News Release: World Wide Web Consortium Issues XHTML 1.0 as a Recommendation

World Wide Web Consortium Issues XHTML 1.0 as a Recommendation

XHTML 1.0 Provides a Foundation for Device-Independent Web Access

Contact North America, Europe --
       Janet Daly, <janet@w3.org>, +1.617.253.5884
Contact Asia --
       Yuko Watanabe <yuko@w3.org>, +81.466.49.1170

Links from W3C:

News Release: 
	http://www.w3.org/2000/01/xhtml-pressrelease.html.en

Testimonials:
	http://www.w3.org/2000/01/xhtml-test.html

XHTML 1.0 Recommendation
	http://www.w3.org/TR/2000/REC-xhtml-20000126



http://www.w3.org/ -- 26 January 2000 -- The World Wide Web Consortium
(W3C) today releases the XHTML 1.0 specification as a W3C
Recommendation. This new specification represents cross-industry and
expert community agreement on the importance of XHTML 1.0 as a bridge to
the Web of the future. A W3C Recommendation indicates that a
specification is stable, contributes to Web interoperability, and has
been reviewed by the W3C membership, who favor its adoption by the industry.

XHTML 1.0 Builds the Web of the Future, Now

HTML currently serves as the lingua franca for millions of people
publishing hypertext on the Web. While that is the case today, the
future of the Web is written in W3C's Extensible Markup Language (XML).
XML is bringing the Web forward as an environment that better meets the
needs of all its participants, allowing content creators to make
structured data that can be easily processed and transformed to meet the
varied needs of users and their devices.

In designing XHTML 1.0, the W3C HTML Working Group faced a number of
challenges, including one capable of making or breaking the
Web: how to design the next generation language for Web documents
without obsoleting what's already on the Web, and how to create a markup
language that supports device-independence.The answer was to take HTML
4, and rewrite it as an XML application. The first result is XHTML 1.0.

"XHTML 1.0 connects the present Web to the future Web," said Tim
Berners-Lee, W3C Director. "It provides the bridge to page and site
authors for entering the structured data, XML world, while still being
able to maintain operability with user agents that support HTML 4."

XHTML 1.0 Combines the Familiarity of HTML with the Power of XML

XHTML 1.0 allows authors to create Web documents that work with current
HTML browsers and that may be processed by XML-enabled software as well.
Authors writing XHTML use the well-known elements of HTML 4 (to mark up
paragraphs, links, tables, lists, etc.), but with XML syntax, which
promotes markup conformance.

The benefits of XML syntax include extensibility and modularity. With
HTML, authors had a fixed set of elements to use, with no variation.
With XHTML 1.0, authors can mix and match known HTML 4 elements with
elements from other XML languages, including those developed by W3C for
multimedia (Synchronized Multimedia Language - SMIL), mathematical
expressions (MathML), two dimensional vector graphics (Scalable Vector
Graphics - SVG), and metadata (Resource Description Framework - RDF).

W3C provides instruction and tools for making the transition from HTML 4
to XHTML 1.0 . The "HTML Compatibility Guidelines" section of the XHTML
1.0 Recommendation explains how to write XHTML 1.0 that will work with
nearly all current HTML browsers. W3C offers validation services for
both HTML and XHTML documents. W3C's Open Source software "Tidy" helps
Web authors convert ordinary HTML 4 into XHTML and clean document markup
at the same time.

XHTML 1.0 Provides a Foundation for Device-Independent Web Access

In addition to its extensibility, moving from HTML to XML via XHTML 1.0
lays the foundation for making Web content available to millions more
users. People browsing the Web with cell phones or other mobile devices
want Web content tailored to their needs. People with
disabilities need ways to transform content into accessible formats.

XML documents can already be transformed using Extensible Stylesheet
Language Transformations (XSLT), and rendered using independent style
sheets such as CSS style sheets. XHTML 1.1, already under development,
coupled with device-specific style sheets and Composite
Capability/Preference Profiles (CC/PP) - a protocol which allows a user
to describe both user preferences and device capabilities - will bring
mobile and other devices to the Web as full participants.

Broad Industry Support, Multiple Implementations Already Available

The XHTML 1.0 Recommendation was written by members of the HTML working
group, which includes key industry players such as Ask Jeeves, CNET,
Gateway 2000,
GMD, Hewlett-Packard, HTML Writers Guild, IBM, JetForm, Microsoft,
MITRE, Philips Electronics, Phone.com, Quark, Stack Overflow, Sun
Microsystems, and WebTV Networks.

In addition, many W3C members have announced XHTML 1.0 support in
current and committed to implementations in upcoming products, indicated
in the wide range of testimonials.



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, reference code implementations to
embody and promote standards, and various prototype and sample
applications to demonstrate use of new technology. To date, over 390
organizations are Members of the Consortium. For more information see http://www.w3.org/
 
=====================================

World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)

Janet Daly, Head of Public Relations
MIT/LCS NE43-344
545 Technology Square
Cambridge, MA 02139

voice: 617.253.5884
fax:   617.258.5999 
http://www.w3.org/
janet@w3.org

Received on Wednesday, 26 January 2000 10:19:14 UTC