From: Sally Khudairi (sk@zotgroup.com)
Date: Tue Feb 01 2000 - 07:00:40 PST
For Immediate Release --
Contact:
Sally Khudairi
sk@zotgroup.com
+1.617.818.0177
Jeffrey Zeldman
Group Leader
jeffrey@zeldman.com
+1.212.725.0847
Tim Bray
tbray@textuality.com
+1.604.708.9592
THE WEB STANDARDS PROJECT APPLAUDS XHTML,
REMINDS BROWSER VENDORS THAT CORE STANDARDS COME FIRST
http://www.webstandards.org -- 1 February 2000 -- Furthering its mission to
promote the adoption of standards for the Web, the Web Standards
Project (WaSP) today announced its support for the W3C Recommendation for
XHTML, and reiterated its message to browser makers that delivering complete
support for existing standards -- including XML, CSS, ECMAScript, DOM and
HTML -- remains Job #1.
"We congratulate the W3C for its leadership in
developing standards for the Web. But our endorsement of XHTML should not be
misinterpreted as an abandonment of our core issue," said Jeffrey Zeldman,
Group Leader of The Web Standards Project. "Until all Web browsers deliver
100% support for the core standards outlined in our mission statement, the
Web will continue to fragment, site development will continue to be
excessively costly, and people who use the Web will continue to be
frustrated and excluded."
XHTML -- the Extensible Hypertext Markup Language -- combines the
traditional virtues of HTML with the flexibility and database-oriented
functionality of XML, thus wrapping text and other data types in a single,
extensible standard that embraces the needs of both content and commerce.
"W3C's Recommendation for XHTML provides the critical and immediate link
between HTML and XML," said Sally Khudairi, a member of the WaSP Steering
Committee. "With its extensible core architecture, XHTML enables site
builders to develop more flexible Web pages and applications, as well as
enhanced eCommerce functionality."
Simon St. Laurent, another member of the WaSP Steering Committee, added,
"XML's strict rules for conformance give XHTML a backbone that HTML has
never had, and promise to open up new possibilities for XHTML processing,
storage, and creation as the standard spreads. It's a big step forward."
However, WaSP Steering Committee member Tim Bray cautions, "the important
benefits of XHTML are unachievable without proper and complete
implementations of CSS, XML, and the Document Object Model."
"Some of these standards are five years old, and all of them were developed
with the cooperation of the browser makers, who pledged to implement the
standards they had helped to create. Web builders and Web users need these
companies to keep their promise," explained Zeldman. "The good news is, the
browser companies have begun to fully implement some of these standards. We
encourage them to continue, and not to become side-tracked by the promise of
XHTML...which could end up yet another unfulfilled promise, if the original
core standards are not supported first."
Further information on XHTML is available at the W3C Website at
http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/
ABOUT THE WEB STANDARDS PROJECT [WaSP]
The Web Standards Project is an international grassroots coalition of Web
developers and users fighting for standards on the Web, by calling attention
to browser incompatibilities that fragment the medium, prevent many people
from using the Web, and add 25% to the cost of developing all sites. The
WaSP urges all browser manufacturers to support existing standards before
incorporating proprietary innovations, and is working to educate Web authors
and Web-related software developers so that we may create a Web that works
for everyone. For more information on WaSP, please see
http://www.webstandards.org/
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