The Myth of HTML5 and How It's Misunderstood

HTML5 MISCONCEPTION

Nowadays any new browser capability or web application technique found across the web is labeled as HTML5 and that is not true. Michael Mahemoff said that HTML5 has become a brand that represents a new type of web application rather than the specification itself.

In order to learn HTML5 is very important to understand what really HTML5 is. It is common nowadays hear CSS transitions, web sockets, geolocation, SVG, CSS @font-face all mentioned under the HTML5 banner and label all under HTML5 "brand".  In the specification none of those mentioned are found for the simple reason that they either belong to the CSS3 specification or other API specification within the WWW Consortium.

Websites are and will be built with a combination of HTML5, next-generation APIs, JavaScript and CSS3, which means that as a designer or developer the difference between those technologies must be clear and how they fit together should be understood.

What is really HTML5?

HTML5 is a continuation of previous HTML specification in the DOM Level 2, designed to address how modern web applications are created.

Why do we need HTML5?

HTML5 is not attempting to reinvent the wheel, however as the specification is huge (almost twice as much the one for HTML4), it's focused on creating a consisting browsing experience what turns it into more of an actual application platform.

One of the main reasons that HTML5 was favored over XHTML 2 was the fact that it remains backwards compatible with previous versions of HTML. This meanst the user agent is written to support HTML5 also supports documents written in earlier versions of HTML. Think for a minute - there are millions of HTML documents online that would not work if backwards compatibility was not addressed.

Theoretically HTML5 was designed to allow designers and developers to write HTML without worrying about the differences between user agents or even devices. However the truth is, whether HTML5 works or not is largely up to how the specification will be adopted by the user agent that choose to support it.

New semantic tags such as section and <article> tags give pages additional structure and meaning that are especially helpful for blogs and other applications.

At first glance, items like APIs, local storage, and support for video and audio seem overwhelming when introduced into an HTML specification. However this simply reflects the needs of modern web design because over the past decade web sites have become increasingly dependent on JavaScript and third-party plug-ins for much of the web’s functionality.

In Summary what HTML5 specification does is attempt to address the deficiencies of HTML4 and mature the language into a more capable mobile and web authoring tool.

Benefits of HTML5

  • Retain backwards compatibility with previous versions of HTML.
  • HTML5 contains many features to facilitate the development of applications, because it focuses heavily on application development. It includes form controls, application-specific attributes, and adds support for multiple APIs.  These capabilities make it easier for designers and developers to build web and mobile applications, serve video and audio, and create interactive content.
  • Unlike previous versions of HTML, in HTML5 the specification contains explicit rules on how content should be parsed and how errors should be handled. This degree of detail is designed to enhance interoperability across systems.

In order to take advantage of HTML5’s new features while in implementations stage we must provide backwards-compatible alternatives.
Location: Finland

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

WHY AREN’T MOBILE WEB DEVELOPERS DOING THEIR JOB?

I came across a very interesting website quirksmode.org in the Mobile section that explain beatifully in many parts what I believe that is the problem with mobile web design nowadays. I will be copying what I think is the most important points here. Some I might discuss but you will understand the probem when you read it. MOBILE WEB DEVELOPERS DOING THEIR JOB? The unique selling point of the web is that it runs on all devices; and not just on one platform. But it seems mobile web developers aren’t much interested in reaching out beyond one or two specific platforms. Developers should reach out to as many paltforms as humanly possible instead of confining themselves to the best ones. WHY ARE WEB DEVELOPERS INTERESTED IN MOBILE SO RELUCTANT TO VENTURE OUT BEYOUND THEIR iPHONE CONFORT ZONE? Mobile web projects for large companies are based on requirements written last year, during the height of the iPhone obsession. In addition, the iPhone’s share of mobile web traffic remains
Read more

Why UX is neglected and its consequences for your business!

This article was the result a response to an article I have published in a LinkedIn group I belong Linked In Front End Developers group User Experience is the heart for any product or service because without a customer to purchase the product or service nobody will manufacture or build a product or service in the first place. This is a fact but it does not mean that clean code and security is less important.  E-commerce example from a security perspective Let's imagine that a customer have an e-commerce site that is the most easy to use and to make customers purchase a breeze, and it has the best conversion rate possible, but it has a terrible security and the site constantly breaks?  How long do you think the e-commerce owner is going to keep in business that way if his customers do not trust to use his wonderful easy to use e-commerce? Not for long however in this case the reason is clear - everybody knows that the problem is in the security and that the code prob
Read more

GREAT FREE WEBSITE EMULATORS FOR TESTING HOW YOUR SITE LOOKS IN THE MOBILE

Image
GREAT FREE WEBSITE EMULATORS FOR TESTING HOW YOUR SITE LOOKS IN THE MOBILE The single most important thing you can do to make a website mobile-friendly is to test it on multiple smartphone and tablet platforms. Mobile Emulators lets you check how responsive and if all the functionalities it should have works well across different mobile platforms such as iPhone, iPad, Android and Blacberry without have to make the investment in all those devices. Mobile emulators are not perfect but they can help you to check the issues your website might have allowing you to take the corrective measures. Here are some great websites with emulators: 1. iPad Peek   ( http://ipadpeek.com/ ) - let you check if your website is compatible with iPad. 2. iPhone Tester ( http://iphonetester.com/ ) - A popular choice of web emulator for iPhone. Just enter the URL of your website and in real-time you can see how your site looks like on iPhone. 3. Mobile Phone Emulator ( http://www.mobilephoneemul
Read more