted by the W3C to the detriment of XHTML2<\/a>, their chosen successor for existing markup standards.<\/p>\n The other key aspect of the process is that HTML5 is being implemented incrementally by browser vendors. So although the projected completion date for the specification is 2022, there are aspects of HTML5 available right now<\/a> and more will become available as time goes on.<\/p>\n The explicit focus of HTML5 is on applications. HTML’s origins as a document markup language are in stark contrast to the rapid developments in functionality and complexity present in many modern day web applications. HTML5 represents an attempt to go beyond documents and create a markup specification for structuring applications as opposed to documents.<\/p>\n We can see this in many of the new elements<\/a> being created within HTML5, such as section<\/a>, nav<\/a>, aside<\/a>. These are based on common conventions that are currently implemented by using class and id attributes on HTML elements like in html5, we would structure it something like the following;<\/p>\nApplications<\/h2>\n
div, ol, code <\/code> which all pertain to elements of a written document. So where we might currently have <\/p>\n
<div class=\"article\">\r\n <div class=\"section\">\r\n <h2>This is a section of a larger document<\/h2>\r\n <p>Here is some text in this particular section<\/p>\r\n <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/pre>\n
\r\n<article>\r\n <section>\r\n <h2>This is a section of a larger document<\/h2>\r\n <p>Here is some text in this particular section<\/p>\r\n <\/section>\r\n<\/article>\r\n<\/pre>\n<\/p>\n