What the heck is HTML 5

HTML5 is the proposed next standard for HTML 4.01, XHTML 1.0 and DOM Level 2 HTML. It aims to reduce the need for proprietary plug-in-based rich internet application (RIA) technologies such as Adobe Flash, Microsoft Silverlight, and Sun JavaFX.

For example, if you decide to embed an audio or video file in your web page today, the other person would need a plug-in like Adobe Flash, QuickTime or Windows Media player before he can play that clip in his browser. That will change with HTML5 since the browser itself can play these multimedia clips without requiring plug-ins like flash player etc.

What’s the need of HTML 5?

Site Map Up until 2004, the HTML language was developed by the World Wide Web Consortium. A lot of developers were disillusioned with the proposed improvements in the HTML language that the W3C were proposing, many feeling that they were out of touch with the needs of modern day web and app developers. A new group named WHATWG (Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group) has since taken over development of the language and has named it’s specification HTML 5.

What are the new features?

1. The video element : HTML 5 allows you to embed video with the need for third-party plug-ins or codecs, finally meaning that inserting video into a web page is a hassle free experience. Find out more about the video element

2. The canvas element : In technical terms, the canvas element allows for dynamic scriptable rendering of bitmap images. In terms of the end user, it will allow the creation of things like diagrams, animations and charts / graphs. You can see an example of what can be done with canvas, even at this early stage, over at Mozilla. Learn more.

3. Local storage : Much like cookies, HTML 5 increases functionality for storing web based information locally on your machine. The main difference to cookie functionality being the sheer amount of data HTML 5 allows you to store, perfect for today’s modern, data dependent web applications. Learn more

4. Web workers : According to the WHATWG scope, web workers defines an API for running scripts in the background independently of any user interface scripts. Basically put, this allows for smoother running of code-heavy web pages. Inimino state “a worker can be opened by the page, do work in the background without tying up the UI, and notify the page when the work is done. During this time, the page can respond to other events normally.” Learn more

5. Forms 2.0 : HTML 5’s proposed specifications include a huge revamping, called Web Forms 2.0, of how web forms would be handled. It gives web developers a lot of options and new features for effectively and easily handling input fields and form submissions.The most exciting thing about Web Forms 2.0 is form validation. Currently, developers are required to use JavaScript (client-side) or PHP (server-side) code to validate inputs. Learn more.

Can we code in HTML 5 now?

Although you can start using HTML 5 right away, some mainstream browsers are beginning to support the language in their recent releases meaning that the features above are already available for use for those using newer browsers. Deep blue sky has recently posted a great recap of browser support for both HTML 5 and CSS3.

HTML 5 Examples

View YouTube Videos without Flash Player. Learn more about it here
List of HTML 5 Demos and Examples
HTML 5 Gallery
HTML 5 forms demo
Drag and drop functionality
HTML 5 Geolocation Demo
HTML 5 Canvas Particle

HTML 5 Tutorials

How to Make an HTML5 iPhone App
HTML 5 Cheat Sheet (PDF)
How to Make an HTML5 iPhone App
Coding a HTML 5 layout from scratch
HTML 5 and CSS3: The techniques you’ll soon be using
Designing a blog with HTML 5
HTML 5 tutorial – A simple web page layout

HTML 5 Resources

A Preview of HTML 5
HTML 5 vs HTML 4
A developers guide to HTML 5
HTML 5 Doctor
New in HTML 5

HTML 5 Presentations

Introduction to HTML 5

What the heck is HTML 5

Looking into HTML5

Up to Speed on HTML 5 and CSS 3