W3C Issues XHTML 1.0 as Recommendation - Technology Information

ENT, Feb 23, 2000

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C, www.w3.org) released the XHMTL 1.0 specification as a W3C recommendation. XHTML 1.0 is the language that will bridge the gap between HTML and the emerging Web standard XML.

XHMTL uses HTML 4.0, the current implementation of HTML, and rewrites it as an XML application. XHTML 1.0 allows authors to create Web documents that work with current HTML browsers but may also be processed with XML-enabled software.

Additionally, XML documents are able to make the transition from traditional desktop-based browsers to Web-enabled devices such as wireless phones and palm computing devices.

XHMTL lets authors use elements of HTML 4.0 and combine them with elements from other XML languages, such as Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language, MathML, Scalable Vector Graphics, and Resource Description Framework.

XML documents can already be transformed using Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformations (XSLT) and rendered using independent style sheets such as Cascading Style Sheets.

XHTML 1.1, an upcoming version of the language, will include a protocol that allows a user to specify user preferences and device capabilities.

The XHTML 1.0 recommendation was written by members of the HTML working group, including Ask Jeeves (www.aj.com), CNET Inc. (www.cnet.com), Gateway Inc. (www.gateway.com), IBM Corp. (www.ibm.com), and Sun Microsystems Inc. (www.sun.com).

Additionally, many W3C members have announced support for XHTML 1.0 in current products and committed to implementations in future products.