html-pressrelease 6.64 KB
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
      "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en-US" lang="en-US">
<head>
  <title>W3C Relaunches HTML Activity</title>
  <link href="/StyleSheets/press.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
  <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />
</head>

<body>
<p><a href="/"><img alt="W3C" src="/Icons/w3c_home" width="72" height="48"
/></a></p>

<h1>W3C Relaunches HTML Activity</h1>

<h2>Developers and Browser Vendors Shape HTML Future</h2>
<dl>
  <dt><strong>Contact Americas, Australia</strong> --</dt>
    <dd>Janet Daly, &lt;<a href="mailto:janet@w3.org">janet@w3.org</a>&gt;,
      +1.617.253.5884 <em>or</em> +1.617.253.2613</dd>
  <dt><strong>Contact Europe, Africa and the Middle East</strong> --</dt>
    <dd>Marie-Claire Forgue, &lt;<a
      href="mailto:mcf@w3.org">mcf@w3.org</a>&gt;, +33.492.38.75.94</dd>
  <dt><strong>Contact Asia</strong> --</dt>
    <dd>Yasuyuki Hirakawa &lt;<a
      href="mailto:chibao@w3.org">chibao@w3.org</a>&gt;, +81.466.49.1170</dd>
</dl>

<div class="translations">
<p xml:lang="en" lang="en">(also available in <a
href="html-pressrelease.html.fr">French</a> and <a
href="html-pressrelease.html.ja">Japanese</a>; see also <a
href="/Press/Overview.html#x2007-html">translations in other
languages</a>)</p>
</div>
<hr />

<div class="menu">
Press Release | <a href="/Press/">W3C Press Release Archive</a></div>
<hr />

<p><a href="/">http://www.w3.org/</a> -- 7 March 2007 -- Recognizing the
importance of an open forum for the development of the predominant Web
content technology, W3C today invites browser vendors, application
developers, and content designers to help design the next version of HTML by
participating in the new <a href="/html/wg/">W3C HTML Working Group</a>.
Based on significant input from the design and developer communities within
and outside the W3C Membership, W3C has <a
href="HTML-WG-charter.html">chartered</a> the group to conduct its work in
public and to solicit broad participation from W3C Members and non-Members
alike.</p>

<p>"HTML started simply, with structured markup, no licensing requirements,
and the ability to link to anything. More than anything, this simplicity and
openness has led to its tremendous and continued success," explained Tim
Berners-Lee, W3C director and inventor of HTML. "It's time to revisit the
standard and see what we can do to meet the current community needs, and to
do so effectively with commitments from browser manufacturers in a visible
and open way."</p>

<h3>The Evolution of HTML</h3>

<p>After the publication of HTML 4, and following a <a
href="/MarkUp/future/htmlcall.html">1998 Workshop</a>, W3C set forth to turn
HTML into an XML-based format, called XHTML, due to the <a
href="/TR/webarch/#xml-formats">benefits of XML formats</a>. The <a
href="/TR/2000/REC-xhtml1-20000126/">first full XHTML Recommendation</a> was
issued in early 2000. But due to the significant legacy of Web content that
is some variant of HTML, traditional browser vendors moved slowly to adopt
XHTML. This, in turn, has meant little motivation for content developers to
adopt XHTML for the traditional desktop environment. Leaders in the Web
developer and design communities therefore urged W3C to renew its commitment
to HTML by adding new features (starting with the <a href="/TR/html4/">HTML 4
standard</a>) in a manner that is consistent with community practice and
backward compatible. W3C will help ensure interoperability by making robust
test suites and <a href="http://validator.w3.org/">validation services</a>
available to the community for future technologies.</p>

<p>W3C is pleased to relaunch work on HTML with strong support from its
Members and more staff resources (including people and hardware). W3C has
tailored the <a href="/2007/03/HTML-WG-charter.html">HTML Working Group
Charter</a> to enable active participation from browser vendors, applications
designers, and content developers, whose joint participation is key to the
success of the future HTML.</p>

<h3>The Value of XHTML</h3>

<p>XHTML has proved valuable in other markets, including the market for
mobile devices, in enterprise applications, on the server-side, and in an
increasing number of Web applications such as blogging software. For example,
the Mobile Web Best Practices Working Group has included XHTML Basic as a
cornerstone of the <a href="/TR/mobile-bp/">Mobile Web Best Practices</a>
because software running in less memory can support it. The markets for XML
content are significant and growing, so W3C will define an XML syntax for the
new HTML in addition to the classic HTML syntax.</p>

<p>One of the design aims for <a href="/TR/xhtml2/">XHTML 2.0</a> has been to
keep it as generic as possible, reusing applicable XML standards, including
XForms, XML Base, and XML Events, instead of HTML features that served
similar purposes. Those design choices have led to XHTML 2.0 having an
identity distinct from HTML. With the chartering of the <a
href="/MarkUp/">XHTML 2 Working Group</a>, W3C will continue its technical
work on the language at the same time it considers rebranding the technology
to clarify its independence and value in the marketplace. </p>

<p>In addition to the new HTML and XHTML 2 Working Groups, W3C is also
pleased to recharter the Hypertext Coordination Group and charter the <a
href="/MarkUp/Forms/">Forms Working Group</a>. The Forms Working Group will
continue work on the <a href="/TR/xforms/">XForms</a> architecture, which has
seen significant <a href="/MarkUp/Forms/#implementations">adoption</a> in a
variety of platforms.</p>

<h2>About the World Wide Web Consortium [W3C]</h2>

<p>The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is an international consortium where
Member organizations, a full-time staff, and the public work together to
develop Web standards. W3C primarily pursues its mission through the creation
of Web standards and guidelines designed to ensure long-term growth for the
Web. Over 400 organizations are <a href="/Consortium/Member/List">Members</a>
of the Consortium. W3C is jointly run by the <a
href="http://www.csail.mit.edu/">MIT Computer Science and Artificial
Intelligence Laboratory</a> (MIT CSAIL) in the USA, the <a
href="http://www.ercim.org/">European Research Consortium for Informatics and
Mathematics</a> (ERCIM) headquartered in France and <a
href="http://www.keio.ac.jp/">Keio University</a> in Japan,and has additional
<a href="/Consortium/Offices/">Offices worldwide</a>. For more information
see <a href="/">http://www.w3.org/</a></p>
<hr />

<div class="menu">
Press Release | <a href="/Press/">W3C Press Release Archive</a></div>
</body>
</html>