- From: Janet Daly <janet@w3.org>
- Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2001 10:32:31 -0400
- To: w3c-news@w3.org
World Wide Web Consortium Issues Modularization of XHTML as a W3C
Recommendation
XHTML Modules Bring the Web to More Devices Today
Contact America --
Janet Daly, <janet@w3.org>, +1.617.253.5884 or +1.617.253.2613
Contact Europe --
Marie-Claire Forgue, <mcf@w3.org>, +33.492.38.75.94
Contact Asia --
Kazuhiro Kitagawa <kaz@w3.org>, +81.466.49.1170
Web Resources for Modularization of XHTML
Press Release:
http://www.w3.org/2001/04/xhtml-m12n-pressrelease
Testimonials from AOL/Netscape, Applied Testing and Technology, Inc.,
ATSC, Ericsson, IBM, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., Mozquito
Technologies, Nokia, Openwave Systems Inc., WebGeek, Inc., ZOT Group
http://www.w3.org/2001/04/xhtml-m12n-testimonial
XHTML Overview:
http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/Activity
Modularization of XHTML Specification:
http://www.w3.org/TR/2001/REC-xhtml-modularization-20010410/
Examples of XHTML Modules
http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/html-modules.png
----
http://www.w3.org/ -- 10 April 2001 -- The World Wide Web Consortium
(W3C) today announced the publication of Modularization of XHTML as a
W3C Recommendation. This specification defines a method for separating
XHTML 1.0 into a collection of modules, each enabling a group of
familiar and related HTML functionalities, such as lists, forms, tables,
and images. This gives product and specification developers standard
building blocks for creating content, and standard methods for
specifying which blocks are used.
A W3C Recommendation indicates that a specification is stable,
contributes to Web interoperability, and has been reviewed by the W3C
Membership, who are in favor of supporting its adoption by academic,
industry, and research communities.
Diverse Devices Demand Web Access
As the Web has grown, so has the variety of devices people use to
collect and create information. Hand-held computers, mobile phones,
television devices and fixed appliances each have different requirements
and constraints for creating and receiving Web content. Users now expect
all of these devices to give them access to the entire Web.
Modularization of XHTML Gives Designers Control and Choice
To meet the needs of millions of users, in addition to Web developers
and designers, W3C's HTML Working Group has developed Modularization of
XHTML. Modules provide the means for both subsetting and extending
XHTML, which make it suitable for use on many types of devices, large or
small. "Modularization of XHTML gives content developers the ability to
choose modules, either alone or in combination with others, which are
all components of the XHTML family, ensuring interoperability,"
explained Steven Pemberton, Chair of the HTML Working Group. "By using
standardized modules in clearly specified ways, we are able to use
automated tools to transform content to suit various devices, so content
developers can focus on what they do best."
XHTML Family Grows in Stability, Utility, Extensibility
This is the third Recommendation the W3C HTML Working Group has produced
in the past 15 months, building from XHTML 1.0 in January 2000, and
XHTML Basic in December 2000.
In recent news, many companies have committed to implement XHTML as the
language of choice for mobile products, content and services. Further,
XHTML Basic, the first implementation of Modularization, is already
endorsed by the mobile telecommunications industry. The lessons learned
in creating XHTML Basic provided the experience necessary to prove the
principles and methods described in Modularization of XHTML.
The W3C HTML Working Group consists of key industry leaders and experts,
including Applied Testing and Technology, CWI, Ericsson, IBM, Intel,
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (Panasonic), Microsoft,
Mozquito Technologies, Netscape/AOL, Openwave Systems, Opera Software,
Philips Electronics, Quark Inc., Sun Microsystems, and WebGeek, Inc.
About the World Wide Web Consortium [W3C]
The W3C was created to lead the Web to its full potential by developing
common protocols that promote its evolution and ensure its
interoperability. It is an international industry consortium jointly run
by the MIT Laboratory for Computer Science (MIT LCS) in the USA, the
National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control (INRIA)
in France and Keio University in Japan. Services provided by the
Consortium include: a repository of information about the World Wide Web
for developers and users, and various prototype and sample applications
to demonstrate use of new technology. To date, over 500 organizations
are Members of the Consortium. For more information see http://www.w3.org/
=================
Testimonials for Modularization of XHTML
AOL/Netscape | Applied Testing and Technology, Inc. | ATSC | Ericsson |
IBM | Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. | Mozquito Technologies |
Nokia | Openwave Systems Inc. | Quark, Inc. | WebGeek, Inc. | ZOT Group
The XHTML Modularization Specification will make it possible to more
easily adapt documents and data to a variety of applications, platforms,
and devices. This will give consumers the freedom to access web content
using the means of their choosing. Netscape will continue to work within
the W3C to define innovative standards such as the Modularization
Specification and, through the open source development initiative at
mozilla.org, to support these standards in Netscape 6.
-- Jim Hamerly, Vice-President of Client Product Development, Netscape
Communications Corporation, a subsidiary of America Online, Inc.
Applied Testing and Technology, Inc. has invested considerable resources
and expertise in the production of XHTML Modularization and its related
specifications. We are very excited to see that the center-piece of this
work is now a W3C Recommendation. We expect rapid adoption of the
technology represented by this Recommendation both within our
organization and throughout the community. We currently plan to use this
Recommendation as the basis of several testing-related document types,
and also to support it through the creation of general purpose content
testing and validation tools that rely upon the Modularization
framework. Finally, as we work with our clients, we plan to encourage
them to use Modularization-based DTDs in their web content.
-- Shane P. McCarron, Managing Director, Applied Testing and Technology,
Inc.
The Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) develops voluntary
standards for digital television. The ATSC has found the W3C work on
XHTML Modularization particularly valuable in assisting with the
development and promulgation of advanced interactive television
platforms which support declarative content. In its current work
underway on a DTV Application Software Environment (DASE) Standard, the
ATSC makes normative reference to the W3C XHTML Modularization
specification.
-- Mark S. Richer, Executive Director, Advanced Television Systems
Committee
Modularization of XHTML provides a standard way of customizing markup
languages based on XHTML. It makes them more suitable for different
types of Web clients such as mobile phones, and lets us include the best
features from different markup languages in XHTML. We are plannig using
modularisation of XHTML to extend XHTML Basic with WML markup, to
combine the best of the new Web and the best of WAP.
-- Martin Jönsson, Strategic Product Manager, Ericsson
Modularization is a key technology to allow mature W3C grammars like
HTML to grow and embrace the flexibility inherent in XML. It allows
authors to work with well defined subsets of HTML like XHTML-Basic and
it allows cell phone manufacturers to converge their telephony standards
with the lingua franca of the web, HTML. Furthermore, IBM will exploit
the power of Modularization in forthcoming editions of WebSphere
Transcoding Publisher.
-- Bob Sutor, Director of e-Business Standards Strategy, IBM Corporation
Panasonic is very pleased that the "Modularization of XHTML"
specification has been approved as a W3C Recommendation. "Modularization
of XHTML" provides us a formal/systematic means for subsetting and
extending XHTML. "Modularization" is a very important technique for
applying Web technologies to digital home appliances, such as digital TV
sets or mobile phones because sometimes there are resource limitations
or device specific features on such devices; and "Modularization" allows
us to have an specification which best fits to each platform in a
systematic way.
As one of the leading companies for digital home appliances, Panasonic
highly expects that "Modularization of XHTML" will become the foundation
for a wide variety of Web appliances.
-- Yasunori Tanaka, General Manager, Core Software Development Center,
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
Mozquito Technologies really appreciates this quantum leap in Web
technology. With the Modularization of XHTML, the "X" in "XML" becomes a
reality, and the worlds of Web design and XML technology converge. We
are very happy to see the extensibility of XML unfold, and we will soon
announce a product that builds on this specification. is available.
-- Sebastian Schnitzenbaumer, CEO Mozquito Technologies AG
XHTML Modularization moves the state of Web standards further towards
the very important goal of device independence. XML in general, and
XHTML in particular (especially when paired with CSS), make it possible
to develop common content for a wide range of devices, including mobile
phones. These technologies will deliver the important "human readable"
part of the Semantic Web of the future.
-- Ora Lassila, Research Fellow, Nokia Research Center and Chief
Scientist, Nokia Venture Partners, LP
Openwave's contribution to XHTML Modularization and XHTML Basic
demonstrates our dedication to open standards, innovation, and
delivering Internet-based communications anywhere, anytime, over any
device. XHTML Modularization provides a set of tools that enable the
application of a common family of markup languages to many types of
devices, from PCs to televisions to mobile phones. The ability to
support constrained devices, and the ability to add domain-specific
modules for industry-specific needs, is an important milestone in the
development of the web.
-- Bruce Martin, Vice President, Technology, Openwave Systems Inc.
Quark sees great promise in XHTML Modularization as a way to help our
customers achieve the level of flexibility they need to thrive in
today's multiple-media publishing environment. XHTML Modularization
could greatly aid the realization of our vision for media-independent
publishing. We plan to use this technology as a tool to help our
customers deliver content anywhere it needs to go.
-- Juergen Kurz, Director of Product Management, Quark, Inc.
WebGeek, Inc. is delighted to see the advancement of XHTML
Modularization to Recommendation at the W3C. Having been involved in the
development of this technology for more than a year, we've developed
modules, DTDs, and documents for use within our company based on XHTML
Modularization techniques. These internal processes have lead to
significant improvements in delivery of content and DTD development for
our clients, increasing our productivity and adding value for the
client, while decreasing our required production time.
-- Ann Navarro, CEO WebGeek, Inc.
At last -- an open solution that meets the requirements of emerging
platforms to enable data transfer across multiple channels, without
compromising presentation integrity or functionality. We welcome W3C's
Recommendation for Modularization of XHTML, the latest member of the
XHTML family of specifications, with much enthusiasm. Coupling
Modularization of XHTML with other W3C Recommendations such as CSS and
XSLT allows for rapid deployment of new services easily and efficiently
-- anytime, anywhere and on any device. Initially adopted to serve a
dire need for Web applications on mobile devices, Modularization of
XHTML ultimately benefits the Web community as a whole: by leveraging
more than 12 months' implementation expertise and offering "mix and
match" flexibility that results in an enhanced user experience,
developers have no excuse to not embrace XHTML today.
-- Sally Khudairi, CEO, ZOT Group, and Steering Committee Member, The
Web Standards Project
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Received on Tuesday, 10 April 2001 10:32:30 UTC