Web Standards: What and Why

Kevin Lawver

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Introduction

• I'm Kevin Lawver
  • Member of the CSS Working Group
  • Helped create the ModuleT
  • Active at the beginning of the ATOM syndication format process
  • Co-founder of crazy grassroots web standards advocacy group at AOL
  • Co-author of Adapting to Web Standards

What are Web Standards?

• Definitions for Authors and Implementors to allow for interoperability, and consistent implementation of functionality.
• When used by geeks and nerds, they frequently mean XHTML and CSS.

What Kinds Are There?

• Dejure
• Defacto
• "Guerilla"

Dejure Standards

• Ratified by a Standards Body
• Well documented (although often not in language normal humans understand), usually with very good test cases and at least a reference implementation.
• Examples:
  • XML, SOAP, ATOM
  • HTML, CSS, ECMAScript

Defacto Standards

• Become standards through large install base. Examples:
  • Microsoft Office
  • Flash
  • RSS

Where Do They Come From?

• W3C: XML, HTML, CSS, SOAP, etc
• Liberty: Identity and authentication
• OASIS: Lots of XML schemas
• Lots of others...

Guerilla Standards

• We'll talk about that later...

Why Should I Use Them?

• Quality is easily tested through validation
• Consistency
• Documentation
• Consistent and interoperable implementations

Don't Invent New XML Languages!!

• Tim Bray wrote an excellent article
• Key points:
  • Inventing new XML languages is hard, and more importantly, expensive
  • To do it right, you have to create schemas, validators and all new tools
  • Why do that when there is probably already an XML language that will express what you need?
• Use the standards-based development method instead!
  
  

The Standards-Based Development Method

• State your problem
• Research applicable standards
• Look for implementations
• Extend only if absolutely necessary

Step One: State Your Problem

• What are you trying to accomplish?
• What data do you need to represent?
• What are the endpoints and delivery methods?

Step Two: Research

• Are there any existing standards that represent similar data?
• Are there data structures in other fields that could be mapped to your data?

Step Three: Look for Implementations

• Is there already an open source toolkit in the language of your choosing?
• How mature is it?
• Is it something we should use and contribute back to?

Step Four: Extend Only if Absolutely Necessary

• Extend through namespaces
• Don't break existing tools!
• Don't change the meaning of existing elements

Case Study: XHTML

• XHTML is the XML-ization of HTML.
• Currently four flavors:
  • XHTML Transitional 1.0
  • XHTML Strict 1.0
  • XHTML 1.1
  • XHTML 2.0

Benefits: Consistency

• XHTML requires you to close tags, quote attributes and use all lowercase elements and attributes.
• That means you can enforce consistency across developers.

Benefits: Validation

• Validation becomes easier as a preliminary test of quality.
• Most decent text editors provide in-place validation.

Benefits: Broad Implementation

• There are parsers for XHTML in almost every programming language
• Because it's just XML, you can use XML parsers.
• Fairly consistent implementation across modern web browsers

Benefits: Well Documented and Understood

• Lots and lots of books and web resources.
• Well-established best practices
• Many subject matter experts within and outside of the company.

Guerilla Standards

• Small groups, forming "rebel" working groups
• Created to address perceived shortcomings of existing standards
• Sometimes end up in larger established standards bodies

Examples

• Microformats
  • Uses existing standards' (HTML and XHTML) attributes to add meaning to ambiguous elements
• ATOM
  • Alternative to RSS. More consistent and well-designed than RSS.
  • Also provides a syndication API.
• WhatWG
  • Formed in response to the W3C's direction with XHTML 2.
• OpenID
  • Allows for truly portable internet identity

Example: Microformats

• All work is done on e-mail lists and the wiki
• Rigorous community review makes for better standards.
• Has been accused of being "cultish" and led by a small group
  
  

Why Microformats?

• You have to use classes in your HTML, why not use classes with meaning?
• They're the semantic web today. We don't need no stinkin' RDF!
  
  

Microformats vs. W3C

• Microformats try to "pave the cowpath" instead of "boil the ocean"
• The process of creating a microformat and getting it approved by the community can be done in weeks instead of years (::cough:: W3C).
  
  

Example: WhatWG

• Produced the HTML5 and WebForms 1.0 specs.
• Along with group of W3C member companies (including AOL!), led the W3C to reconsider the direction of XHTML and the reformation of the HTML Working Group.
• Extremely informal, but doggedly led by Ian Hickson.
  
  

How Is AOL Involved? W3C

• AOL is a member of the W3C, and currently has representation on the following working groups:
• CSS WG: Cindy Li, Kevin Lawver
• Protocols and Formats WG -- A WAI activity/WCAG: Donald Evans
• Mobile Web Best Practices WG: Arun Ranganathan
• Web Security Context WG: Praveen Allavilli, Shawn Duffy, Zhihong Zhang
• Future HTML WG: Geoff Bishop, Arun Ranganathan
• Web API WG: Arun Ranganathan, Kevin Lawver
• Web Application Formats WG: Arun Ranganathan, Kevin Lawver, John Robinson
• Web Content Labeling XG (Incubator Group): Diana Pentecost
• We observe: Semantic Web, Web Services XML Protocol, Patent Policy, P3P

Other Standards Bodies AOL is a Member of

• Liberty Alliance: federated identity standards
• OMA: Open Mobile Alliance
• IETF: Internet Engineering Task Force: Edwin Aoki and Richard Collela
• INCITS: Accessibility
• OASIS: Monitor, but don't actively participate in the Security and Open Document Format: Roger Martin
• JCP: Java Community Process: Carlos O'Kieffe
• OMTP: Open Mobile Terminal Platform: Pim van Meurs, Mary Lou Hardy
• DDEX: Digital Date Exchange: Metadata for media: Nick Sincaglia

AOL is a Guerilla

• Several employees are active in:
  • the Microformats community - ModuleT, hAtom, hReview and hResume
  • OpenID - Trying to get agreement between all the identity specs on a direction
  • Atom - John Panzer has been very involved in the Atom community
    
    

How Can I Get Involved?

• We need more representation in the W3C! If you're a domain expert, talk to your manager and get approval.
• Adopt standards-based development practices!
• Don't create any more XML languages
• Reach out. There are domain experts in the company who can help point you in the right direction.

Conclusion

• Follow the steps
• Ask, don't invent

Questions?