[WEB4LIB] Future of HTML

[Dondi Michael]

I believe there is still too wide a gap between what XML does now and what it
promises to deliver.  This is mostly because some of the principal portions of
XML are still under development.  These include XLink and XPointer (formerly
XLL), XSL for stylesheets, and XML namespaces.  I don't think you can find a
truly XML effort anywhere yet from start to finish.  However, if you have the
right browser and know the right URL, it is rumored that you can read manuals
on the docs.sun.com documentation server from Sun in XML.

While many implementations use XML to enrich their data, they also still rely
on HTML as a delivery format for their documents in the browser.  And I often
read that XML is not intended to replace HTML, but is meant to compliment.  Or
at least HTML will endure as a comfort zone for early adopters of XML.

I am also eager to hear from those who know more about this.

-Dondi Michael



John Creech wrote:

> Folks,
>
> I've been wondering recently about the "future" of HTML, about upgrading
> our website to HTML 4.0, and other such stuff, and would like to hear
> others' opinions on this.  My crystal ball went south, so I have no way of
> predicting any of this.
>
> As a very crude experiment, I went to the ARL website, called up the list
> of members, picked a spot in the alpha index at random, and visited 20
> library sites, just to see how the big dogs are handling 4.0/CSS.  Of the
> 20 I checked, 6 had implemented 4.0.  Many, like us here, are still
> declaring 3.2, while some had no DTD's.
>
> What do you all see coming up?  Is there going to ever be a "5.0"?  Are we
> moving to XML?  Are the benefits of upping to 4.0 worth the labor?
>
> Thanks for any comments.
>
> John Creech
> Electronic Resources & Systems Librarian
> Central Washington University Library
> 400 E. 8th Ave. | Ellensburg, WA 98926 | 509-963-1081
> creechj at www.lib.cwu.edu
> personal mail=jcreech at ellensburg.com
> personal pages=www.ellensburg.com/~jcreech