The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) tearfully announced today that after nearly eight years of arduous efforts, the HTML5 standard specification has finally been finalized and publicly released.

In the years leading up to this, many developers had already used parts of HTML5 technology one after another. Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera, Safari 4+, and Internet Explorer 9+ already support HTML5, but only today have we seen the "official version".

HTML5 will replace the HTML 4.01 and XHTML 1.0 standards established in 1999, aiming to bring web standards in line with contemporary network demands while Internet applications develop rapidly, and delivering rich content with seamless integration for desktop and mobile platforms.

W3C CEO Dr. Jeff Jaffe said: "HTML5 will push the Web into a new era. Not long ago, the Web was only for reading some basic documents online, but today, the Web is an extremely rich platform. We have entered a stable stage where everyone can act according to standards, and it can be used in all browsers. If we cannot join hands, there will be no unified Web."

HTML5 is also expected to become the cornerstone of the dreamed-of "Open Web Platform", which, if realized, can further promote deeper cross-platform Web applications.

Next, W3C will focus on developing standard specifications for real-time communication, electronic payment, application development, and other areas, and will also create a series of privacy and security protection measures.

W3C also revealed in 2012 that it planned to release HTML 5.1 by the end of 2016.

HTML Tutorial:http://www.w3cschool.cc/html/html5-intro.html

W3C Bird's Nest Topics:What can HTML 5 do? What are the advantages of HTML 5? Will it replace Flash?

HTML5 Official VersionPortal

Source: MyDrivers