perspectives on the evolution of html
DESCRIPTION
This was my presentation at HTML5 DevConf this year, focused on the past, present and future of HTML, from someone who's been involved since 1996!TRANSCRIPT
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Perspectives on the Evolution of HTML
Daniel Austin
PayPal, Inc.
HTML5 DevConf
Oct. 23, 2013
V 1.1
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My Love-Hate Relationship With HTML
• Originally an innocent physicist• I became involved in the WWW, and it’s been all downhill
ever since• Member of the HTML WG @ W3C since 1996 (with some
gaps)• Member of 14 other W3C Working Groups since 1998
– XML Core, XSLT, Web Services Architecture, Web Performance, and a lot of others
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HTML’s Evolution
Source: Vlad Alexander
2005 2010 2015 2020
XHTML 2.0 (2006
HTML 5.0 (2014)
HTML 5.1 (2016)
HTML 6? (2020)What WG Draft (2009)
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The Browser Wars (1996)
• JavaScript and CSS and Divs, Oh My!
• Not to mention JSSS and <layer>
• A time of much innovation and change
• But nobody won
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The Role of HTML as a Display Format (1998)
• From W3C’s Future of HTML Workshop 1998
• HTML modeled on PostScript• Argued for better layout• Targeting specific devices• Horribly Embarrassing:
– HTML+CSS+JS slideshow didn’t work!• The paper later proved to be influential
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The Role of HTML as a Display Format (2013)
Source: Andy Gryc, QNX
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The Arrival of XML
• ‘Bringing Rationality’ to the WWW• Naive Thinking: 6 months (!)• Never Intended to ‘kill HTML’
XML Core XSLT XLink XSchema
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XML’s Impact on HTML
Wins• XHTML is probably the
most successful spec ever
• Improved the overall quality and reliability of the WWW
• XML remains central to the Web’s architecture
Losses• Xquery/Xpath/Xlink/
XSD/XSLT not as successful
• Verbosity and parsing not well-suited for mobile devices
• JSON rises as an alternative
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How the Sausage Was Made
• ‘XMLifying’ HTML was a huge task…
• …and led to a lot of heartache
• Compromises had to be made; no one was satisfied
• 1999: HTML 4.01• 2000: XHTML 1.0• 2001: XHTML 1.1
(Modularization)
…and then a long break
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Standards Take Forever
11 Years, 3 Months, 22 days!!!
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The WhatWG and the Why
• After Modularization was completed, HTML had a mid-life crisis
• Everyone wanted more from HTML, faster• XHTML 2.0 Wasn’t Working, so we got HTML5• Eventually, the spirit of reason prevailed, and WhatWG
and W3C continue to live happily ever after
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Current State of the HTML 5 Spec
Specification FPWD LC CR PR Rec
HTML5 N/A 2011 Q2 2012 Q4 2014 Q4 2014 Q4
HTML 5.1 2012 Q4 2014 Q3 2015 Q1 2016 Q4 2016 Q4
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A Federated Model for HTML
Core HTML5
HTML Markup
HTML Media
IndexDB
Web Storage
Web Sockets
Web Workers
Canvas 2D
Source: Sergey Mavrody c. 2013
This is XHTML 1.1
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The Co-Evolution of HTML, JS, CSS, and XML
Source: Sergey Mavrody c. 2013
Document Object Model
Javascript…
JSON…
XML CoreXSLTXSD
Xpath/XQuery
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My Own Reasoning on Modularization
Modularization Worked
HTML5 is Fully Modularized
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The Contraptionary Nature of the Web
“The amazing thing about the Web isn’t how well it works, but that it works at all”
George Bernard Shaw
“This specification is a kitchen sink full of technologies for the Web.”
WhatWG HTML5 Web site
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Tower of Babel: A Problem We Have Yet to Solve
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Mobile Technology is Driving HTML’s Evolution
• HTML5 is designed for mobile– Most new users are mobile
users• Many of HTML5’s coolest
innovations came from mobile considerations
• This may require leaving hypertext and documents behind
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The Line Between Applications and Documents is Blurring
• Convergence at the hardware, software, and standards levels– Chromebook, Firefox OS– Native application performance still considerably better than
browser+HTML– HTML5’s Web Storage, IndexDB and WebWorker specs are
largely aimed at providing application functionality to HTML
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The Rise of the API
• This is a straightforward consequence of the separation of functionality and appearance, no mystery here
• A significant proportion of HTTP traffic is for application traffic• Often JSON and/or HTML5 fragments• Paradoxically often still document-based (REST)
• Together with other trends, allows us to move toward a more application-based development model
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Predictions for the Future of HTML
The Bar to Entry Will Get Higher
XHTML Isn’t Going Away
Applications Will Rule
Hypertext is Past It’s Sell-By
HTML Will Continue to Metastasize
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What About WWW Values?
• Are We Making the Bar Too High?– We want the Web to be for everyone
• Can We Move Beyond Our Origins (and Still Retain the Spirit of the WWW?)
• Can We Continue to Evolve Naturally?– The Co-evolution of many interlocking standards is a daunting
task
Are We Making the World a Better Place?
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“…a single user-interface to many large classes of stored information such as reports, notes, data-bases, computer documentation and on-line systems help”
WorldWideWeb: Proposal for a HyperText Project
Berners-Lee & Caillau, 1990
About:HTML
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See you at HTML6 DevConf!
Daniel Austin
PayPal, Inc.
HTML5 DevConf
Oct. 23, 2013
@daniel_b_austin