Working with the HTML5 Community

We’re always excited to engage with members of the W3C including the developers of other browsers as well as the broader web development community to help shape the direction of emerging Web standards, particularly HTML5.  This includes participating in events like TPAC, which we wrote about in November, and on-going engagement with various working groups.  Patrick recently talked about joining the SVG working group, and I’d like to share a brief list of other happenings on the way to making HTML5 well-defined, well-tested, and accessible:

• Providing feedback on HTML5
  Tony Ross, Internet Explorer Program Manager, and Jonas Sicking of Mozilla, led a discussion about extensibility in HTML5 at TPAC after our initial submission.  While the working group hasn’t resolved the issue yet, we think the event helped inform everyone and generate the different proposals submitted since. 
• Testing HTML5
  Kris Krueger, Internet Explorer Test Lead, was appointed facilitator of the W3C HTML5 Testing Task Force.  The task force has set up necessary infrastructure like a wiki, Bugzilla, a work item tracker, and CVS repository for test cases.  With that in place, they’ve started to review DOM Level 2 HTML test cases to use as the start of HTML5 testing.  As with CSS2.1, we think a good test suite is critical to ensuring a specification results in interoperable implementations.
• Ensuring new specifications enable accessibility
  We care deeply about an accessible web so besides implementing accessibility-focused browser features, we’re working with Apple, IBM, and other interested parties to ensure the new HTML5 <canvas> and <video> elements have great accessibility support so everyone can use sites leveraging them.  This work is driven by the Accessibility Task Force.  Together, we’re working on <canvas> HTML prototypes to use as ‘proof of concepts’ to ensure the feature is well-designed, as discussed in a recent teleconference. 
• Indexed DB Proposal
  Together with Mozilla, we’re excited about a new design for local storage called Indexed DB.  We think this is a great solution for the web.  Look for another post with more information about this proposal.  In the meantime, you can read the latest working draft. 
• DOM Level 3 Events
  Travis Leithead, Internet Explorer Program Manager, continues to help close down open issues with the latest editor’s draft. It’s been awhile since the working group published the last working draft and the group plans to publish an update soon that will improve clarity for implementers and web authors alike. On a recent teleconference, we noted that DOM Level 2 Events was published as a Recommendation nearly 10 years ago; it’s exciting to have the next milestone in sight!

Finally, you can read an interview with Paul Cotton from Microsoft and co-Chair of the W3C HTML Working Group on the W3C Blog.

Adrian Bateman
Program Manager