HTML and CSS Reference
In-Depth Information
1.2.4. Standards Organizations
Like many popular technologies, HTML started out as an informal spe-
cification used by only a few people. As more and more authors began
to use the language, it became obvious that more formal means were
needed to define and managei.e., to standardizethe language's features,
making it easier for everyone to create and share documents.
1.2.4.1. The World Wide Web Consortium
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) was formed with the charter
to define the standards for HTML and, later, XHTML. Members are re-
sponsible for drafting, circulating for review, and modifying the standard
based on cross-Internet feedback to best meet the needs of many.
Beyond HTML and XHTML, the W3C has the broader responsibility of
standardizing any technology related to the Web; they manage the
HTTP, Cascading Style Sheet (CSS), and Extensible Markup Language
(XML) standards, as well as related standards for document addressing
on the Web. They also solicit draft standards for extensions to existing
web technologies.
If you want to track HTML, XML, XHTML, CSS, and other exciting
web development and related technologies, contact the W3C at
ht-
Also, several Internet newsgroups are devoted to the Web, each a
part
of
the
comp.infosystems.www
hierarchy.
These
include
comp.infosystems.www.authoring.html
and
comp.infosystems.www.authoring.images.
1.2.4.2. The Internet Engineering Task Force
Even broader in reach than W3C, the Internet Engineering Task Force
(IETF) is responsible for defining and managing every aspect of Internet
