Re: Introducing the W3C HTML/XML Task Force

On Tue, 28 Dec 2010, Norman Walsh wrote:
> >>
> >> [2] http://www.w3.org/2001/tag/group/track/issues/67
> >
> > Is there a summary of the issue anywhere? I looked at the URL above 
> > but it didn't explain what the problem was, and searching Google for 
> > the term "W3C HTML/XML Task Force" didn't enlighten me either.
> 
> I'll try to pull the relevant bits onto the status page asap. Some of 
> them are in my introductory message,
> 
>   http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-html-xml/2010Dec/0028.html
> 
> The short answer is that an issue was raised at the W3C Technical 
> Architecture Group, http://www.w3.org/2001/tag/group/track/issues/67 
> summarized by TV Raman:
> 
>   "Perhaps the biggest challenge that faces the W3C's technical work
>   on the Web is the growing chasm between HTML and XML"
> 
> The TAG decided to to form a task force to investigate this issue and 
> what possible solutions, if any, exist.

In what sense is there a _growing_ chasm between HTML and XML? HTML today 
is significantly closer to XML than HTML4 was, for example it supports the 
"/" syntax on void elements, it allows xmlns="" talismans, etc. Surely the 
two are in fact closer than ever. Indeed even before the HTMLWG was 
restarted at the W3C, the WHATWG had spent significant efforts in getting 
them as close as possible while maintaining backwards compatibility.


> I think the first thing the task force must do is articulate the issue 
> in more detail.

I look forward to this, though I am a little confused that a task force 
was created to work out what problem it was created to address...?

-- 
Ian Hickson               U+1047E                )\._.,--....,'``.    fL
http://ln.hixie.ch/       U+263A                /,   _.. \   _\  ;`._ ,.
Things that are impossible just take longer.   `._.-(,_..'--(,_..'`-.;.'

Received on Tuesday, 28 December 2010 21:40:19 UTC