Re: HTML version issue summary?

On 4/26/07, Jeff Schiller <codedread@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> [snip]
> But, Microsoft has taken the hard line that an opt-in WILL be required
> in IE.next regardless of what web developers think they want.  What
> this means is that for HTML5 to get a deployment footprint on the web,
> web developers and tools will need to author HTML with an opt-in in
> the short term.


Note that as a developer writing applications for the web, I very strongly
agree with the hard line.  Versioning to opt-in to changes in behavior is
essential. This judgment comes from the experience gained from years
(decades) of shipping multiple versions of multiple applications, and from
insight gained in talking to customers.

What works in practice is different from what might work in theory.  This is
one of those lessons learned from experience ... and requires a bit of
not-entirely-obvious insight.

So the Microsoft folk are not alone in this judgment.