Next Generation HTML: The Big Picture
June 7th 1998
Last Modified:
August 11, 2008
The Big Picture
The Big Picture graphic shows the interrelationship among the
various efforts of the W3C and its members in the ever expanding
areas that I call
"Next
Generation HTML". Colors indicate the current state of
each effort:
red indicates a fully mature W3C
Recommendation,
pink represents a
Proposed Recommendation,
brown indicates a
Working Draft,
aqua represents a W3C
Note,
and black labels specifications which are not presently part
of W3C's purview. As an imagemap, the graphic also functions as
a launching pad for each of the topics depicted.
The remainder of this article covers the different sections of
the diagram. On the extreme left of the diagram, the vertical
labels Scripting, Markup, Style, and
Linking partition the diagram into the major divisions
which are discussed next. As we move from left to center of the
diagram, we first see the mostly red Recommendations, then the
mixed status of the three XML specifications (XML, XSL, and XLL),
and finally the black non-W3C specifications, SGML, DSSSL,
HyTime and TEI. This progression (left to center) indicates
increasing complexity. It is not a coincidence that these more
complex specifications are outside of the realm of the W3C;
they represent efforts, primarily from the publishing industry,
that pre-date the World Wide Web.
The entire right side of the diagram depicts specifications that
are related to XML. In this portion of the diagram, left to right
does not imply anything about complexity. It may help to think
of the right side of specifications as being "behind"
XML in a 3D sense.
Since this is a static view
(last updated August 11, 2008)
of some very dynamic targets, please refer to the W3C
Technical Reports &
Publications page for the final word concerning the
status of any W3C Recommendation, Proposed Recommendation,
Working Draft, or Note.
Note: The W3C has a related Data Format Architecture diagram by
Tim Berners-Lee on their
W3C Data Formats
page. The W3C diagram emphasizes the relationship between XML
and RDF, in which the former provides the syntax and structure
while the latter provides the semantics; RDF is viewed as a layer
on top of XML.
Markup Languages
The Markup section is the heart of our diagram because it is the
most fundamental part. This includes HTML (HyperText Markup
Language), XML (eXtensible Markup Language), and SGML (Standard
Generalized Markup Language), listed from most simple on the left
(HTML) to most complex on the right (SGML). The color code
tells us that both HTML and XML are full-fledged W3C
Recommendations, but SGML is not a specification controlled by
the W3C. XML is positioned between HTML and SGML; it is more
complicated than HTML but less complex than SGML.
HTML
is covered in depth by WDVL. Our XML area is growing each month.
A central reference for Markup Languages is the
W3C HyperText Markup Language
home page. As we reported in the
WDVL URLy Bird section, on May 4-5, 1998,
a special workshop was held for W3C members called
"Shaping the
Future of HTML". Watch for upcoming information from
the W3C about a new version of HTML (which will co-exist
with XML, Style Sheets, RDF, SMIL and other languages).
Next Generation HTML: The W3C Process
Next Generation HTML: The Big Picture
Next Generation HTML: Scripting Efforts
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