Get Ready for HTML 5

Ready or not, here it comes. Despite the confusion surrounding its evolution, real-world HTML 5 is right around the corner. Longtime ALA contributor J. David Eisenberg returns to get us all up to speed on the markup we’re about to be writing.

Eisenberg, J. David. List Apart, A (2009). Articles>Web Design>Standards>HTML5

Detecting HTML5 Features

You may well ask: “How can I start using HTML5 if older browsers don’t support it?” But the question itself is misleading. HTML5 is not one big thing; it is a collection of individual features. So you can’t detect “HTML5 support,” because that doesn’t make any sense. But you can detect support for individual features, like canvas, video, or geolocation.

Dive Into HTML5 (2009). Articles>Web Design>Standards>HTML5

Let’s Call It a Draw(ing Surface)

HTML 5 defines the CANVAS element as “a resolution-dependent bitmap canvas which can be used for rendering graphs, game graphics, or other visual images on the fly.” A canvas is a rectangle in your page where you can use JavaScript to draw anything you want.

Dive Into HTML5 (2009). Articles>Web Design>Graphic Design>HTML5

HTML 5 Differences from HTML 4

HTML 5 defines the fifth major revision of the core language of the World Wide Web, HTML. "HTML 5 differences from HTML 4" describes the differences between HTML 4 and HTML 5 and provides some of the rationale for the changes.

W3C (2009). Articles>Web Design>Standards>HTML5

Adventures in Web 3.0: Part 1 - HTML 5

With HTML5 markup in place I started wondering about how CSS would affect things. The first thing I discovered was that Firefox doesn't have much in the way of default styling for the new elements - so setting background colours doesn't have much effect until I added some default styles.

Crowther, Rob. Boog Design (2009). Articles>Web Design>HTML>HTML5

Adventures in Web 3.0: Part 2 - CSS 3

Unlike its predecessors, CSS3 is not a single, monolithic spec, but a collection of modules all of which are at different levels of completeness. For instance the selectors module became a candidate recommendation in November 2001 and is already widely supported. In this post I'm going to be experimenting with the Backgrounds and Borders module and the Transitions module, mostly because the recent Firefox 3.5 release includes improved (but still experimental) support for some of the more interesting bits of it.

Crowther, Rob. Boog Design (2009). Articles>Web Design>HTML>CSS

Adventures in Web 3.0: Part 3 - More CSS 3

There are some new CSS3 features supported in the latest Chrome release and Firefox alpha which make this worth a second post. This time I'm going to focus on background sizing, CSS gradients and RGBA colours.

Crowther, Rob. Boog Design (2009). Articles>Web Design>HTML>CSS

Decoding the HTML 5 Video Codec Debate

The HTML 5 video element has the potential to liberate streaming Internet video from plugin prison, but a debate over which codec to define in the standard is threatening to derail the effort. Ars takes a close look at the HTML 5 codec controversy and examines the relative strengths and weaknesses of H.264 and Ogg Theora.

Paul, Ryan. Ars Technica (2009). Articles>Web Design>Video>HTML5

HTML 5 and Web Video: Freeing Rich Media from Plugin Prison

DailyMotion and Google are both experimenting with the HTML 5 video element and have strongly endorsed standards-based solutions for deploying video on the Web. Ars takes a close look at the state of open video and explores both the benefits and challenges of liberating rich media from the proprietary plugin prison.

Paul, Ryan. Ars Technica (2009). Articles>Web Design>Video>HTML5

HTML 5 Links Smartphones, Mobiles, Home Electronics

Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) 5 is attracting increasing attention as the standard technology for the next-generation web. Naturally, it will have massive impact on personal computers (PC), smartphones and mobile phones, and the effects will spread out to include other home electronics as well.

Hokugo, Tatsuro. Tech-On (2009). Articles>Web Design>Wireless Web>HTML5

HTML 5 and Accessibility

Probably the most worrying thing about the HTML Working Group is the lack of respect for differing opinions that some working group members have. The apparent disinterest in accessibility is another troublesome factor.

456 Berea Street (2009). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>HTML

HTML 5, Microformats and Testing Accessibility

Testing is vital, particularly at the border of accessibility theory and practice. I wonder, for example, if tabindex and accesskey would have made it to the HTML4 spec if there had been full testing with assistive technology users? What I really want to know from the HTML5 people is who they think is going to do this research that will provide the evidence that their gang requires before useful attributes are restored to the specification.

Lawson, Bruce. BruceLawson.co.uk (2009). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>HTML5

The HTML Scope/Headers Debate

The HTML working group have decided not to include the headers attribute in the HTML 5.0 working draft, as they believe the scope attribute is sufficient for associating header cells with data cells. With simple and most complex tables, this is a reasonable assertion, but doesn't work with overlaid and irregular tables, where the associated headers aren't in the same column or row.

Lemon, Gez. Juicy Studio (2009). Articles>Web Design>Standards>HTML5

HTML 5 and the Summary Attribute

As I wrote in Help screen reader users by giving data tables a summary, the summary attribute on the table element can be used to provide information that helps non-sighted users understand data tables. The current draft of HTML 5 requires that validators display a warning if they encounter a summary attribute, since it is now an 'obsolete but conforming feature.'

Johansson, Roger. 456 Berea Street (2009). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>HTML5

HTML Evolution

HTML is being developed outside of the W3C by a number of browser implementers, excluding Microsoft. The prevalent feeling amongst those that do so is that if the W3C doesn't adopt their spec, the W3C will look dull.

Intertwingly.net (2009). Articles>Web Design>History>HTML5

What Does It All Mean?

This chapter will take an HTML page that has absolutely nothing wrong with it, and improve it. Parts of it will become shorter. Parts will become longer. All of it will become more semantic. It’ll be awesome.

Pilgrim, Mark. Dive Into HTML5 (2009). Articles>Web Design>Standards>HTML5

HTML 5 Progresses Despite Challenges

Development of HTML 5, the highly touted upgrade to the language of the Web, is progressing but still faces obstacles, including lack of a standard video codec, said an official of the World Wide Web Consortium at a gathering on Tuesday.

Krill, Paul. InfoWorld (2009). Articles>Web Design>Standards>HTML5

HTML 5: Could It Kill Flash and Silverlight?

HTML 5, a groundbreaking upgrade to the prominent Web presentation specification, could become a game-changer in Web application development, one that might even make obsolete such plug-in-based rich Internet application (RIA) technologies as Adobe Flash, Microsoft Silverlight, and Sun JavaFX.

Krill, Paul. InfoWorld (2009). Articles>Web Design>Flash>HTML5