Open Web Platform Milestone Achieved with HTML5 Recommendation

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Next Generation Web Technologies Build on Stable Foundation

 

Read below what W3C Members have to say about HTML5

 

28 October 2014 — The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) published a Recommendation of HTML5, the fifth major revision of the format used to build Web pages and applications, and the cornerstone of the Open Web Platform. For application developers and industry, HTML5 represents a set of features that people will be able to rely on for years to come. HTML5 is now supported on a wide variety of devices, lowering the cost of creating rich applications to reach users everywhere.

 

HTML5

 

"Today we think nothing of watching video and audio natively in the browser, and nothing of running a browser on a phone," said Tim Berners-Lee, W3C Director. "We expect to be able to share photos, shop, read the news, and look up information anywhere, on any device. Though they remain invisible to most users, HTML5 and the Open Web Platform are driving these growing user expectations."

HTML5 brings to the Web video and audio tracks without needing plugins; programmatic access to a resolution-dependent bitmap canvas, which is useful for rendering graphs, game graphics, or other visual images on the fly; native support for scalable vector graphics (SVG) and math (MathML); annotations important for East Asian typography (Ruby); features to enable accessibility of rich applications; and much more.

HTML5 is Widely Deployed

HTML5 has been in use for years. According to a 2014 Vision Mobile Survey, 42% of 10,000 developers surveyed are using the combination of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript for all or part of their mobile applications. Gartner identified HTML5 as one of their top 10 mobile technologies and capabilities for 2015 and 2016, saying HTML5 "will be an essential technology for organizations delivering applications across multiple platforms."

To help achieve the "write once, deploy anywhere" promise of HTML5 and the Open Web platform, during the 22 months since W3C announced the completed definition of HTML5, the W3C community has been adding to the HTML5 test suite, which includes over 100,000 tests and continues to grow. The Test the Web Forward community effort now plays an important and ongoing part in driving Open Web Platform interoperability.

With today's publication of the Recommendation, software implementers benefit from Royalty-Free licensing commitments from over sixty companies under W3C's Patent Policy. Enabling implementers to use Web technology without payment of royalties is critical to making the Web a platform for innovation.

What's Next: Application Foundations for Developers, New Use Cases for the Web

Though HTML5 is widely deployed and popular among developers, we have more to do to achieve one of the promises of the Open Web Platform: lowering the cost of developing powerful, cross-platform applications. In an October blog post, W3C CEO Jeff Jaffe states that "now that HTML5 is done, W3C should do more to strengthen the parts of the Open Web Platform that developers most urgently need for success." To help communicate and drive agreement on those priorities, Jaffe enumerates "Application Foundations" that must be strengthened to achieve the next generation platform:

  • Security and Privacy: identity, crypto, multi-factor authentication, privacy protection
  • Core Web Design and Development: HTML next generation, style, layout, graphics, animations, typography
  • Device Interaction: access to hardware and sensors such as bluetooth, NFC, vibration, etc.
  • Application Lifecycle: background tasks to manage offline, push, geofencing, sync
  • Media and Real-Time Communications: WebRTC, streaming media
  • Performance and Tuning: profiling, enhancements such hints and pre-loading, responsive design
  • Usability and Accessibility: ensuring the Web is accessible to all and supports the world's languages
  • Services: social Web, payments, annotations, Web of data

W3C will discuss this new framework and its impact on W3C's agenda at its annual Membership meeting (TPAC) this week.

Stronger foundations will also make it easier to incorporate new features for the Web, which are proposed every day, inside and outside W3C. W3C is growing to accommodate the use cases of the payments, automotive, digital publishing, telecommunications, and entertainment industries. At the same time, 4500 engineers are socializing new ideas for the Web in more than 180 Community and Business Groups.

Acknowledgments

W3C first wishes to thank Ian Hickson (Google), the principal architect of the HTML5 specification, who has made seminal contributions to the HTML language.

W3C thanks HTML Working Group co-Chairs Paul Cotton (Microsoft), Sam Ruby (IBM), and Maciej Stachowiak (Apple) for their leadership in bringing HTML5 to Recommendation, and the entire HTML Working Group for their contributions.

W3C also thanks:

  • Interaction Domain Lead Philippe Le Hégaret (W3C)
  • HTML Working Group Team Contact Mike Smith (W3C)
  • The current editors of HTML5: Robin Berjon (W3C), Steve Faulkner (The Paciello Group), Travis Leithead (Microsoft), Erika Doyle Navara (Microsoft), Edward O'Connor (Apple), and Silvia Pfeiffer
  • Adobe, Google, and Microsoft for sponsorship funding that enabled W3C to provide additional staffing in support of the HTML Working Group's full range of activities, including editing several specifications and developing tests.
  • Adobe, Facebook, Intel, Microsoft, Mozilla, and Opera for contributions which have enabled W3C to improve its overall test effort. The HTML Working Group has benefited from these improvements.
  • The WHATWG, for all of their contributions to HTML.
  • The Protocols and Formats Working Group.
  • The broader Web community, who discussed and reviewed the specification.

About the World Wide Web Consortium

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. The Open Web Platform is a current major focus. Over 400 organizations are Members of the Consortium. W3C is jointly run by the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (MIT CSAIL) in the USA, the European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics (ERCIM) headquartered in France, Keio University in Japan, and Beihang University in China, and has additional Offices worldwide. For more information see http://www.w3.org/

 

W3C20

 

In 2014 we celebrate both W3C's 20th anniversary and the 25th anniversary of the invention of the Web by Tim Berners-Lee.

Media Contacts

Ian Jacobs, <ij@w3.org>, +1.718.260.9447

Testimonials from W3C Members

ACCESS · Baidu · CWI · IBM · Intel · Innovimax · IWA/HWG · Joanneum Research · KDDI · Microsoft · MITRE · Mitsue Links · Mozilla · NTT · The Paciello Group · Profium · Samsung · Tencent · Tomo-Digi

ACCESS

ACCESS is pleased to see this HTML5 Recommendation. We think HTML5 is the only media to connect all services, places, devices and people. HTML5 will provide a unified platform not only for the cloud, PCs and smart phones, but also for TV, cars, wearable and other consumer devices, without any additional plugins. We embed Web technologies into various consumer devices and have started a lot of new services. With this momentum behind HTML5, we can accelerate the penetration of "Web Connected Devices" and the "Web of Things" into the wider consumer market, in which people can enjoy innovative Web technologies on every device. ACCESS is committed to supporting W3C activities continuously and contributing to industry and society by embedding Web technologies into our daily life.

Kunihiro Ishiguro, Chief Technology Officer, ACCESS CO., LTD.

Baidu

Baidu is delighted that the HTML 5 and Canvas 2D Candidate Recommendations have been released, as they represent a significant milestone for the Open Web Platform. We believe that HTML 5 and Canvas 2D will help Baidu, the world's largest Chinese search engine, to provide even better service to both our users and to the developer community. As a full member of W3C, Baidu is proud of its contributions to this work, and we look forward to continuing to contribute down the road.

Yue Min, AC rep of Baidu

CWI

CWI is proud to have been involved with HTML and its related technologies from the start of W3C, and looks forward to helping it continue to be a strong document format on the Web.

Jos Baeten, general director of Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI)

IBM

We believe that the coming together of the W3C and Web Community to produce the HTML5 Recommendation will provide a more stable reference for enterprises needing a cost-effective way to integrate their systems of engagement and record across hybrid clouds. HTML5 simplifies development by providing greater interoperability between browsers and ensuring that the web remains globally accessible.

Angel Diaz, Vice President of Open Technology and Cloud Performance, IBM

Intel

Intel strongly supports the power of cross-platform development enabled by HTML5 for both application and website development. We know developers are constantly pushing to maximize revenue by publishing apps that work across multiple screen sizes and operating systems, and HTML5 tools allow them do that while reducing development costs and time to market. Intel recognized this need early, and we are investing in standards development at W3C and software such as the Crosswalk project and Intel XDK that help developers take full advantage of HTML5.

Imad Sousou, Vice President and General Manager, Open Source Technology Center, Intel Corporation

Innovimax

Innovimax is delighted to see emerging a new milestone of the foundation for the venerable 25 year old Web, a.k.a HTML5. As the cornerstone of the Web, Digital Publishing and Print, the ubiquitous HTML5 is now, more than ever, a key part of the Open Web Platform.

Mohamed ZERGAOUI, CTO, Innovimax

Innovimax est ravie de voir émerger une nouvelle révision des fondations du vénérable Web, désormais âgé de 25 ans, avec la version 5.0 d'HTML. Cette pierre angulaire du Web, de l'édition numérique et de l'industrie papier, l'ubiquitaire HTML5 est plus que jamais une partie essentielle de l'Open Web Platform.

Mohamed ZERGAOUI, Responsable Stratégie Numérique, Innovimax

IWA/HWG

As global leader association of Web professional we are really excited about the HTML5 as W3C Rec because this will help our members to have the most stable guideline for the development of innovative and responsive web sites and web applications. We was recently involved in HTML5 tour and we found that there is a lot of interest in a stable version of this specification, especially for members that develop web sites for private and public companies. We will support the specification, with also education and outreach for members, and we hope that will be easily implemented by user agent vendors with full accessibility support for people with disabilities.

Roberto Scano, W3C Advisory Committee Representative, International Webmasters Association (IWA/HWG)

Joanneum Research

For Joanneum Research the release of the HTML5 Recommendation is a significant milestone. In particular the native in-browser support of video is a major enhancement. This enables us to develop widely deployable web-based applications in our application fields of automatic metadata extraction, media asset management visual quality assessment and video restoration.

Heinz Mayer, Director - Institute for Information and Communication Technologies, Joanneum Research

KDDI

KDDI congratulates W3C on the publication of the HTML5 Recommendation. This publication of a first major new HTML standard in 15 years is an important milestone in the progress of information and communication systems for all people, and another important indicator to us all that mobile technology is now well established as an important part of W3C's One Web vision. It is pleasure for us as a mobile communications service operator that we were able to participate in the innovation that led to the publication of the HTML5 Recommendation. And based on this success, we can now push forward together toward the further evolution of HTML. And we expect that W3C will continue to be the organization that plays the most important role in accelerating that evolution.

Masashi Usami, Executive Director, KDDI CORPORATION

Microsoft

It’s a historic moment -- a world of connected devices will connect to the cloud through the W3C HTML5 open standard. At Microsoft Open Technologies, we’re proud of the collaboration and leadership that came together within the W3C to build an Open Web Platform, encouraging interoperability and opening doors for the next generation of the Web, graphics and games.

Jean Paoli, president of Microsoft Open Technologies, Inc.

MITRE

The MITRE team is excited about the long-awaited HTML5 standard. Its completion marks a significant advance for the Web, and the timing with W3C's 20th year is perfect. MITRE enthusiastically supports open, vendor-neutral standards and views HTML5 as one of W3C's best efforts. The standard’s richness and flexibility will accelerate generation of applications on an Open Web and will span numerous global user and provider communities.

Bede B. McCall, Principal Engineer, The MITRE Corporation

Mitsue Links

Mitsue-Links is very pleased that W3C published a Recommendation of HTML5. At Mitsue-Links, many web pages and applications has been already developed using HTML5 for years, but this new standard will provide more solid foundation for more interoperable web. We also believe that accessibility related features of HTML5 will help us create web pages and applications which are truly usable by anyone, by any device.

Kazuhito Kidachi, CTO, Mitsue-Links Co.,Ltd.

株式会社ミツエーリンクスは,W3CがHTML5を勧告されたことを大変喜ばしく思 います.ミツエーリンクスでは,多くのウェブページやウェブアプリケーショ ンで既にHTML5を用いて制作してきましたが,この新たな標準はより相互運用 可能なウェブに向け,さらに強固な土台を提供してくれることでしょう.私た ちはまた,HTML5のもつアクセシビリティ関連機能が,誰でもどんなデバイス でも利用できるウェブページやウェブアプリケーションを生み出す手助けとな ることを信じています.

木達一仁,取締役CTO,株式会社ミツエーリンクス

Mozilla

It’s good to see HTML5 reach the Recommendation stage. We were one of the first organizations involved in HTML5 because we believe in continuing to evolve the open Web platform to support innovation and help users. We contributed many widely adopted technologies such as WebGL and helped pioneer technologies like WebRTC. We have also expanded the functionality of the Web on mobile through the use of WebAPIs, bringing Web app developers the power to access phone hardware. Many of these APIs are currently going through the standardization process. We’re now working with the W3C to help lead the work behind the HTML5 test suite, ensuring that tests can be run in an automated way, so that users and developers can benefit from more consistent behavior between browsers.

Andreas Gal, Chief Technology Officer, Mozilla

NTT

NTT is delighted that HTML5 has finally came up to the stage of recommendation and we would like to express our great respect to the many people who were involved. Not only is this recommendation one of the historic milestones for the information and communications technology, but also we expect this is the next starting point of further progress of the web platform for the whole world. We are willing to join to enhance possibilities of the power of the web through our services from now on too.

Dr. Katsuhiko Kawazoe, VP, GM, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation

The Paciello Group

HTML5 is a great leap forward for an accessible web. In HTML5, accessibility is a core design principle. For the first time the semantics of HTML have been mapped, and implementation requirements defined in terms of the way HTML semantics are conveyed to people using assistive technologies. The addition of new interactive controls, native video and captioning, and new structural elements in HTML5, make it easier than ever for developers to create HTML interfaces that are usable by everyone. The inclusion of WAI-ARIA in HTML also provides developers with the tools and information to create accessible custom content and controls that extend the core features of HTML. The Paciello Group (TPG) is both proud and honoured to have contributed to the development of HTML5, but recognises that it is not an end in itself. HTML5 represents a very positive step in the evolution of the language of the web, and TPG welcomes the opportunity to continue contributing to its positive development.

Mike Paciello, Founder The Paciello Group (TPG)

Profium

HTML5 represents to us a stable cross-platform technology for interactive applications which we support in our applications. Profium would like to thank those in and outside of W3C who have contributed to the development effort.

Janne Saarela, CEO, Profium

Samsung

Samsung Electronics is thrilled that HTML5 has reached Recommendation status. Nowadays, various electronics products including PC, Smartphone and SmartTV feature HTML5, which is a key element for the Open Web Platform. With the completion of HTML5, OWP can start a new revolution in platforms and we hope all devices can connect and communicate via HTML5 in the near future. Samsung Electronics supports the W3C's HTML5 Recommendation in our products, and we hope this will become a leap forward for both the Web technology and Samsung.

Sungho Choi, Vice President, Samsung Electronics

Tencent

This Recommendation is a powerful boost to development of Tencent's next-generation products with a wider adoption of this technology. We have been staying at the innovation edge of HTML5 since its draft stage, and integrate it in a wide range of our products, in particular QQ, Qzone, and WeChat, each is the largest of its kind (IM platform, SNS platform, mobile SNS platform) in China and benefit from it for optimized performance and competitive advantage. We will continue our dedication to this and other W3C technologies, with which we expect to offer greater use experience and products.

Stone Huang, Technical Director of Qzone, Tencent

Tomo-Digi

The finalization of HTML5.0 will further accelerate the adoption and implementation of Web standards in the broadcasting industry. Tomo-Digi would like to thank W3C HTML Working Group members, public contributors, and the W3C team for the effort necessary on this Recommendation.

Shoko Okuma, W3C Advisory Committee Representative, Tomo-Digi Corporation

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