HTML5

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HTML5 is the next generation hypertext markup language standard developed by the World Wide Web Consortium. It is used by web programmers and designers to lay out web pages, which people can then view in web browsers. As of July 2010, HTML5 is still not widely supported nor fully standardized, though browsers such as Google Chrome [1], Apple Safari [2], and Mozilla Firefox[3] have implemented various parts of the language.

HTML5 represents an important step forward technologically, as it gives web developers greater capabilities and more flexibility in interacting with the underlying operating system. One important new capability is offline storage, which allows sites to better handle persistent sessions for their users. For example, if a user is editing a document in an online web editor, HTML5 allows some portion of the state associated with the document to be saved onto the user's computer -- rather than saving all of it to the server, as is currently done. This reduces the server load, and also provides a faster, more responsive experience for the user, as less data needs to be transferred over the network. Other new capabilities include a multipurpose graphical element called canvas, as well as native embedding of video and audio.

HTML5 also is milestone politically and socially in the web world. As the web has evolved, many vendors have created proprietary technologies to enable greater functionality for their applications. Some of the most important include Adoble's Flash plugin, as well Microsoft's Silverlight and their browser Internet Explorer (Internet Explorer has a notable reputation for employing non-standard extensions to web technologies). While such innovations enable a richer user experience, they also fragment development, and make cross-browser compliance challenging for developers. HTML5, however, offers the opportunity to support advanced interface demands, and do so in an open, community-approved way. Such a step would lay the groundwork for the web's increasing dominance over the next decade.