W3C publishes the full HTML5 specification

THE WORLD WIDE WEB CONSORTIUM (W3C) has published the full definitions of the HTML5 and Canvas 2D specifications and is now moving on to interoperability and performance testing.

Although Apple, Google, Mozilla and Microsoft have incorporated HTML5 support into their respective web browsers, the specification had yet to be fully defined. Now the W3C has announced that the specifications for HTML5 and Canvas 2D have been published, with the organisation moving on to work on defining interoperability and performance testing standards.

The W3C settling on a specification for HTML5 should mean that web browser developers can now provide support for a common set of functions rather than implementing parts of the specification. The consortium said that it is now at a stage where it will work with web browser developers, email clients, servers, content management systems and web tools to ensure correct implementation of HTML5.

W3C CEO Jeff Jaffe said of the finalisation of the specification, "The broader the reach of Web technology, the more our stakeholders demand a stable standard. As of today, businesses know what they can rely on for HTML5 in the coming years, and what their customers will demand. Likewise, developers will know what skills to cultivate to reach smart phones, cars, televisions, ebooks, digital signs, and devices not yet known."

The W3C said that it expects to see "broad HTML5 interoperability" by 2014, although given Google's and Mozilla's short development lifecycles, the Chrome and Firefox web browsers might implement the final specification of HTML5 long before then. µ