HTML5: The way we build websites is changing again! And how Apple is investing in shaping the future of Web standards.
HTML5 is being developed as the next major revision of HTML (Hypertext Markup Language), the core markup language of the World Wide Web. It’s the evolution of HTML4.1 used widely today and includes HTML and XHTML.
HTML5 proposes to replace the need for proprietary plug-in based rich media software. No need for the user to download Adobe Flash, Microsoft Silverlight and the like to see and interact with rich media. Rich experiences can be created and displayed to the user in HTML5!
Once adopted by all the browser clients such as Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari and the like, you’ll be able to have a Flash like experience without downloading Flash. Wow! on very many different levels. Some believe HTML5 could kill off Flash and Silverlight.
In terms of MOBILE, currently Apple, BlackBerry Windows and Symbian don’t support plug-in based rich media software – and that includes Flash. [However, it is worth noting that many iPhone applications are mainly built in Flash.] So while Internet Explorer “won” the browser war on the PC, MOBILE browsing standards are up for grabs!
See for your self what HTML5 can do! See: Sketchpad in HTML5 http://mugtug.com/sketchpad/ and YouTube serves video in HTML5 http://youtube.com/html5/
What does Apple have to do with this? Apple has been a big supporter of HTML5 as a web standard and in so doing has banned Adobe’s Flash from all its devices. Fewer than two months ago, Apple revealed the iPad to the world. And while the company’s highly anticipated device included a lot of features, Flash wasn’t one of them. A war of words soon erupted over the multimedia plug-in, with Flash responding to Apple and Steve Jobs ranting about Flash saying “the world is moving to HTML5.”
If you’re building your websites exclusively in Flash – stop.
While HTML5 updates a lot of things, its main focus is support for web applications. The idea is that no longer will you need to write long, horribly complex scripts or Flash plug-ins to animate your pages. Support for things like image processing, progress bars, canvases an even Ruby scripts are built in. The multimedia tags are the most compelling. No longer do you care about clients having the right plug-in installed. You use a video or audio tag and add to that a list of different formats – MP4/Theora/Flash/etc and the client will use the first one it supports. No more placeholders for “install Flashlight” and best of all, no more being held hostage to proprietary formats.
For more info on the HTML5 revolution, I recommend exploring these articles:
Behind the Adobe-Apple cold war http://bit.ly/98iHqK
Flash versus HTML5: Virgin America breaks up with Flash http://bit.ly/did8vJ
Adobe Opens Up About Apple, HTML5 and Flash [VIDEO] http://bit.ly/c339dO
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