W3C XHTMLActivity
XHTML is a stricter and purer version of HTML.
XHTML Tutorial
To learn how to convert your website to XHTML, please read ourXHTML Tutorial。
XHTML Versions
XHTML 1.0
As a W3C Recommendation, XHTML 1.0 was released on January 26, 2000.
XHTML 1.0 Revision
As a W3C Recommendation, XHTML 1.0 Second Edition was released on August 1, 2002. It is not a new version, but an update and bug fix.
XHTML 1.1
As a W3C Recommendation, XHTML 1.1 was released on May 31, 2001.
XHTML 1.1 Second Edition
As a W3C Recommendation, XHTML 1.1 (SE) was released on November 23, 2010.
About XHTML 1.0
XHTML 1.0 is the first major change to HTML since 1997, and it is a very important step on the road to providing richer web pages to a wider range of user agents, including desktop computers, mobile devices, phones, and so on.
XHTML is an XML application that can be smoothly migrated from HTML 4.01. The W3C's first step in restructuring HTML 4.01 into XML led to the birth of XHTML 1.0. XHTML 1.0 relies on the semantics provided by HTML 4.01 tags.
The next step is to modularize XHTML into smaller collections of elements, making it easier to combine XHTML with other markup languages (such as vector graphics and multimedia).
At the same time, modularization of XHTML can reduce development costs, improve collaboration with other applications (such as databases), make communication with different user agents (browsers) easier, and achieve cleaner integration between HTML and different XML standards.
W3C XHTML Activity
XHTML 1.0
XHTML 1.0 is a reformulation of HTML 4.01 using XML.
To learn more about XHTML, please visit ourXHTML Tutorial。
XHTML 1.1 (Modular XHTML)
Small devices (such as mobile phones) cannot support all features of XHTML. XHTML 1.1 divides the specification into modules with limited functionality. Small browsers can reduce their complexity by supporting selected modules (but once a module is selected, all its features must be supported).
XHTML 1.1 is a strict language. XHTML 1.1 is not backward compatible with HTML 4.
XHTML Basic
XHTML Basic is a small subset of XHTML 1.1. It only contains basic XHTML features, such as text structure, images, basic forms, and basic tables. It is designed for small browsers (such as those in handheld devices).
XHTML Events
It is due to the support for W3C Document Object Model Level 2 in XHTML that event handlers can be attached to XHTML elements, allowing parent elements to handle events before or after child elements.
To learn more about DOM, please study ourDOM Tutorial。
XHTML Print
XHTML-Print is a part of XHTML 1.1 (Modular XHTML).
XHTML-Print is designed for mobile devices and low-cost printers, which can typically print a page from beginning to end without a print buffer or device-specific print drivers.
XForms
Through XHTML forms, users can access a page, add information to the page, and then submit the page to a web server.
XForms is the successor to HTML forms, providing a more complete and presentation-independent way of handling Web interactions. Because it is designed to be integrated with XHTML, we expect that future e-commerce applications will require XForms.
XHTML Modularization
XHTML Modularization refers to dividing XHTML 1.0 into a collection of small modules that provide specific functionality.
XHTML 1.0 modularization is implemented by using XML DTD (Document Type Definition).
XHTML 2.0 modularization is implemented by using XML Schemas.
To learn more about DTD, please study ourDTD Tutorial。
To learn more about XML Schemas, please study ourXML Schemas Tutorial。
XHTML 2.0
XHTML 2.0 is the next generation markup language. Its functionality is expected to be very similar to XHTML 1.1, but it may be changed to comply with the requirements of XML standards, such as XML Linking and XML Schema.
XLink
XLink is a language for creating hyperlinks in XML documents. XLink is very similar to HTML links - but it more powerfully supports simple links (like HTML) and extended links (used to link multiple resources together).
You can in ourXLink Tutoriallearn more about XLink.
HLink
HLink adds the ability to specify which elements in XHTML can represent hyperlinks, and how hyperlinks should be traversed.
HLink is an extension of XLink.
W3C HTML Specifications and Timeline
| Specification | Draft/Proposal | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| XHTML 1.0 | January 26, 2000 | |
| XHTML 1.0 Revised | August 1, 2002 | |
| XHTML 1.1 | May 31, 2001 | |
| XHTML Modules | April 10, 2001 | |
| XHTML Modules 1.1 | October 8, 2008 | |
| XHTML Basic | December 19, 2000 | |
| XHTML Basic 1.1 | July 29, 2008 | |
| XHTML Events | October 14, 2003 | |
| XHTML Print | September 20, 2006 | |
| XHTML Media Types (SE) | January 16, 2009 | |
| XHTML 2.0 | July 26, 2006 | |
| XForms 1.0 | October 14, 2003 | |
| XForms 1.0 (Third Edition) | October 29, 2007 | |
| XForms 1.1 | October 20, 2009 | |
| XLink | June 27, 2001 | |
| HLink | September 13, 2002 |