The internet, and the use of the internet, has changed a lot since HTML 4.01 became a standard in 1999.
Today, several elements in HTML 4.01 are obsolete, never used, or not used the way they were intended. All those elements are removed or re-written in HTML5.
To better handle today's internet use, HTML5 also includes new elements for drawing graphics, adding media content, better page structure, better form handling, and several APIs to drag/drop elements, find Geolocation, include web storage, application cache, web workers, etc.
The New
Tag
Description
Used to draw graphics, on the fly, via scripting (usually JavaScript)
New Media Elements
Tag
Description
Defines sound content
Defines a video or movie
Defines multiple media resources for
Defines a container for an external application or interactive content (a plug-in)
Defines text tracks for
New Form Elements
Tag
Description
Specifies a list of pre-defined options for input controls
Defines a key-pair generator field (for forms)
Defines the result of a calculation
New Semantic/Structural Elements
HTML5 offers new elements for better structure:
Tag
Description
Defines an article
Defines content aside from the page content
Isolates a part of text that might be formatted in a different direction from other text outside it
Defines a command button that a user can invoke
Defines additional details that the user can view or hide
Defines a dialog box or window
Defines a visible heading for a element
Specifies self-contained content, like illustrations, diagrams, photos, code listings, etc.
Defines a caption for a element
Defines a footer for a document or section
Defines a header for a document or section
Defines marked/highlighted text
Defines a scalar measurement within a known range (a gauge)
Defines navigation links
Represents the progress of a task
Defines a ruby annotation (for East Asian typography)
Defines an explanation/pronunciation of characters (for East Asian typography)
Defines what to show in browsers that do not support ruby annotations
Defines a section in a document
Defines a date/time
Defines a possible line-break
Removed Elements
The following HTML 4.01 elements are removed from HTML5:
</li>
<li><strike></li>
<li><tt></li>
</ul>
<div>
<font face="verdana, helvetica, arial, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><br></span></font></div>
<div>
<span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">All contents posted are not uploaded by me. I found them on the net and i am sharing it with you. Hence CREDITS to original uploader</span></div>
<p>
</p>
</div>
The previous version of HTML, HTML 4.01, came in 1999. The web has changed a lot since then.
HTML5 is still a work in progress. However, the major browsers support many of the new HTML5 elements and APIs.
How Did HTML5 Get Started?
HTML5 is a cooperation between the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and the Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group (WHATWG).
WHATWG was working with web forms and applications, and W3C was working with XHTML 2.0. In 2006, they decided to cooperate and create a new version of HTML.
Some rules for HTML5 were established:
New features should be based on HTML, CSS, DOM, and JavaScript
Reduce the need for external plugins (like Flash)
Better error handling
More markup to replace scripting
HTML5 should be device independent
The development process should be visible to the public
The HTML5
In HTML5 there is only one declaration, and it is very simple:
Minimum HTML5 Document
Below is a simple HTML5 document, with the minimum of required tags:
<em>Title of the document</em>
Content of the document......
HTML5 - New Features
Some of the most interesting new features in HTML5:
The
The
Support for local storage
New content-specific elements, like ,
New form controls, like calendar, date, time, email, url, search
Browser Support for HTML5
HTML5 is not yet an official standard, and no browsers have full HTML5 support.
But all major browsers (Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Internet Explorer) continue to add new HTML5 features to their latest versions.
HTML5 References
At W3Schools you will find complete references about tags, global attributes, standard events, and more.
