"HTML: The Markup Language" (draft attempt an "HTML producers" spec)

During the face-to-face joint meeting between the TAG and HTML WG
in Mandelieu last month, a large part of the discussion[1]
concerned the idea of producing a separate normative spec for
HTML5 with some of the following characteristics:

  - defines just the syntax, structure, and semantics of the
    language

  - defines what is conformant for "producers" of HTML content
    (people/authors and applications, such as editors and content
    management systems, that produce HTML content)

  - does not define related APIs nor attempt to describe how
    "consumers" (such as Web browsers) of HTML are meant to
    process HTML documents (and in general, omits any of the other
    parts of the current HTML5 draft that cover
    browser-implementation conformance criteria).

  [1] http://www.w3.org/html/wg/f2f/2008-10/#tag-talk

Based in part on discussion during that meeting, I've taken a shot
at producing a draft of what such a spec might look like:

  http://www.w3.org/html/wg/markup-spec/

As noted in the "Status of this Document" for the draft, the
document is at this point only an Editor’s Draft that I've put
together myself so that we can have something concrete to discuss.

This message is in part a very initial follow-up on an action item
that I took during the meeting, to "lead an HTML WG response to
TAG discussion and report back to the TAG at some later time".

But this draft document is not in any way a formal response to
that action nor a completion of it. It is intended at this point
to just provide something concrete that we can use within the HTML
WG, and without others outside the group, as a starting point for
further discussion about whether we should decide to produce a
separate "producers" or "language" spec or not, and if so, should
it look anything like this draft, or like something else entirely.

So the draft as yet has no official standing within the HTML WG --
and may never (if we decide not do it, or to replace it with
another document that takes a different approach, or whatever). It
is at this point just my own attempt at putting together something
tangible to help guide further discussion.

  --Mike

-- 
Michael(tm) Smith
http://people.w3.org/mike/

Received on Friday, 14 November 2008 11:36:11 UTC