Thursday, January 3, 2008

XHTML2 vs. HTML5

What the hell is up with this fanboy war?  The web design community
has already started getting used to XHTML, but now the WHATWG group wants the continued update of HTML? 
Isn't that a step backwards?

HTML was wild, unordered, and controlled by the browser
vendors (at least from what I've seen), however, XHTML was started and controlled by the W3C group, making
sure that it gets properly implemented, however, the WHATWG group doesn't like it.  They want to
stay with their old fashioned <b> tags.

I admit, web designers from the 90s
have gotten used to the old style HTML tags, and its still what they're teaching in school, but that is no
reason to stay with it.  Technology changes over time, this is the same for any tech profession,
the data will change, and then you'll have to learn something new.  This isn't just the case for
tech jobs, but jobs that use computers.  Microsoft publishes a new Operating System, your company
updates, and you need to re-learn it.

XHTML1 supports backwards compatibility with HTML
for the old authors who are still getting used to it, and so that browsers can still render old code, XHTML2
doesn't, but all browsers should properly implement both.  But by creating HTML5 and "XHTML5",
WHATWG is requiring browser vendors to include yet another set of standards into browsers in order to
properly display the internet.

Personally, I have yet to find a website that uses HTML5. 
Most websites have already started using XHTML, and so I truly believe that implementing a new version of
HTML is a step backwards.

If the WHATWG group wants to continue their efforts (like their
wonderful work with Web Forms 2.0), I think their best bet would be to join the W3C's work with CSS and XML
Events, and XForms, don't you?  If the two worked together, instead of fighting about such silly
things, then maybe standards could be developed a lot faster, after all, the W3C does seem to be taking a
long time to update and recommend standards.  Lets get things done faster, I want to start using
XHTML2 and CSS3 already :-p

3 comments:

  1. Actually the HTML5 spec doesn't take a position on HTML vs XHTML, the WHATWG HTML5 spec
    extends both at the same time and so leaves the choice of which to use up to the Web author.

    You
    say that XHTML was started and controlled by the W3C group, making sure it gets properly implemented, but in
    fact XHTML1 was only implemented by Apple, Opera and Mozilla, the same companies that initially started the
    WHATWG, and XHTML2 was not implemented by anyone, and some of the browser vendors have even said they'll
    likely never implement it, so it's not clear that the W3C actually are making sure it's getting implemented.

    With
    HTML5, I (as the editor) am talking to the browser vendors on a regular basis to make sure that they will
    implement it, and am making sure that it isn't wild and unordered.

    We're also making
    very sure that HTML5 is just a backwards-compatible extension to HTML, so that browsers don't have to
    implement yet another set of standards, as you put it. In fact, we're defining the legacy HTML in HTML5 in
    extreme detail so that new browser vendors can write new browsers without having to reverse-engineer the
    other browsers (in the past, the specs were very incomplete and it was basically impossible to write a new
    browser without referring to the other ones).

    Web Forms 2.0 is a part of HTML5. We
    actually started HTML5, starting with Web Forms 2, specifically because we didn't think XForms, XML Events,
    and XHTML2 were going to be improving the Web.

    However, we actually are working with
    the W3C now. There's an HTML5 working group in the W3C that is chartered to work with the WHATWG.

    If
    you would like to take part in this work, please do feel free to do so. You need but join the
    [email protected] mailing list, which you can find at: http://whatwg.org/mailing-list#specs

    If
    you have any feedback and don't want to join the list you can also just e-mail me directly at: [email protected]

    We
    do want your feedback!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I completely agree with this. Once I began researching XHTML2 and CSS3 in great detail,
    I wanted them both very badly. I do not understand why the current browser industry is so fickle when it
    comes to implementing standards. Is it REALLY that difficult to implement? Shouldn't having a concrete
    specifications document make it easy to design and test?

    Also, I agree on the HTML5
    issue. Why is that system being updated? Let XHTML shine! We do not want to promote the old way of web
    programming!

    ReplyDelete
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    ReplyDelete