Contents

• W3C Resources
• Other Resources

W3C Resources

[September 05, 2002]   W3C Publishes Note on XHTML 1.0 in XML Schema.    The W3C HTML Working Group has released a Note defining XHTML 1.0 in XML Schema. "This work in progress provides informative XML schemas corresponding to the XHTML 1.0 Strict, Transitional, and Frameset DTDs. For the most part, these XML Schemas are written to imitate the structure of the XHTML 1.0 DTDs; major differences are those affecting the validation of XHTML 1.0 documents." Using XML Schema for XHTML 1.0 provides three principal benefits via-à-vis DTDs: (1) Strong datatyping and thus better validation; (2) Better expressive power for describing content models [e.g., fieldset]; (3) Better namespace support. "DTD validation and XML Schema validation are not mutually exclusive. Sometimes authors might want to use some DTD features (e.g., entities) while taking advantage of the XML Schema validation." [Full context]

Modularized XHTML: "XHTML 1.1 is a reformulation of XHTML 1.0 strict, but using Modularization. The purpose of XHTML 1.1 is to serve as the basis for future extended XHTML 'family members', and to provide a consistent, forward-looking document type cleanly separated from the deprecated, legacy functionality of HTML 4 and XHTML 1.0."

[October 02, 2000] The W3C HyperText Markup Language (HTML) through version 4.01 [W3C Recommendation 24 December 1999] was presented as "an SGML application conforming to International Standard ISO 8879 -- Standard Generalized Markup Language (ISO 8879:1986). XHTML reformulates the HyperText Markup Language as an XML (Extensible Markup Language) application. According to W3C, "XHTML is intended to be used in conjunction with tags from other XML applications, so that in principle, you can combine say, XHTML tags with SVG Graphics tags or XML tags from any other XML applications." [Activity Statement 2000-10-03]

Documentation on the W3C's HTML and XHTML activity:

• W3C HTML Activity Page
• W3C HTML Working Group Roadmap
• W3C HTML Working Group Charter
• Mail Archives for 'www-html@w3.org'

W3C XHTML Deliverables:

• XHTML 1.0
• XHTML-Print
• XHTML Modularization
• XHTML 1.1
• XHTML Basic
• XHTML 2.0
• Extended Events Module
• Document Profiles
• Device Profiles

XHTML 1.0

• XHTML 1.0 "XHTML 1.0 'Extensible HTML' was issued as a recommendation by W3C in January 2000. XHTML 1.0 is a reformulation of HTML 4.01 as an XML 1.0 application, and includes three DTDs corresponding to the ones defined by HTML 4.01. The semantics of the elements and their attributes are defined in the W3C Recommendation for HTML 4.01. These semantics provide the foundation for future extensibility of XHTML. Compatibility with existing HTML user agents is possible by following a small set of guidelines."

• [January 26, 2000]   XHTML Published as a W3C Recommendation.    The W3C HTML Working Group has released a new W3C Recommendation under the title XHTML 1.0: The Extensible HyperText Markup Language. A Reformulation of HTML 4 in XML 1.0. References: W3C Recommendation, 26-January-2000. The specification is available in Postscript, PDF, and ZIP archive formats as well as in HTML. The Recommendation "defines XHTML 1.0, a reformulation of HTML 4 as an XML 1.0 application, and three DTDs corresponding to the ones defined by HTML 4. The semantics of the elements and their attributes are defined in the W3C Recommendation for HTML 4. These semantics provide the foundation for future extensibility of XHTML. Compatibility with existing HTML user agents is possible by following a small set of guidelines." Details: "XHTML is a family of current and future document types and modules that reproduce, subset, and extend HTML 4. XHTML family document types are XML based, and ultimately are designed to work in conjunction with XML-based user agents. The details of this family and its evolution are discussed in more detail in the section on Future Directions. XHTML 1.0 is the first document type in the XHTML family. It is a reformulation of the three HTML 4 document types as applications of XML 1.0. It is intended to be used as a language for content that is both XML-conforming and, if some simple guidelines are followed, operates in HTML 4 conforming user agents. Developers who migrate their content to XHTML 1.0 will realize the following benefits: (1) XHTML documents are XML conforming. As such, they are readily viewed, edited, and validated with standard XML tools. (2) XHTML documents can be written to to operate as well or better than they did before in existing HTML 4-conforming user agents as well as in new, XHTML 1.0 conforming user agents. (3) XHTML documents can utilize applications (e.g., scripts and applets) that rely upon either the HTML Document Object Model or the XML Document Object Model. (4) As the XHTML family evolves, documents conforming to XHTML 1.0 will be more likely to interoperate within and among various XHTML environments. The XHTML family is the next step in the evolution of the Internet. By migrating to XHTML today, content developers can enter the XML world with all of its attendant benefits, while still remaining confident in their content's backward and future compatibility." See also the W3C press release and the industry testimonials

XHTML-Print

• [July 29, 2003] "XHTML-Print." Edited by Jim Bigelow (Hewlett-Packard). W3C Last Call Working Draft, 29-July-2003. Produced by members of the W3C HTML Working Group as part of the W3C HTML Activity. The Last Call review period ends on 7-September-2003. Latest version URL: http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml-print. Also in PDF. "XHTML-Print is member of the family of XHTML Languages defined by the W3C Recommendation Modularization of XHTML. It is designed to be appropriate for printing from mobile devices to low-cost printers that might not have a full-page buffer and that generally print from top-to-bottom and left-to-right with the paper in a portrait orientation. XHTML-Print is also targeted at printing in environments where it is not feasible or desirable to install a printer-specific driver and where some variability in the formatting of the output is acceptable... XHTML-Print is not appropriate when strict layout consistency and repeatability across printers are needed. The design objective of XHTML-Print is to provide a relatively simple, broadly supportable page description format where content preservation and reproduction are the goal, i.e., 'Content is King.' Traditional printer page description formats such as PostScript or PCL are more suitable when strict layout control is needed. XHTML-Print does not utilize bi-directional communications with the printer either for capabilities or status inquiries. This document creates a set of conformance criteria for XHTML-Print. It references style sheet constructs drawn from CSS2 and proposed for CSS3 Paged Media as defined in the CSS Print Profile to provide a strong basis for rich printing results without a detailed understanding of each individual printer's characteristics. It also defines an extension set that provides stronger layout control for the printing of mixed text and images, tables and image collections. The document type definition for XHTML-Print is implemented based on the XHTML modules defined in Modularization of XHTML." Note: this specification is based "in large part on a work by the same name XHTML-Print from the Printer Working Group (PWG), a program of the IEEE Industry Standard and Technology Organization."

XHTML Modularization

• [April 10, 2001]   New W3C Recommendation: Modularization of XHTML.    The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has announced the publication of Modularization of XHTML as a W3C Recommendation. The recommendation "defines a method for separating XHTML 1.0 into a collection of modules, each enabling a group of familiar and related HTML functionalities, such as lists, forms, tables, and images. This gives product and specification developers standard building blocks for creating content, and standard methods for specifying which blocks are used. Modules provide the means for both subsetting and extending XHTML, which make it suitable for use on many types of devices, large or small. Modularization of XHTML gives content developers the ability to choose modules, either alone or in combination with others, which are all components of the XHTML family, ensuring interoperability. The abstract modules are implemented in the specification using the XML Document Type Definition language, but an implementation using XML Schemas is expected. This is the third Recommendation the W3C HTML Working Group has produced in the past 15 months, building from XHTML 1.0 in January 2000, and XHTML Basic in December 2000. A W3C 'Recommendation' indicates that a specification is stable, contributes to Web interoperability, and has been reviewed by the W3C Membership, who are in favor of supporting its adoption by academic, industry, and research communities." [Full context]

• [March 22, 2001]   W3C Public Working Draft for Modularization of XHTML in XML Schema.    The W3C HTML Working Group has released a first public Working Draft for Modularization of XHTML in XML Schema. The draft document "provides a complete set of XML Schema modules for XHTML, and describes a methodology for the modularization of XHTML using XML Schema. Modularization of XHTML allows document authors to modify and extend XHTML in a conformant way." XHTML modularization works for XML Schema modules in a fashion similar to XML DTDs, but there are some significant differences; these are articulated in the chapter "Schema Modularization Framework." The design goals for the modularization framework for XHTML are: (1) to create coherent sets of semantically related modules within the XHTML namespace using XML Schema; (2) to support the creation of subsets and supersets of XHTML for specific purposes such as handheld devices and special-purpose appliances; (3) to facilitate future development by allowing modules to be upgraded or replaced independently of other modules; and (4) to encourage and facilitate the reuse of common modules by developers." [Full context]

• [March 01, 2001]   W3C's Modularization of XHTML Specification Advanced to Proposed Recommendation.    The W3C specification for the Modularization of XHTML has passed CR review and has been promoted to a W3C Proposed Recommendation. The Proposed Recommendation "specifies an abstract modularization of XHTML and an implementation of the abstraction using XML Document Type Definitions (DTDs). This modularization provides a means for subsetting and extending XHTML, a feature needed for extending XHTML's reach onto emerging platforms... XHTML is the reformulation of HTML 4 as an application of XML. XHTML 1.0 specifies three XML document types that correspond to the three HTML 4 DTDs: Strict, Transitional, and Frameset. XHTML 'Modularization' is a decomposition of XHTML 1.0, and by reference HTML 4, into a collection of abstract modules that provide specific types of functionality; these abstract modules are implemented in the specification using the XML Document Type Definition language, but an implementation using XML Schemas is expected." [Full context]

• XHTML Modularization

• [October 24, 2000] The W3C specification for the Modularization of XHTML has been promoted to the status of a Candidate Recommendation. Reference: W3C Candidate Recommendation 20-October-2000, edited by Robert Adams (Intel Corporation), Murray Altheim (Sun Microsystems), Frank Boumphrey (HTML Writers Guild), Sam Dooley (IBM), Shane McCarron (Applied Testing and Technology), Sebastian Schnitzenbaumer (Mozquito Technologies), and Ted Wugofski (Phone.com). The new Candidate Recommendation "specifies an abstract modularization of XHTML and an implementation of the abstraction using XML Document Type Definitions (DTDs). This modularization provide a means for subsetting and extending XHTML, a feature needed for extending XHTML's reach onto emerging platforms." Status: This version of XHTML "incorporates some comments from the Last Call Working Draft review period. A diff-marked version from the Last Call draft is available for comparison purposes. Major changes in this version include: (1) Re-integration of the Building document into this document; (2) Incorporation of the Henry Thompson/Dan Connolly XML Namespace handling process with substantial additions by the Math and HTML working groups; (3) Complete worked examples including modules and miniature DTDs; (4) Minor restructuring of abstract module definitions, including the creation of a 'style attribute module', a 'name identification module' and a 'target' module; (5) Tweaking of some of the module contents based on review comments. On 20 October 2000, this document enters a Candidate Recommendation review period. From that date until 17-November-2000, W3C members are encouraged to review and implement this specification and return comments to w3c-html-editor@w3.org. W3C is looking for testimonials from users of this specification. Additionally, experience using all of the modules is being sought to create a coverage table of the use of each module. These two criteria are needed to advance this specification to Proposed Recommendation." Available from W3C as a Single HTML file, Postscript version, PDF version, ZIP archive, or Gzip'd TAR archive.

• Note Following entry bad, see (sic!); to be fixed.

• [October 03, 2000] Modularization of XHTML. Reference: W3C Candidate Recommendation 3-October-2000, edited by Robert Adams (Intel Corporation), Murray Altheim (Sun Microsystems), Frank Boumphrey (HTML Writers Guild), Sam Dooley (IBM), Shane McCarron (Applied Testing and Technology), Sebastian Schnitzenbaumer (Mozquito Technologies), and Ted Wugofski (Phone.com, formerly Gateway). Document abstract: "This Candidate Recommendation specifies an abstract modularization of XHTML and an implementation of the abstraction using XML Document Type Definitions (DTDs). This modularization provide a means for subsetting and extending XHTML, a feature needed for extending XHTML's reach onto emerging platforms." Document status: "this specification is a Candidate Recommendation of the HTML Working Group. It is a revision of the Working Draft dated 4-January-2000 incorporated changes as a result of comments during Last Call review, and comments and further deliberations of the W3C HTML Working Group. A diff-marked version from the Last Call draft is available for comparison purposes. Major changes in this version include: (1) Re-integration of the Building document into this document (2) Incorporation of the Henry Thompson/Dan Connolly XML Namespace handling process with substantial additions by the Math and HTML working groups (3) Complete worked examples including modules and miniature DTDs. (4) Minor restructuring of abstract module definitions, including the creation of a "style attribute module" and a "name identification module". (5) Tweaking of some of the module contents based on review comments, including the addition of a "target" module to separate the "target" attribute from the frame module. On 3 October 2000, this document enters a Candidate Recommendation review period. From that date until 31 October 2000, W3C members are encouraged to review and implement this specification and return comments to w3c-html-editor@w3.org. W3C is looking for two, independent implementations of this specification before it can be considered for advancement to Proposed Recommendation." Changes from the previous 'Last Call' Working Draft version may be observed in the diff-marked version; the CR is also available as a single HTML file, a Postscript version, a PDF version, and a ZIP archive.

• Modularization of XHTML W3C Working Draft 5 January 2000.

• [April 07, 1999]   Modularization of XHTML.    The W3C HTML Working Group has published a Working Draft document entitled Modularization of XHTML (W3C Working Draft 06-April-1999). It has been edited by Murray Altheim (Sun Microsystems), Daniel Austin (CNET: The Computer Network), Frank Boumphrey (HTML Writers Guild), Sam Dooley (IBM), Shane McCarron (The Open Group), and Ted Wugofski (Gateway). The Working Draft "specifies a modularization of XHTML 1.0. There are two aspects to the proposed modularization: modularization into semantic modules, and implementation of these semantic modules through a document type definition (DTD). Semantic modules provide a means for subsetting and extending XHTML, a feature desired for extending XHTML's reach onto emerging platforms. Modularization at the DTD level improves the ability to create new complete DTDs from XHTML and other DTD modules. . . The primary purpose of defining XHTML modules and a general modularization methodology is to ease the development of DTDs that are based upon XHTML. These DTDs may extend XHTML by integrating additional capabilities (e.g., SMIL or MathML), or they may define a subset of XHTML for use in a specialized device. Regardless of the application, XHTML modules are up to the task. This section [6. Developing DTDs with defined and extended modules] describes the techniques that DTD designers must use in order to take advantage of this modularization architecture. It does this by applying the techniques defined in the previous sections in progressively more complex ways, culminating in the creation of a complete DTD from disparate modules." DTDs and SGML Open Catalog entries for HTML are provided in the section XHTML Document Type Definitions. Earlier work by the W3C committee has been published as XHTML 1.0: The Extensible HyperText Markup Language Reformulation of HTML 4.0 in XML 1.0.

XHTML 1.1

• [June 01, 2001]   Module-based XHTML Published as a W3C Recommendation.    The World Wide Web Consortium has now issued XHTML 1.1 - Module-based XHTML as a W3C Recommendation, indicating that the XHTML 1.1 specification "is stable, contributes to Web interoperability, and has been reviewed by the W3C Membership, who are in favor of supporting its adoption by academic, industry, and research communities. The specification defines a new XHTML document type that is based upon the module framework and modules defined in Modularization of XHTML. The purpose of this document type is to serve as the basis for future extended XHTML 'family' document types, and to provide a consistent, forward-looking document type cleanly separated from the deprecated, legacy functionality of HTML 4 that was brought forward into the XHTML 1.0 document types. The XHTML 1.1 document type is essentially a reformulation of XHTML 1.0 Strict using XHTML Modules. This means that many facilities available in other XHTML Family document types (e.g., XHTML Frames) are not available in this document type. These other facilities are available through modules defined in Modularization of XHTML, and document authors are free to define document types based upon XHTML 1.1 that use these facilities. The document type is designed to be portable to a broad collection of client devices, and applicable to the majority of Internet content. Content developers who base their content upon XHTML 1.1 can trust that it will be consistently portable across user agents which support XHTML." [Full context]

• "XHTML 1.1 is a forward-looking markup language built using modules defined in XHTML Modularization. This language will likely contain none of the transitional material from XHTML 1.0 (and from HTML 4). XHTML 1.1 will not necessarily be backward compatible with HTML 4-based user agents. Any incompatibilities will be clearly defined."

• XHTML 1.1

• [September 10, 1999]   Working Draft for XHTML 1.1 - Module-based XHTML.    As part of the W3C HTML Activity, the W3C HTML Working Group has released the working draft XHTML 1.1 - Module-based XHTML. Reference: W3C Working Draft 09 September 1999; edited by Murray Altheim and Shane McCarron. The document abstract: "This working draft defines a new XHTML document type that is based solely upon the module framework defined in Building XHTML Modules and the modules defined in Modularization of XHTML. The purpose of this document type is to serve as the basis for future extended XHTML family document types, and to provide a consistent, forward looking document type cleanly separated from the deprecated, legacy function of HTML 4.0 that was brought forward into XHTML 1.0 document types. Note that the materials in this document were formerly part of the Modularization of XHTML document, but have been separated out for editorial purposes." And from the introduction: "With the introduction of the XHTML family of modules and document types, the W3C has helped move the Internet content-development community from the days of malformed, non-standard markup into the well formed, valid world of XML. In XHTML 1.0, this move was moderated by a goal of providing for easy migration of existing, HTML 4.0 (or earlier) based content to XHTML and XML. With the advent of the XHTML modules defined in Modularization of XHTML, the W3C has removed support for deprecated elements and attributes from the XHTML family. These elements and attributes were largely presentation oriented functionality that is better handled via style-sheets or client-specific default behavior. Going forward, XHTML family document types will be based upon this new, more structural functional collection. In this specification, the W3C's HTML Working Group has defined an initial document type based upon solely upon XHTML modules. This document type is designed to be portable to a broad collection of potential client devices, and applicable to the majority of Internet content. Content developers who based their content upon the functionality expressed in this specification can be confident that it will be consistently portable across XHTML family conforming user agents."

• [September 24, 1999]   New Ruby Working Draft Published.    The W3C has released a new working draft specification for Ruby, W3C Working Draft 24-September-1999. The editors include Marcin Sawicki, Michel Suignard, Masayasu Ishikawa, and Martin Dürst. The working draft has been "published by the Internationalization Working Group. In a future version, this work is intended to be submitted to the HTML Working Group for inclusion as a module in the XHTML 1.1." The Ruby working draft "specification extends XHTML to support ruby text typically used in East Asian documents; some familiarity with HTML 4.0, XHTML 1.0 and the XHTML Modularization framework is assumed. XHTML 1.0 is a reformulation of HTML 4.0 as an XML 1.0 application, and the modularization of XHTML provides a means for subsetting and extending XHTML. 'Ruby' is the commonly used name for a run of text that appears in the immediate vicinity of another run of text, referred to as the 'base'. Ruby serve as a pronunciation guide or an annotation associated with the base text. Ruby are used frequently in Japan in most kinds of publications, such a books and magazines, but also in China, especially in schoolbooks. East Asian typography has developed various elements that do not appear in western typography. Most of these can be addressed appropriately with facilities in stylesheet languages such as CSS or XSL. Ruby, however, require markup in order to define the association between base text and ruby text. This document defines such markup, designed to be usable with HTML, in order to make ruby available on the Web without using special workarounds or graphics. Section 1.2 ('Ruby Markup') provides an overview of the markup for ruby defined in this document. A formal definition can be found in Section 2. The markup is in XML notation. Appendix A ('Ruby modules in XHTML') describes the Ruby DTD modules - a DTD driver and a catalog file that can be used with the XHTML 1.1 DTD modules. These modules are conforming to the Module Conformance requirements as defined in the Building XHTML Modules specification. These modules are expected to be included in the XHTML 1.1 and are not intended to define a new markup language as an XHTML-family document type, so names are temporary and slightly different from the Naming Rules in the XHTML Family Document Type Conformance. The WD's changes from previous public Working Draft are presented in a final Appendix.

XHTML Basic

• "XHTML Basic is a simplified yet forward-looking markup language built using modules defined in XHTML Modularization. It is intended for use as the basis of other markup languages targeted at thin clients, such as those being produced by the television and wireless communities."

• XHTML Basic

• [November 06, 2000] W3C has announced the release of XHTML Basic as a Proposed Recommendation. Reference: W3C Proposed Recommendation 3-November-2000, edited by Mark Baker (Sun Microsystems), Masayasu Ishikawa (W3C), Shinichi Matsui (Panasonic), Peter Stark (Ericsson), Ted Wugofski (Phone.com), and Toshihiko Yamakami (ACCESS Co., Ltd.). The PR document "has been produced as part of the W3C HTML Activity, and it has been prepared by the Mobile Subgroup of the W3C HTML Working Group based on input from the WAP Forum Application's group and members of the W3C Mobile Access Interest Group. This document will be used by the Mobile Subgroup of the W3C HTML Working Group and the W3C Mobile Access Interest Group to find a common ground for future markup languages aimed at content for small information appliances." Document abstract: "The XHTML Basic document type includes the minimal set of modules required to be an XHTML Host Language document type, and in addition it includes images, forms, basic tables, and object support. It is designed for Web clients that do not support the full set of XHTML features; for example, Web clients such as mobile phones, PDAs, pagers, and settop boxes. The document type is rich enough for content authoring. XHTML Basic is designed as a common base that may be extended. For example, an event module that is more generic than the traditional HTML 4 event system could be added or it could be extended by additional modules from XHTML Modularization such as the Script Module. The point is that XHTML Basic always is the common language that user agents support. The document type definition is implemented using XHTML modules as defined in "Modularization of XHTML". Design rationale: "HTML 4 was designed for large devices, overlapping windows/frames menus, mouse input pointing device, high powered CPU, large power supply. Requiring a full fledged computer for access to the World Wide Web excludes a large portion of the population from consumer device access of online information and services. Because there are many ways to subset HTML, there are many almost identical subsets defined by organizations and companies. Without a common base set of features, developing applications for a wide range of Web clients is difficult. The motivation for XHTML Basic is to provide an XHTML document type that can be shared across communities (e.g., desktop, TV, and mobile phones), and that is rich enough to be used for simple content authoring. New community-wide document types can be defined by extending XHTML Basic in such a way that XHTML Basic documents are in the set of valid documents of the new document type. Thus an XHTML Basic document can be presented on the maximum number of Web clients."

• XHTML Basic. W3C Working Draft 10 February 2000. Edited by Masayasu Ishikawa (W3C), Shinichi Matsui (Panasonic), Peter Stark (Phone.com) Toshihiko Yamakami (Access Co., Ltd.). The XHTML Basic document type is a subset of XHTML 1.1 . It includes the minimal set of modules required to be an XHTML Family document type, and in addition it includes images, forms, and basic tables. It is designed for Web clients that do not support the full set of XHTML features; for example, Web clients such as mobile phones, PDAs, pagers, and settop boxes. The document type is rich enough for content authoring. The document type definition is implemented using XHTML modules as defined in "Modularization of XHTML".

• [December 21, 1999]   W3C Working Draft for XHTML Basic.    As part of the W3C HTML Activity, the W3C has released a first public working draft specification for XHTML Basic. Reference: W3C Working Draft 20-December-1999, edited by Masayasu Ishikawa (W3C), Shinichi Matsui (Panasonic), Peter Stark (Phone.com), and Toshihiko Yamakami (Access Co., Ltd.). This review draft "has been prepared by the Mobile Subgroup of the W3C HTML Working Group based on input from the WAP Forum Application's group and members of the W3C Mobile Access Interest Group. The document represents "work in progress... [it] will be used by the Mobile Subgroup of the W3C HTML Working Group and the W3C Mobile Access Interest Group to find a common ground for future markup languages aimed at content for small information appliances." Document abstract: "The XHTML Basic document type is a subset of XHTML 1.1. It contains the basic XHTML features inlcluding text structure, images, basic forms, and basic tables. It is designed for Web clients that do not support the full set of XHTML features; for example, Web clients such as mobile phones, PDAs, pagers, and settop boxes. The document type definition is implemented using XHTML modules as defined in 'Modularization of XHTML'." Comments on the draft are solicited, and may be sent via email to the editors and public discussion list. Background and rationale for this work: "Information appliances are targeted for particular uses. They support the features they need for the functions they are designed to fulfill. The following are examples of different information appliances: Mobile phones, Televisions, PDAs, Vending machines, Pagers, Car navigation systems, Mobile game machines, Digital book readers, Smart watches. Existing subsets and variants of HTML for these clients include 'Compact HTML,' the Wireless Markup Language (WAP), and the 'HTML 4.0 Guidelines for Mobile Access'. The common features found in these document types include: Basic text (including headings, paragraphs, and lists), Hyperlinks and links to related documents, Basic forms, Basic tables, Images, Meta information. This set of HTML features has been the starting point for the design of XHTML Basic."

XHTML 2.0

• [July 22, 2004]   W3C HTML Working Group Publishes Updated XHTML 2.0 Draft and XHTML FAQ.    Members of the W3C HTML Working Group have released a sixth XHTML 2.0 Working Draft and a new HTML and XHTML Frequently Answered Questions. XHTML 2 is a "general purpose markup language designed for representing documents for a wide range of purposes across the World Wide Web. A modularized language without presentation elements, XHTML 2 takes HTML back to its roots in document structuring." XHTML 2 supplies a "generally useful set of markup elements with the possibility of extension using the class attribute on the span and div elements in combination with stylesheets, and attributes from the metadata attributes collection." The current Working Draft version includes an early implementation of XHTML 2.0 in RELAX NG. The Working Group intends to include implementations in DTD and/or XML Schema form in subsequent versions "once the content of the language stabilizes." Although XHTML 2.0 is a next generation markup language, its functionality is expected to remain similar to that of XHTML 1.1. "However, the markup language may be altered semantically and syntactically to conform to the requirements of related XML standards such as XML Base and XML Schema. The objective of these changes is to ensure that XHTML 2.0 can be readily supported by XML browsers that have no arcane knowledge of XHTML semantics such as linking, image maps, forms, etc."

• [May 26, 2003] "XHTML 2.0." W3C Working Draft 6-May-2003. Edited by Jonny Axelsson (Opera Software), Beth Epperson (Netscape/AOL), Masayasu Ishikawa (W3C), Shane McCarron (Applied Testing and Technology), Ann Navarro (WebGeek, Inc), and Steven Pemberton (CWI - HTML Working Group Chair). Latest version URL: http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml2. See also the diff-marked version, single XHTML file, PDF, and XHTML in ZIP archive. "XHTML 2 is a general purpose markup language designed for representing documents for a wide range of purposes across the World Wide Web. To this end it does not attempt to be all things to all people, supplying every possible markup idiom, but to supply a generally useful set of elements. It provides the possibility of extension using the span and div elements in combination with stylesheets... XHTML 2 is a member of the XHTML Family of markup languages. It is an XHTML Host Language as defined in XHTML Modularization. As such, it is made up of a set of XHTML Modules that together describe the elements and attributes of the language, and their content model. XHTML 2 updates many of the modules defined in XHTML Modularization 1.0, and includes the updated versions of all those modules and their semantics. XHTML 2 also uses modules from Ruby, XML Events, and XForms. The modules defined in this specification are largely extensions of the modules defined in XHTML Modularization 1.0. This specification also defines the semantics of the modules it includes. So, that means that unlike earlier versions of XHTML that relied upon the semantics defined in HTML 4, all of the semantics for XHTML 2 are defined either in this specification or in the specifications that it normatively references. Even though the XHTML 2 modules are defined in this specification, they are available for use in other XHTML family markup languages. Over time, it is possible that the modules defined in this specification will migrate into the XHTML Modularization specification... This document is the fifth public Working Draft of this specification. It should in no way be considered stable, and should not be normatively referenced for any purposes whatsoever. This version includes an early implementation of XHTML 2.0 in RELAX NG, but does not include the implementations in DTD or XML Schema form. Those will be included in subsequent versions, once the content of this language stabilizes. This version also does not address the issues revolving around the use of XLINK by XHTML 2. Those issues are being worked independent of the evolution of this specification. Those issues should, of course, be resolved as quickly as possible, and the resolution will be reflected in a future draft. Finally, the working group has started to resolve many of the issues that have been submitted by the public. If your particular issue has not yet been addressed, please be patient - there are many issues, and some are more complex than others..."

• [August 08, 2002] "XHTML 2.0." W3C Working Draft 5-August-2002. Edited by Shane McCarron (Applied Testing and Technology), Jonny Axelsson (Opera Software), Beth Epperson (Netscape/AOL), Ann Navarro (WebGeek, Inc.), and Steven Pemberton (CWI; HTML Working Group Chair). Version URL: http://www.w3.org/TR/2002/WD-xhtml2-20020805. Latest version URL: http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml2. This initial public Working Draft "specifies the XHTML 2.0 Markup Language and a variety of XHTML-conforming modules that support that language... XHTML 2 is a markup language intended for rich, portable web-based applications. It is a member of the XHTML Family of markup languages. It is an XHTML Host Language as defined in XHTML Modularization. As such, it is made up of a set of XHTML Modules that together describe the elements and attributes of the language, and their content model. XHTML 2 updates many of the modules defined in XHTML Modularization 1.0, and includes the updated versions of all those modules and their semantics. XHTML 2 also uses modules from Ruby, XML Events, and XForms. The modules defined in this specification are largely extensions of the modules defined in XHTML Modularization 1.0. This specification also defines the semantics of the modules it includes. So, that means that unlike earlier versions of XHTML that relied upon the semantics defined in HTML 4, all of the semantics for XHTML 2 are defined either in this specification or in the specifications that it normatively references. Even though the XHTML 2 modules are defined in this specification, they are available for use in other XHTML family markup languages. Over time, it is possible that the modules defined in this specification will migrate into the XHTML Modularization specification... either the DTD or the Schema can be used to validate XHTML 2.0 documents..." The W3C's HTML Home Page warns: "Note that while the ancestry of XHTML 2 comes from HTML 4, XHTML 1.0, and XHTML 1.1, it is not intended to be backward compatible with its earlier versions. Also, this first draft does not include the implementations of XHTML 2.0 in either DTD or XML Schema form yet. Those will be included in subsequent versions, once the contents of this language stabilizes." See: "XHTML and 'XML-Based' HTML Modules."

• [August 16, 2002] "The Absent Yet Present Link." By Kendall Grant Clark. From XML.com. August 14, 2002. ['Kendall Clark examines XLink's absence from the first public XHTML 2.0 draft.']

• [August 08, 2002] "XHTML 2.0: The Latest Trick." By Kendall Grant Clark. From XML.com. August 07, 2002. ['Kendall Clark takes a first look at the W3C's draft of XHTML 2.0']

• "XHTML 2.0 is a next generation markup language. In this version, the functionality is expected to remain similar to (or a superset of) that of XHTML 1.1. However, the markup language may be altered semantically and syntacticly to conform to the requirements of related XML standards such as XML Linking and XML Schema. The objective of these changes is to ensure that XHTML 2.0 can be readily supported by XML browsers that have no arcane knowledge of HTML semantics such as linking, image maps, forms, etc. The development of XHTML 2.0 will likely require the development of new XHTML modules or revisions to existing XHTML modules."

Extended Events Module

• [June 09, 2001]   W3C XHTML Events Working Draft Supports Association of Behaviors with Document-Level Markup.    The W3C HTML Working Group has published an updated working draft specification for 'XHTML Events', designed to "(1) expose the DOM event model to an XML document, (2) provide for new event types without requiring modification to the DOM or the DTD, and (3) to support integration with other XML languages." The new draft supersedes the previous working draft of 2000-08-28; changes are provided in the diff-marked HTML version. The XHTML Events module specification "defines an element onevent which represents a DOM level 2 event listener. The element onevent and its associated markup encapsulate the various aspects of the the DOM level 2 event interface, thereby providing markup level access for specifying the actions to be taken during the various phases of event propagation." From the document abstract: "The XHTML Events module defined in this specification provides XHTML host languages the ability to uniformly integrate event listeners and associated event handlers with Document Object Model (DOM) Level 2 event interfaces. The result is to provide XHTML based languages an interoperable way of associating behaviors with document-level markup. In addition, this specification defines a subset of the XHTML Events module called basic events for use on simpler client devices. Finally, the XHTML Event Types Module defines the XHTML language event types." The DTD Implementation is provided in the normative Appendix A. [Full context] [cache PDF]

• [August 29, 2000] "This specification defines an add-on module, via the XHTML Modularization framework, that defines a new events model with functionality orthogonal to that provided by traditional intrinsic events. This module is intended to support the requirements of XHTML, SYMM, and other future XHTML-compatible modules that require events processing. These specifications are targeted at client developers and content providers."

• XHTML Events

• [August 29, 2000]   XHTML Events - An Events Syntax for XHTML.    The W3C HTML Working Group has issued a second public working draft specification for XHTML Events - An updated events syntax for XHTML. Reference: W3C Working Draft 28-August-2000, edited by Ted Wugofski. Document abstract: "This specification defines the XHTML Event Module, a module that provides XHTML host languages with the ability to uniformly integrate behaviors with Document Object Model (DOM) Level 2 event interfaces. This specification also defines the XHTML Basic Event Module, a module which subsets the XHTML Event Module for simpler applications and simpler client devices, and the XHTML Event Types Module, a module defining XHTML language event types. The DOM specifies an event model that provides the following features: (1) the event system is generic, (2) a means is provided for registering event handlers, (3) events may be routed through a tree structure, and (4) context information for each event is available. In addition, the DOM provides an event flow architecture that describes how events are captured, bubbled, and canceled. In summary, event flow is the process through which an event originates from the DOM implementation and is passed into the document object model. The methods of event capture and event bubbling, along with various event listener registration techniques, allow the event to then be handled in a number of ways. It can be handled locally at the target node level or centrally from a node higher in the document tree. The XHTML Event Module contains an onevent element is used to represent the DOM event listener. As with the DOM Level 2 event interfaces, the XHTML Event Module provides a means for authors to listen to events during the capturing and bubbling phases, as well as when an event reaches its target node."

Document Profiles

• The device profile is complemented by the document profile. This gives information which describes, amongst other things, the XHTML and style sheet support necessary for a particular document to be rendered properly on a given device. A recent Working Draft giving a preliminary list of requirements of device profiles was released in September 1999. This document also begins to look at how the combination of document profile and device profile can be used to deliver the right variant of document to users requesting it. If none of the document variants are suitable, then there is the option of transforming an existing document into a mark-up more suitable for a given device, or of generating a new document as required. select the correct variant of a document for use."

• XHTML Document Profile Requirements. Document profiles - a basis for interoperability guarantees. W3C Working Draft 6th September 1999. "The increasing disparities between the capabilities of different kinds of Web user agents present challenges to Web content developers wishing to reach a wide audience. A promising approach is to formally describe profiles for documents intended for broad groups of user agents, for instance, separate document profiles for user agents running on desktops, television, handhelds, cellphones and voice user agents. Document profiles provide a basis for interoperability guarantees. If an author develops content for a given profile and a user agent supports the profile then the author may be confident that the document will be rendered as expected. The requirements for document profiles are analyzed."

• Also designed/planned: "The XHTML Profile Vocabulary is a document that will define the terms that other profiling mechanisms (e.g., CC/PP) can use to reference aspects of XHTML."

Device Profiles

• "How will you know what a given type of device supports in the way of XHTML tags? Which style sheet features does it implement? W3C is interested in the idea of device profiles which might specify, among other things, exactly which XHTML modules a given device should support. With smaller discrete specifications, it should be easier for developers to implement the features appropriate to a given device, so that, say, all televisions use the same specification and implement it completely, all PC's have the same implementation, and so on. Device profiles will also cover user preferences so that, for example, they might specify which language files should, if possible, be devilvered in- whether French, Japanese, Arabic and so on. Work on device profiles is being carried out in particular by the Mobile Access Activity."

• W3C Activity Statement on Mobile Access

Other Resources

• [May 26, 2003] "XHTML is the Most Important XML Vocabulary." By Kendall Grant Clark. From XML.com (May 21, 2003). "Taking the long view of recent technology, XHTML may be the most important XML vocabulary ever created. What I mean is not that XHTML will be the most widely deployed XML vocabulary, though if we take the long view, it could be. What I mean is that XHTML puts XML's reputation -- and, by extension, the W3C's reputation -- on the line to a greater degree than any other XML vocabulary... A reasonably computer-literate person can still learn to create XHTML 1.1 documents with reasonable effort and within a reasonable time. Even if it takes a week of evenings to become comfortable with the main features of XHTML, that's a small investment to make for a relatively big return. The Web's success, then, is due in part to the simplicity and generality of HTML. The ongoing success of the Web will be in part a function of maintaining a positive balance between how difficult and how empowering it is to learn XHTML. Some form of HTML, eventually XHTML, will always be the most common type of Web content; people will keep writing it by hand, building user interfaces with it, trying, succeeding, failing to scrape useful information from it, and so on. Any part of the Web's infrastructure with such a long future life cycle deserves careful, attentive, community shepherding... The May 2003 draft "displays evidence that community feedback can make a difference to the development of a specification... Perhaps the most welcome development, particularly from the perspective of XML-DEV geeks, is the appearance of a normative RELAX NG schema for XHTML 2.0. This development is welcome because it signals a growing acceptance of RELAX NG -- a non-W3C schema specification language -- within the working groups of the W3C. It is also welcome because XHTML is among the most document-centric of all XML vocabularies, and having RELAX NG's fittingness for such vocabularies on display is a good thing... I am very pleased to report that the latest XHTML 2.0 draft contains a provision for a caption element, which may reside within either table or object elements. I applaud this rational, simplifying, and long overdue addition. There is more than enough evidence of the utility and need for exactly this sort of addition. XHTML 2.0 is headed in the right direction, even if you're among those who think that, for example, the style attribute should die a horrible death. Sometimes W3C working groups do not have much of an active user community with which to have dialog about its work. But in those lucky cases where there is such a community, working groups do well to pay careful attention to what they want and say. This general rule is even more important in the case of XHTML. Despite the widespread pessimism about XHTML's deployment, it is far, far too important to be left in the hands of a working group alone..." Note: A fifth public Working Draft of XHTML 2.0 has been published: XHTML 2.0, W3C Working Draft 6-May-2003. This version includes (Appendix B) an early implementation of XHTML 2.0 in RELAX NG.

• [July 07, 2002] "XHTML: The Power of Two Languages. Extensible Hypertext Markup Language is a Reformulation of HTML 4 in XML" By Sathyan Munirathinam (Software Engineer, Aztec Software). From IBM developerWorks, XML zone. July 2002. ['This article takes a pragmatic look at XHTML, a markup language that effectively bridges the gap between the simplicity of HTML and the extensibility of XML. It also covers the essential features of the various flavors of XHTML and includes discussions of the language and a number of real-world applications.'] "Being a Web developer is a tough job. Not only do you have to steer clear of the traps and pitfalls that the popular browsers throw at you on a daily basis, but you also have to keep at least half an eye on the myriad developments that may (or may not) have an impact on your job. You may have just barely mastered style sheets and DHTML, yet new techniques clamor for your attention. Which ones do you need to learn right away? Which ones can you dismiss for now? Traditional HTML may ultimately be put out to pasture with the emergence of Extensible Hypertext Markup Language, or XHTML... XHTML is a hybrid of HTML and XML that's specifically designed for Net device displays (which include Web browsers, PDA devices, and cell phones). January 26, 2002 marked the second birthday of XHTML 1.0 as the official W3C recommendation for Web markup. But XHTML has yet to toddle, yet to smile, and yet to cry loud enough to get the attention of most Web designers... XHTML can be used with cascading style sheets (CSS) to achieve presentation goals. XHTML also allows you to use Extensible Stylesheet Language (XSL) with transformations. By using this XML-based style technology, you can actually transform a document from one type to another -- say, from an HTML document to a PDF document..." Note references at XHTML.ORG.

• [June 21, 2001] "Augmented Metadata in XHTML." Sun Microsystems Working Draft 21-June-2001. Edited by Murray Altheim (Sun Microsystems) and Sean B. Palmer. Draft version for feedback ('work in progress). Abstract: "This specification describes several minor syntax modifications to XHTML (the XML transformation of HTML) which provide much of the essential functionality required to augment Web pages with metadata as found in published descriptions of the Semantic Web. This augmentation allows Dublin Core metadata, a highly popular standard developed by the library community to be incorporated in Web pages in a way that is compatible with today's Web browsers, and describes a generalized mechanism by which other popular schemas can be used in similar fashion. The metadata can be associated with any XHTML or XML document or document fragment (actually, any addressable resource), internal or external to the document." Detail: "This specification describes three minor modifications to XHTML 1.1 which provide much of the essential functionality required to augment Web pages with schema-characterized metadata, as according to the need expressed in published descriptions of the Semantic Web. Using the extensibility provided by the W3C Recommendation Modularization of XHTML, this specification includes an 'XHTML Augmented Metadata 1.0 DTD' that implements these features. The first two modifications are relatively trivial, in terms of implementation: (1) allow the <meta> element to appear within any block element as metadata about its parent (i.e., any major document component); (2) add an optional href attribute to the <meta> element to allow it to point to any addressable resource. The third modification is to: (3) add a Dublin Core module to XHTML, modifying the content model of the <meta> element to contain its content. [From the post to 'www-rdf-interest@w3.org': "I've been hesitant to announce this since it's not quite finished, but since you asked, here's a specification in the works that describes how to incorporate Dublin Core metadata within XHTML, so that Web pages can be harvested for their subject, author, etc. content. How this might occur is described in section 5.5.3. You'll note that this doesn't put RDF of any flavour into a Web page. That couldn't be validated, which is one of the requirements of the project, and in terms of being globally useful, allowing every author in the world to create their own flavour of metadata isn't a particularly compelling need; we all need to agree on using the same "carrier" with a small number of controlled vocabularies. Dublin Core fits this bill as a very popular way of capturing a subset of the kinds of metadata described in things I've read about the Semantic Web. There's also a section on how to work this with topic maps..."

• [May 05, 2001] "Mix and Match Markup: XHTML Modularization." By Rick Jelliffe. From XML.com. May 02, 2001. ['The latest development from the W3C on HTML is the XHTML Modularization specification, allowing the tailoring of XHTML to suit different applications or devices. This article discusses the motivation and techniques behind modularization.'] "XHTML Modularization makes it convenient to create specialized versions of XHTML: subsets with tailored content models and extensions in other namespaces. XHTML Modularization may be one of the most important new technologies of 2001. This article introduce the basics of XHTML modularization. The same approach can be used with many XML languages... XHTML Modularization is essentially a set of conventions for splitting up a large DTD into modules. Following these conventions, XHTML has been split into modules, which have been made available to the public. Modularization works by providing a construct more largely-grained than the element and more finely-grained than the entire HTML namespace. The purpose of modularization is allow someone, perhaps not an expert in DTDs or Schemas, to restrict and extend their own version of HTML. Using modules means they won't miss something out by accident, as well as that there are placeholders for extensions and restrictions that are convenient and visible to others. So modularization does not actually alter the expressive power of DTDs or W3C XML Schema. Instead it provides an abstract model and practical conventions for how to organize a DTD or Schema... Evidence for the success of the XHTML Modularization concept may be found in the rapid development of the RDDL language [Resource Directory Description Language], which is Jonathon Borden and Tim Bray's (with others) Resource Directory Description Language, a version of XHTML with a simple linking element added in another namespace to point to the various resources related to a namespace URI. It is exactly the kind of DTD that XHTML M12n is good at, though XML M12n was inspired by the needs of PDAs or small appliances. The next question that arises is whether the modularization system would be useful for other large languages that we might wish to subset (did anyone say XML Schema?) The question is whether that kind of modularization allows the cake to be sliced in the most appropriate way. Additive modules could clearly be used to handle, for example, selecting or not selecting a key/keyref module, but if facets were modularized, an additive driver might be quite large, and there is no subtractive M12n approach tabled for XML Schemas. But still, the document would be simple to read and straightforward to create. The final question is whether, if modularization in XML Schemas is useful, there should be first-class markup to support it? Presumably, the way to approach this would be to provide some first-class support so that there might be a <module> element which could be used by some schema-management tools directly, to provide markup rather than just conventions. A modularization system for XML Schemas should look at the modularization system in the RELAX language (which is based on Toru Takahashi's early designs for SGML.)"

• [March 13, 2001] "XHTML Tags Reference." By Michael Classen. From WebReference.com. March, 2001. "XHTML is a reformulation of HTML 4 as an XML 1.0 application. The stricter nature of XML requires you to follow more rules than before when creating documents..."