Building Apps with HTML5: What You Need to Know - CodeProject

Article intro

You might have discovered by now that HTML5 means different things to different people. To some, it just means new tags like

and

and a handful of new attributes available in markup. To others, it means everything that’s new and interesting on the Web, including technologies implemented in just a single browser or other specifications not officially part of HTML5. To be sure, understanding the real meaning of HTML5 is often the first roadblock many of us face. And, honestly, there’s some justification for the number of varying definitions. HTML5 is huge! Formally defined by an international standards body known as the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), HTML5 consists of more than 100 specifications that relate to the next generation of Web technologies. By putting all 100-plus of these specifications under the moniker HTML5, you could argue that the W3C oversimplified things. And while it’s hard to take something as broad as HTML5 and define it in an unambiguous way, I believe that the W3C was trying to address the scope of what’s changing on the Web by introducing HTML5 as a unifying concept for that change.
In fact, HTML5 is an umbrella term describing a set of HTML, CSS and JavaScript specifications designed to enable developers to build the next generation of Web sites and applications. What’s notable in that definition is its three parts: HTML, CSS and JavaScript. They define how developers use improved markup, richer style capabilities and new JavaScript APIs to make the most of new Web development features. Simply put, HTML5 = HTML + CSS + JavaScript.
And that’s it. HTML5 is about changes to HTML, CSS and JavaScript. Rather than worrying about all 100-plus specifications, those three terms describe the breadth and scope of HTML5. Still think that’s a bit simplistic? It may be, but as you’ll soon see, a comprehensive definition of HTML5 doesn’t matter as much as the technologies you choose as worthy of your time and effort to adopt.
With a definition in hand, let’s spend a few moments talking about where Microsoft fits into the HTML5 space.

Building Apps with HTML5: What You Need to Know - CodeProject