HTML and CSS Reference
In-Depth Information
element called CANVAS. Not sure what CANVAS is? Do you own
a Mac? Most of the widgets you run on your dashboard are built
with HTML5's CANVAS element.
The CANVAS element gives you the ability to build Adobe
Flash-like applications without having to use Flash. It is in the
early stages of development, but some of the things you can
already accomplish are very impressive. If you are running
Google's Chrome, FireFox, or Safari, then you will want to check
out http://www.chromeexperiments.com/ , a site that pushes the
capabilities of what can be done in your browser (Figure 3.28). In
particular, look at the CANVAS experiments. Is it me, or do they
look very Flash-like?
In many ways, CANVAS looks and feels very similar to SVG. The
very valid question is: Why two technologies that are the same?
There is a fundamental difference between CANVAS and SVG.
SVG is a drawing technology that creates vector images. CANVAS,
on the other hand, dynamically creates bitmap images. You
can think of CANVAS as a programmable version of JPEG/PNG
images.
Unlike SVG, a technology that has been maturing for a decade
as a separate standard and only recently became included as part
of HTML5, CANVAS was created as part of HTML5. The CANVAS
technology was originally created by Apple to help in the cre-
ation of desktop widgets for the Mac OSX operating system. The
technology was quickly included into WebKit, the technology
Apple leverages to power its Safari web browser, and CANVAS has
been adopted by Mozilla's FireFox, Opera's Browser, and Google's
Chrome. CANVAS is a powerful drawing tool that aligns with
competing technologies such as Adobe's Flash and Microsoft's
SilverLight.
Figure 3.28 Google's ChromeExperiments.com web site showcases some of the best
CANVAS solutions on the Web.
Search WWH ::




Custom Search