HTML
Definition
The Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is the dominant language for web pages.
This is just a short overview page. See also:
- HTML links
- XHTML
- HTML and XHTML elements and attributes, a tutorial that introduces the most important HTML and XHTML elements and attributes.
Popular Versions
The version of HTML was created in 1991 in a documented called HTML Tags (retrieved 15:16, 1 September 2009 (UTC)) and included about 20 elements.
HTML 2.0
HTML 2.0 was published as RFC 1866 (november 1995), with some later additions, like RFC 2867 (forms), RFC 1942 (tables), RFC 1980 (client-side image maps)
HTML 3.2
The HTML 3.2 Reference Specification (Jan 1997) was published as W3C Recommendation
Many web pages still use 3.2. It displays fine on all modern browsers, unless people use unofficial (non 3.2) extensions from that time ...
HTML 4.01
HTML 4 was first published in 1997 and then refined in december 1999 as HTML 4.01.
- HTML 4.01 (May 2001)
HTML 4.01 is the current HTML (not XHTML) specification, and there exist three variants:
- HTML 4.01 strict is cleaned up version of HTML, i.e. does not contain styling functionalities that can be had through CSS stylesheets.
- HTML 4.01 transitional includes tags such as center, font and strike that were deprecated in HTML 4.01 strict
- HTML 1.0 Frameset includes framesets (excluded from HTML 4.01 strict).
XHTML 1.0
- XHTML 1.0 (jan 2000).
- Formulates XHTML 4.01 in XML and some other minor changes
XHTML 1.1
- XHTML 1.1 (May 2001) adds minor changes to XHTML 1.0 and is described in modular form.
Future
XHTML 2.0
This version tried to introduce a more coherent document markup, e.g. through the use of sections (like in DocBook), but since Summer 2009 it is a dead project.
HTML 5.0
- HTML 5, an update to XHTML 1.1 that includes a few interesting extensions, like the canevas elements.
- HTML 5 (Wikipedia)
Less popular versions
- HTML Tags (a CERN document of 1992)
- HTML 3.0 was an aborted attempt in 1995.
- HTML 4.0 (dec 1997). It was the first series of standards that distinguised between strict, transitional (deprrecated elements allowed) and frameset.