HTML5, the
long-in-the-works update to the language that powers the Web, is "feature
complete," according to an announcement made Monday by the
standards-setting Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C). There's still some testing to
be done, and it hasn't yet become an official Web standard -- that will come in
2014. But there won't be any new features added to HTML5, which means Web
designers and app makers now have a "stable target" for implementing
it, W3C said.
The HTML5 language
lets developers deliver in-the-browser experiences that previously required
standalone apps or additional software like Java, Adobe flash or Microsoft Silver light. It supports lightning fast video & Geo location services, offline tools and touch, among other bells & whistles. Html5
is also an attempt to define a single mark up
language that can be written in either HTML or XHTML syntax.
Most of the top
browser makers didn't wait for the language to be 100% finished before building
support for some elements into their software. The latest versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox & Apples Safari are already compatible with most of HTML5 elements. W3C said that about 63% of web & app developers are actively using HTML5 to make their sites & software, but "browser fragmentation" remains a big reason
why many still aren't using it. Though most up-to-date
browsers support
at least some aspects of HTML5, older versions of some Web browsers like Microsoft Internet Explorer don't.
