#25469
As a fundamental part of the Web, hypertext linking has been the subject of repeated attempts at standardization beyond the basic format allowed in simple HTML. Such attempts can be characterized as efforts to balance machine processing ability with authoring convenience. The latest specification in this area, XHTML 2.0, just might have gotten it right.
Dubinko, Micah. IBM (2005). Articles>Web Design>Standards>XHTML
#22481
Making Guidelines Part of the Team
Guidelines. We seem to have a love-hate relationship with them. At the same time we construct them, we worry they’ll come back to haunt us. How did guidelines get such a bad reputation?
Rabourn, Tanya. Boxes and Arrows (2004). Design>Web Design>Style Guides>Standards
#27673
Migrating from HTML to XHTML and XML - Part I
This is the first part of a two-part article describing a detailed methodology for migrating HTML files to the structure and flexibility of XHTML and/or XML. By using XHTML to add structure and separate content from presentation, you'll be better positioned for a move to XML. Even if you never move to XML, your XHTML files will be easier to create and maintain, and will be more accessible.
James-Tanny, Char. WritersUA (2006). Design>Web Design>Standards>XHTML
#27639
Migrating from HTML to XHTML and XML - Part II
This is the second part of a two-part article describing a detailed methodology for migrating HTML files to the structure and flexibility of XHTML and/or XML.
James-Tanny, Char. WritersUA (2006). Articles>Web Design>Standards>XHTML
#25642
Discusses the need for custom DTDs: why making a custom DTD for the sole purpose of validation is a mistake, and in which cases it does make sense to create and use one. For these cases, this article will also present techniques for creating clean custom DTDs and avoiding hacks.
W3C Quality Assurance Team. List Apart, A (2005). Design>Web Design>Standards>XML
#20229
Håkon Lie, the father of Style Sheets and CTO of Opera, debunks Microsoft’s claim that web standards have anything to do with the blocking of Opera and Mozilla users from MSN.com. Lie’s eye–opening commentary includes a chart analyzing all 63 top–level pages at MSN.com in terms of standards compliance.
Lie, Hakon. List Apart, A (2001). Design>Web Design>Standards
#20239
Microsoft’s proprietary Smart Tags: Boon or bane? Kaminski digs deep beneath the hype and paranoia in an extensive assessment of what Microsoft hath wrought.
Kaminski, Chris. List Apart, A (2001). Design>Web Design>Standards
#29985
There is a seldom-used tag called 'acronym'. It was originally mark up, well, acronyms. There is a very similar tag, also seldom-used, called 'abbr', which is intended to mark up abbreviations. Both of these tags were introduced in HTML 4.0. On the face of it, apart from marking up the text, these inline tags do little else.
HyperWrite (2002). Articles>Web Design>Standards>HTML
#24462
The Need for Web Design Standards
Unfortunately, much of the Web is like an anthill built by ants on LSD: many sites don't fit into the big picture, and are too difficult to use because they deviate from expected norms. Users expect 77% of the simpler Web design elements to behave in a certain way. Unfortunately, confusion reigns for many higher-level design issues.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2004). Design>Web Design>User Interface>Standards
#29965
HTML 5 introduces new elements to HTML for the first time since the last millennium. New structural elements include aside, figure, and section. New inline elements include time, meter, and progress. New embedding elements include video and audio. New interactive elements include details, datagrid, and command.
Harold, Elliotte Rusty. IBM (2007). Design>Web Design>Standards>HTML5
#30676
HTML 5 introduces new elements to HTML for the first time since the last millennium. New structural elements include aside, figure, and section. New inline elements include time, meter, and progress. New embedding elements include video and audio. New interactive elements include details, datagrid, and command.
Harold, Elliotte Rusty. IBM (2007). Articles>Web Design>Standards>HTML5
#14194
No Standard for Migrating to Web Standards
Lately, it seems like everyone is talking about migrating to web standards, like XHTML and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). What's the big deal about these standards? Why should web teams invest the effort to learn new coding techniques and convert all their legacy sites over to standards-compliant sites? Time and Money, that's why.
Porter, Joshua. User Interface Engineering (2002). Design>Web Design>Standards>XHTML
#27295
The pace of new browser releases may be slower than it was in the early days, but developers must still confront a bemusing array of browser versions and brands that support some JavaScript features but not others. To combat the problem, scripters commonly provide two or more code branches so that a browser follows an execution path containing statements that it supports. Browser sniffing — the task of inspecting navigator object properties for version information — has become largely unmanageable given the browser version permutations available today. This article presents details on an alternative solution — object detection — that frees JavaScript developers from most of this versioning mess.
Apple Inc. (2006). Design>Web Design>Standards>DHTML
#25511
How does Omniweb fare when it comes to web standards? Earlier versions, while highly praised for an elegant user interface and strong support of international character sets, fell drastically short in CSS and W3C DOM support.
Waferbaby. List Apart, A (2002). Articles>Web Design>Standards>Web Browsers
#30629
Opera's Lie Blasts Microsoft on IE and Web Standards Support
Take a look at how Opera's Hakon Lie publicly blasted Microsoft for it's lack of support of Web Standards! Lie states. While this isn't new, I think it's important for accessibility developers to continue supporting the Mac accessibility community.
Paciello, Mike. Paciello Group, The (2007). Articles>Web Design>Standards>Blogs
#30662
Optimized and Predictable Ajax Applications
Wouldn't it be nice for developers if all browsers, computer models, and Ajax application users were the same? Maybe, but the reality is that they are not. Developers face a myriad of challenges when developing applications that behave predictably across browsers, computers, and individual user settings. When users transfer Ajax applications from one browser type to another (and especially when they transfer an Ajax application into a Web service portal), they're not guaranteed the same browser experience because of each browser's inherent limitations. In this article, author Judith Myerson gives a brief discussion of these limitations and what pitfalls to avoid, including some helpful solutions for optimizing browser differences.
Myerson, Judith. IBM (2007). Articles>Web Design>Standards>Ajax
#27638
Westciv's John Allsopp sees a potentially bleak future for the dream that was web standards. Microsoft have overwhelming dominence of the browser playing field, despite brave efforts by Opera and Mozilla. They also have no intention to upgrade IE 6 until the release of Longhorn in 2006. So what is the point in innovating with new and exciting features in CSS and xhtml when no browser will support them? The only source of hope is that the gap left by Microsoft's development road map leaves room for a brave or foolish player to step in.
Allsopp, John. Western Civilization (2004). Articles>Web Design>Standards
#30449
HTML 4 has been around for nearly a decade now, and publishers seeking new techniques to provide enhanced functionality are being held back by the constraints of the language and browsers.
Hunt, Lachlan. List Apart, A (2007). Articles>Web Design>Standards>HTML5
#29327
Put XHTML 1.0 Strict and Transitional to Work 
As its name suggests, XHTML--which is considered the successor to HTML 4--is a combination of HTML and XML. By combining the power of XML and HTML, XHTML makes Web content more accessible to devices such as phones, handhelds, and televisions. XHTML 1.0 is broken up into what the W3C refers to as three flavors: Strict, Transitional, and Frameset. In this article, I focus on the two most useful, Strict and Transitional.
Morton, Shawn. TechRepublic (2003). Articles>Web Design>Standards>XHTML
#24847
HTML (the hypertext markup language used for the worldwide web) may be easier than you think! Experienced users guide you through the basics to more advanced topics, describe paper-to-web conversions, and provide hints for effective use of this medium. We’ll focus on real applications and on putting information on the web. Topics such as online providers and setting up a web server will not be covered.
Tatge, Pamela K., Kathlyn Auten and Ann Balaban. STC Proceedings (1996). Design>Web Design>Standards>HTML
#31958
Real-World CSS Zen for Your Site
By now we all know the benefits of “web standards” - creating sites where content and presentation are separated by use of semantic XHTML and CSS. Early adopters of web standards have long extolled the many payoffs.
Sheriar, Mani. Vitamin (2007). Design>Web Design>CSS>Standards
#29984
HTTPR aims to ensure that a Web transmission gets delivered to its destination only once, or gets reported as undeliverable. HTTPR is geared toward business-to-business communications over the Web, such as paying a bill or processing a purchase order, where a request must be delivered once and only once to its intended receiver.
HyperWrite (2004). Articles>Web Design>Standards
#27294
As web sites become more and more like traditional applications, the call-response-reload model used in HTTP transactions becomes increasingly cumbersome. Instead of delivering a single dynamic page, the DHTML or JavaScript developer must create a series of separate pages. The flow of the application is interrupted by page reloads whenever the client communicates with the server. Remote scripting provides a solution to this problem, easing development of complex JavaScript applications, and providing a better experience for the end user.
Apple Inc. (2006). Design>Web Design>Standards>HTML
#27421
Required Elements, and Required Tags
The difference between required elements and required tags has received a fair amount of attention recently, but the difference between the two is rarely (if ever) explained in detail.
Lemon, Gez. Juicy Studio (2006). Design>Web Design>Standards>HTML
#25546
Retooling Slashdot with Web Standards
A look at the markup behind Slashdot.org that demonstrates how simple -- and cost-effective -- the switch to a standards-compliant Slashdot could be.
Frommelt, Daniel M. List Apart, A (2003). Design>Web Design>Standards>CSS
