XML in Context: W3C

Dan Connolly
W3C

XML Europe '99
April 1999
Granada, Spain

Overview

• About W3C
• How We Work
• What We Do
• Where XML Fits

About W3C

• Founded Fall '94
• 300+ Members
• Director, staff
• One International Consortium, 3 Hosts:
  • MIT in USA
  • INRIA in France
  • Keio in Japan

W3C Process: How We Work

• Advisory Committee: 1 rep. per Member
• Notes, Software
  from Members: Submissions
• Workshops, Symposia
• Activity Proposal
• Working Groups and Specification Development:
  Working Draft, Proposed Recommendation, Recommendation
  

See also: W3C Process

W3C Results in Review

• HTML 3.2, HTML 4.0
• XML 1.0, Namespaces
• CSS1, CSS2

W3C Results in Review

• Portable Network Graphics (PNG)
• Platform for Internet Content Selection (PICS)
• Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL)
• contributed to IETF specs: HTTP 1.1, URIs

W3C Open Source Software

• libwww - C implmentation in continuous development since 1994
• Amaya - browser/editor with stylesheets
• Jigsaw - Java HTTP server collaborative authoring support

A Perspective on W3C

• Rough Consensus and Running Code
• Evolution by downhill steps
  change must be locally and globally cost-effective
• Decentralization: designing ourselves out of business
• Challenge: getting the brightest developers to participate

W3C Activities: What We Do

• User Interface Domain
  HTML, Stylesheets, SMIL, Internationalization, ...
• Technology and Society
  Metadata for Security, E-Commerce, ...
• Architecture
  HTTP, XML, Web Characterization, ...
• Web Accessability Initiative (WAI) Guidelines, Outreach, Technical review, ...

XML Activity in Review

• Fall 1996: 1st Draft at SGML '96 in Boston
• Nov 1997: Proposed Recommendation at SGML '97 in Washington D.C.
• Feb 1998: XML 1.0 Recommendation
• Mar 1998: revised XLink working drafts
• June 1998: XML Activity Rechartered
• Jan 1999: Namespaces Recommendation

XML Applications

• HTML Math (MathML)
• HTML as XML: XHTML
• Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL)
• Resource Description Framework (RDF)
• Platform for Privacy Preferences (P3P)
• Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG)

XML Exploration

• Dec '98: W3C Query Language Workshop
• Apr '99: W3C Signed XML Workshop