Many people will tell you that HTML5 is the future, while others will say that it’s not going to happen. The biggest proponent of and main architect behind HTML5, the World Wide Web Consortium, insist that HTML5 is the future, and its latest advancement only further helps to prove that point.
The W3C recently published the “complete definition of HTML5 and Canvas 2D applications.” These are not W3C standards just yet, but it represents a major step forward for the Web technology. Those who were on the fence can now start developing for HTML5 in earnest as a stable version is now available.
HTML5 may be stable and feature complete, but the W3C is not yet done with the Web standard. The group says that browser fragmentation still remains a problem with some browsers lagging behind others in terms of HTML5 adoption. The group’s new goal is to make sure HTML5 is interoperable across every browser. They hope to have this completed by the middle of 2014 and then it will publish its final HTML5 recommendation.
A number of W3C members spoke out on this tremendous milestone. All express excitement that HTML5 is ready for its biggest debut yet. Here’s some of the more interesting testimonials with promises of a better future for all on the Web.
Danny Winokur, Vice President and General Manager of Adobe Interactive Development, spoke on HTML5’s impact on the company’s recent introduction of its Edge Web tools:
The completion of the HTML5 and Canvas specifications is an important milestone for developers and designers as it provides a common foundation for browsers and other implementations. Web standards are central to Adobe’s Edge Tools & Services for authoring rich interactive web media and animations, helping us deliver a more predictable and reliable user experience for anyone creating content and applications for the modern web. We congratulate the working group for their efforts in advancing both specifications.
Tobie Langel, W3C Advisory Committee Representative for Facebook, spoke on the social network’s tight relationship with the Web technology:
HTML5 plays a fundamental role in making Facebook accessible to the more than one billion people who use our products. Building with the latest web technologies is how we are able to make our experience available across more than 7,000 devices. Today’s announcement is an important milestone for the Open Web Platform. Facebook is proud to contribute to this effort through involvement in initiatives like the Coremob Community Group.
Jean Paoli, President of Microsoft Open Technologies, spoke on Microsoft’s commitment to implementing HTML5 technologies in its products:
Microsoft is proud to have participated in the hard work that has made HTML5 and Canvas 2D Candidate Recommendations, and congratulates W3C on reaching this important milestone. We look forward to working with the Web community to finalize these as W3C Recommendations. Several Microsoft products have implemented these emerging open Web standards to bring interoperability and maximum reach across multiple devices. We’re confident that HTML5 and Canvas 2D are ready for wide adoption, and glad that the industry shares our enthusiasm for HTML5.1 that will soon support better graphics and streaming media in an open way.
It will be interesting to see how other players in the Web ecosystem approach HTML5 now that it’s “feature complete.” I know a few developers who have stuck to Flash and other plugin-based Web technologies because HTML5 just wasn’t good enough for them yet. It’s unknown if this will increase HTML5 adoption across the Web.