PDF version of this report
You must have Adobe Acrobat reader to view, save, or print PDF files. The
reader is available for free
download.

HTML5 Basics

by Geoff Keston

Copyright 2021, Faulkner Information Services. All
Rights Reserved.

Docid: 00021112

Publication Date: 2107

Report Type: TUTORIAL

Preview

HTML5 makes it easier to develop rich multimedia Web sites that are
widely supported across multiple browsers and on a variety of devices.
With native support for advanced features that previously required
third-party plug-ins, HTML5 also reduces the cost of development and makes
it easier to access multimedia and interactive portions of a Web site.

Report Contents:

• Executive Summary
• Description
• Current View
• Outlook
• Recommendations
• References
• Web Links
• Related Reports

Executive Summary

[return to top of this
report]

Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is the standard language used to specify
the structure, appearance, and functioning of Web pages.

It is a publicly available, free, open source language. Version 4 of
HTML, which has been used since the late 1990s, can specify text and page
layout, links to other pages, embedded images, and simple interactive
forms, but it is not in itself able to play audio or video, or manage
interactive content. For these functions, Web pages use plug-ins, which
are proprietary third-party programs that must be installed on a user’s
computer. Common plug-ins include Flash and QuickTime.

HTML5, whose final specification was released in 2014 after years of
development, adds functionality aimed at eliminating the need for plug-ins
for most Web applications and makes it easier to develop rich multimedia
Web sites that are broadly supported across multiple browsers and on a
variety of devices.¹

Three features of HTML5 are in particular of interest:

• HTML5 Web pages can manage basic video and audio playback directly in
  a Web page. This increases convenience for users and makes it more
  likely that they will access multimedia content; it reduces the cost of
  development; and it reduces dependence on third-party vendors of
  plug-ins. More demanding applications such as high-volume video,
  livestreaming, copy protection, and full-length movies may still require
  capabilities provided by plug-ins.
• The canvas element enables the drawing of still graphics using code,
  rather than requiring the embedding of an image. This is especially
  useful for rendering graphs, gradients, shadowing, and other text
  effects, game graphics, and backgrounds. Embedded images may still be
  used for more complex graphics and images.
• HTML5 allows Web page files to be stored locally, so that a user can
  continue to work in Web applications offline when a network connection
  is unavailable, and then sync when connected again (without having to
  download special software, as is required with previous versions of
  HTML).

One of the main benefits offered by HTML5 is greatly improved
cross-platform compatibility and interoperability. Developers no longer
have to create different versions of Web pages for each browser. Instead,
Web page specifications are interpreted the same way in every
standards-compliant browser, including mobile Web browsers.

HTML5 is stable and has been in use for years, and the new
specification is becoming commonplace, even though some development work
remains. HTML5 is also designed to be backward-compatible: If a browser
does not support a certain new element, it will be ignored without causing
any disruption or error in interpreting the Web page. Therefore, for most
purposes, it makes sense to begin using HTML5 now.

Description

[return to top of this
report]

Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is the standard language used to specify
the structure, appearance, and functioning of Web pages. It is publicly
available, free, and open source. The final specification for the newest
major version, HTML5, was released by the W3C in 2014.²

Since its inception in 1990, HTML has been document-focused.
Historically, it has been able to specify attributes such as text and page
layout, links to other pages, embedded images, and simple interactive
forms, but it cannot play audio or video or manage interactive content
(such as drag-and-drop functionality). For these features, Web pages have
used plug-ins (e.g., Adobe Flash, QuickTime, and Microsoft Silverlight),
which are proprietary third-party programs that must be installed on the
user’s computer, phone, or other device before a Web page can
run. HTML5 adds functionality aimed at eliminating the need for
plug-ins for most Web applications and at making it easier to develop more
powerful Web sites.³ The previous version of HTML (4.01) was
released in 1999 by the W3C. In 2004, while the W3C was pursuing an
alternative, the browser makers Opera Software, Mozilla, and Apple formed
the Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group (WHATWG) to begin
work on a new version of HTML, which became known as HTML5. In 2007, the
W3C returned to HTML, taking WHATWG’s HTML5 as their starting point. The
two groups later cooperated, perhaps not always seamlessly, on HTML5’s
development.⁴

What previous HTML versions did for Web pages, HTML5 does for Web
applications. With HTML5, the browser becomes the development platform,
enabling a sophisticated, iPhone-style user interface on many more devices
because the user interface is in the Web site itself, not downloaded to
the phone. Some of the features of HTML5 that are generating the most
interest are native audio and video control, the canvas element, and
offline Web applications.

Native Audio and Video Control

HTML5 can embed and manage video and audio directly in a Web page. In
addition to eliminating the interruption and annoyance of messages such as
“a plug-in is required to view this content,” native control of audio
and video solves potential problems related to dependence on third-party
plug-in vendors.

HTML5 reduces, but may not entirely eliminate, the need for proprietary
plug-ins to run Web applications. For example, it can manage basic video
delivery and display but not more demanding applications such as
high-volume video, live streaming, copy protection, embedded content from
other sites, full-length movies, and Web cams and microphones in the
browser – all of which require capabilities provided by plug-ins such as
fine control over buffering and dynamic quality control. For these
reasons, some plug-ins may continue to be needed for particular purposes,
although many Web videos are manageable via HTML5.

Canvas

The canvas element in HTML5 enables the drawing of still graphics using
code rather than requiring the embedding of an image. This is especially
useful for rendering graphs, gradients, shadowing, and other text effects,
game graphics, and backgrounds. Embedded images will still be used for
more complex graphics and images that are better represented in JPEG or
similar formats.

Offline Web Applications

HTML5 allows Web page files to be stored locally, so that a user can
continue to work offline (e.g., reading and drafting responses to email)
when a network connection is unavailable, and then sync when connected
again. The ability to store content locally makes Web applications more
portable. With HTML5, users do not have to download software to do this.

Current View

[return to top of this
report]

Usage of HTML5 has steadily increased. As of July 2021, it was used by
88.3 percent of Web sites, up from 65.5 percent in August 2017.⁵
Among larger Web sites, usage of the new version is even more common.

HTML5 is backed by all the major browser makers. Its working group
includes AOL, Apple, Google, IBM, Microsoft, Mozilla, Nokia, Opera, and
hundreds of other vendors. With such a consensus, developers no longer
have to create different versions of Web pages for each browser. Instead,
Web page specifications are interpreted the same way in every standards
compliant browser. The standard’s backward-compatibility means that if a
browser does not support a certain HTML5 element, it will be ignored
without causing any problems in interpreting the Web page.

One example of HTML5’s flexibility and interoperability concerns its
management of video. Apple, Microsoft, and Sony support the H.264 (MPEG4)
standard for video compression, while Adobe, Google, Mozilla, and Opera
support the competing VP8 standard. HTML5 allows developers to include
video in both formats. The first format that is supported by the browser
is the one that is played, and any format not supported is simply ignored.

HTML5 continues to be updated with period minor releases from the W3C.
The latest update, version 5.3, was released in January 2021.⁶

Outlook

[return to top of this
report]

HTML5 may not mean the end of all plug-in technologies. Developers must
continue to provide an option for the large installed base of users who
are satisfied with other plug-ins and who may not upgrade from older
browsers that lack HTML5 support. In addition, developers who are familiar
with using plug-ins may tend to continue doing what they know. Finally,
some plug-ins provide higher functionality for some types of multimedia
and interactive content, such as Gmail’s multiple file upload. But while
some plug-ins may endure, two once-popular tools –Adobe Flash and
Microsoft Silverlight– have reached their end-of-life, possibly because
of HTML5.⁷

The rise of HTML5 will help to shape the industry in the coming years. Some
of these effects will be commercial. As noted in a BBC News article, “Google
is pushing HTML5 hard, not surprising since the greater impact that web
pages and apps have, the more advertising it can sell.”⁸ And
HTML5 will influence broader technological trends. As observed in the same
BBC story, it will also help with the development of the semantic Web.

The W3C’s design strategy for HTML5 is part of a broader effort called
the Open Web Platform, a family of standards designed to support
compatibility among Web software from different vendors.⁹ Other
parts of the family are the Document Object Model, CCS, SVG, and MathML,
among others.¹⁰ And in early 2021, a new member of the family,
Open Web Docs, was launched.¹¹ The future of HTML5 will be
determined in part by the results of this overall initiative.

Even with improvements to HTML5, the specification will continue to
have some limits. In particular, many software developers do not consider it
to be the best platform for creating applications. The case against apps
built with HTML5 is that they are limited by the functionality and security
of browsers. The alternative – native apps, which are built directly for the
device on which they will run – allows developers to implement a wider range
of functions and security features.¹²

Recommendations

[return to top of this
report]

For most users, the switch to HTML5 will be seamless – they will simply
upgrade their browser to the latest version at some point, and then they
will be using the new specification. Web site developers need to plan for
the transition, however. In deciding when to begin using HTML5, they can
consider the new specification’s advantages:

• It is easier to develop rich, multimedia Web sites. Cross-platform
  compatibility and interoperability means that developers no longer have
  to create different versions of Web pages for each browser.
• Native support for advanced features that previously required
  proprietary third-party plug-ins reduces the cost of development because
  there is no need to purchase developer toolkits.
• It preserves a company’s independence because it is an open standard.
  Company Web pages using third-party plug-ins make the company dependent
  on the third party to keep providing it.
• It makes it easier for users to access multimedia and interactive
  features. Users are more likely to watch or listen to content if they
  are not told that they first have to download or update a plug-in.

References

[return to top of this
report]

• ¹ Davey Winder. “Everything You Need to Know About HTML5.”
  Alphr. July 16, 2010.
• ² Joab Jackson. “HTML5 Finalized, Finally.” PCWorld.
  October 28, 2014.
• ³ “HTML5. A Vocabulary and Associated APIs for HTML
  and XHTML.” W3C. October 28, 2014.
• ⁴ “FAQ.” WHATWG. April 9, 2015.
• ⁵ See:
  • “Usage Statistics and Market Share of HTML5 for Websites.”
    W3Techs.
    August 13, 2017.
  • “Usage Statistics and Market Share of HTML5 for Websites.”
    W3Techs.
    July 19, 2021.
• ⁶ “HTML 5.3: W3C Working Group Note.” W3C. January 28, 2021.
• ⁷ See:
  • “Adobe Flash Player EOL General Information Page.” Adobe. January 13, 2021.
  • "Silverlight End of Support.” Microsoft.
• ⁸ Ian Hardy. “Coding the Future. HTML5 Takes the Internet
  by Storm.” BBC News. May 8, 2012.
• ⁹ Joab Jackson. “HTML5 Finalized, Finally.” PCWorld.
  October 28, 2014.
• ¹⁰ “Open Web Platform.” W3C. May 30, 2015.
• ¹¹ Robert Nyman. “Introducing Open Web Docs.”
  Open
  Collective. January 25, 2021.
• ¹² Alyssa Provazza. “State of HTML5 Mobile App Development
  in the Enterprise.” SearchMobileComputing. October 11, 2016.

Web Links

[return to top of this
report]

• Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group (WHATWG): http://www.whatwg.org/
• World Wide Web Consortium (W3C): http://www.w3.org/

About the Author

[return to top of this
report]

Geoff Keston is the author of more than 250 articles
that help organizations find opportunities in business trends and
technology. He also works directly with clients to develop communications
strategies that improve processes and customer relationships. Mr. Keston
has worked as a project manager for a major technology consulting and
services company and is a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer and a
Certified Novell Administrator.

[return to top of this
report]