Everything you need to know about HTML5

Posted on 16 Jul 2010 at 11:58

The industry looks like it will embrace the HTML5 concept of offline storage, with Google already dropping support for Gears in favour of HTML5. Mat Diss thinks this is a strong indicator that offline storage will “mature and become an essential foundation for the web”. Diss isn’t scared by the desktop application comparison either, arguing that in many respects HTML5-powered ones will surpass them. “HTML5 will become the de facto standard for delivering cross-platform applications,” Diss predicted. “The dedication to HTML5 by the large players, including Google, Apple and Microsoft, is a great example of the big players aligning and demonstrating the importance of getting HTML5 right.”

So does HTML5 mark the bursting of the cloud bubble? Far from it. Many believe it actually strengthens the cloud-computing position by allowing vendors to deliver online products with all that the cloud offers, but having the addition of offline usability. Duxbury told us that because “HTML5 makes the process simple without, crucially, users having to download any additional software or add-ons,” it will “increase the number of web apps that look and feel more like traditional desktop applications”.

Location, location, location

The popularity of Foursquare and other geolocation-driven apps on the iPhone has shown there’s an appetite for ultra-personalised content. HTML5 looks set to take that to the next level, with the inclusion of a geolocation API that will allow web browsers to determine a user’s current position using GPS, Wi-Fi triangulation or IP lookup data. But what does this mean for web privacy and how will it be implemented?

David Donnan foresees services created for larger portable devices, such as netbooks and iPads, to give a better user experience than a smartphone, and is sure it will herald an increase in personalised content. “HTML5 gives content creators and advertisers a more targeted approach,” he said. “Not only could an advert tell you about a product, it could also show you the nearest shop that stocks that product.”

Such hyper-targeting gives rise to privacy concerns, especially in the wake of the Google Buzz fiasco, when the company was forced to reverse its policy of making everything public by default. Mickaël Rémond insists that the browser client has to “implement the geolocation API in a privacy-conscious way”, warning users and asking for their permission before doing so. Not to mention that it will be something that can be turned off from within the browser.

Duxbury warns, however, that while the working draft might state this, there’s no clarity on how this might be enforced. As is often the case, the full extent of what location-based functionality will actually mean in practical privacy terms will only become clear in time.

The W3C factor

Now we have a better idea of the component parts that are likely to impact the web, what does HTML5 actually mean for web developers? Is it a change for good or a turn for the worse, and when can we expect it to be ratified and officially become the de facto standard for web development?

Mobile developer Volantis’ Mark Watson is in no doubt that HTML5 will be a revolution that stretches beyond the traditional desktop PC experience of the internet, and pitches the mobile industry firmly into the limelight. “HTML5 has the potential to enable many new features across mobile devices, building features with sophisticated UIs akin to those of native applications only currently available on many high-end smartphones,” he told us, insisting that “HTML5 will enable iPhone-like applications across a wider range of devices in all sizes and shapes”.

The time seems right for such a mobile web revolution. With the advancement of HTML5 and web app-centric development kits, the limitations of mobile web apps are fast dwindling. “The iPad will be making the most of HTML5’s capabilities, and will directly affect Apple’s content strategy, allowing content for the iPad to be presented similarly to the way iTunes currently presents music and video content,” Watson concluded.

Mat Diss agrees that life will become more exciting for the web developer. He said that, despite it still being in draft, many features of HTML5 are already available in browsers. “The web developer will be able to create richer websites more easily, and in a way that’s supported across more devices.”

As for when, opinion varies depending on which developer you talk to and how they define HTML5 as being “ready”. Mickaël Rémond says that the actual time at which it becomes an official standard isn’t important, as “it’s part of the internet landscape already”. Jeremy Keith agrees, arguing that “what matters is when browsers support the features in HTML5”. Which might be just as well if David Donnan is correct when he says that “it may never become an official standard”.
Mind you, he did go on to tell us that as browser support increases he expects uptake to increase greatly; he put a timeframe of just a couple of years for that groundswell to occur. Michael Duxbury said he has “a feeling that HTML5 will creep up on us, feature by feature”.

“What’s key here is that if you’re a web designer or developer, you’re going to need to know about HTML5, sooner rather than later,” he concluded. And hopefully, having read this far, PC Pro has done it’s bit in keeping you informed.

Author: Davey Winder

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