HTML5: “You Keep Using That Word. I Do Not Think It Means What You Think It Means.”
HTML5 is undoubtedly a hot topic in web development these days and, fueled by Steve Jobs’ anti-Flash comments, the trend toward building “HTML5″ sites and applications has caught the attention of clients and marketers alike. However, many of these non-technical people don’t have a clear picture of what HTML5 actually is.
HTML5 is being thrown about as a buzzword to include all kinds of emerging open web technologies. Things like CSS3, geolocation, SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics), Web APIs and even mobile are being grouped in under the umbrella of HTML5. Even Apple’s own HTML5 gallery, designed to show off their browser’s support for HTML5, famously did little to clarify the situation (only two of their seven demos actually show off HTML5 features). This is definitely not the first time the web development industry has had a potentially inaccurate name slapped on new technology. Just like back in the dark ages (way back around 2004) “AJAX” was the term on everyone’s lips. It originally stood for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML, and was basically a method for web applications to retrieve data from the server and update the page without a complete page refresh, but it was inaccurately applied to everything from simple JavaScript animations to glossy button graphics. Despite the confusion, the demand for “AJAX-y” sites enabled programmers to innovate and perfect techniques that have shaped modern web development.
So, while some developers argue that we need to clarify the difference between the hype and the technology, maybe the misuse of “HTML5″ as an industry buzzword isn’t a bad thing after all. Ultimately, what could be an annoyance to developers could end up being the saving grace of the open web. Seattle area web developer, Jeff Croft, sums it up perfectly: “But who cares? Ultimately, the coining of “AJAX,” and it’s (mis)use got us into building a lot of awesome things that are useful to regular people. Today, “HTML5″ is doing the same thing. That’s something to be stoked, not upset, about.”
- Date: 08.12.2010
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