Welcome to a new semi-regular column, "This Week in HTML 5," where I'll try to summarize the major activity in the ongoing standards process in the WHATWG and W3C HTML Working Group.
The biggest news is the birth of the Web Workers draft specification. Quoting the spec, "This specification defines an API that allows Web application authors to spawn background workers running scripts in parallel to their main page. This allows for thread-like operation with message-passing as the coordination mechanism." This is the standardization of the API that Google Gears pioneered last year. See also: initial Workers thread, announcement of new spec, response to Workers feedback.
Additionally, the spec now tries to define what authors should do if they know they have an image but don't know what it is. Quoting again from the spec:
If the src attribute is set and the alt attribute is set to a string whose first character is a U+007B LEFT CURLY BRACKET character ({) and whose last character is a U+007D RIGHT CURLY BRACKET character (}), the image is a key part of the content, and there is no textual equivalent of the image available. The string consisting of all the characters between the first and the last character of the value of the alt attribute gives the kind of image (e.g. photo, diagram, user-uploaded image). If that value is the empty string (i.e. the attribute is just "{}"), then even the kind of image being shown is not known.
If the image is available, the element represents the image specified by the src attribute.
If the image is not available or if the user agent is not configured to display the image, then the user agent should display some sort of indicator that the image is not being rendered, and, if possible, provide to the user the information regarding the kind of image that is (as derived from the alt attribute).
[...] Open Web, writer extraordinaire, and creator of Google Doctype) has started the series This Week in HTML 5 which aims to keep us up to speed on the spec, and progress across the board (what are browsers [...]
Peter, it’s certainly possible to create a separate feed for this series. We could add a new category specifically for this series, in which case, you just subscribe to the feed /category/whatever/feed.
Mark, you should be able to create a category for them called whatever you like if you want to do it that way. If not, I can set it up for you.
[...] im Blog der WHATWG (Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group) eine Serie angefangen: This Week in HTML 5. Jetzt ist auch mir klar, dass das noch ein ganzes Stück dauern wird. Veröffentlicht [...]
{} is for unknown stuff? very dogdy sounding. What if someone actually has an image of {} or {captcha} etc — yes, ideally text should not be in graphics, but what if this is needed where say someone is showing how this text looks in a new font they are designing or whatever?
Surely an additional attribute to the image element is the best structural way to do this? Something like an attribute called purpose? or rel? Or is this another case of the xml haters trying to avoid more xml-based solutions to these problems!
[...] continuing saga of the alt attribute, the new syntax for alternate text of auto-generated images (which I covered in last week’s episode) has generated some followup discussion. Philip Taylor is concerned that it will increase [...]
[...] continuing saga of the alt attribute, the new syntax for alternate text of auto-generated images (which I covered in last week’s episode) has generated some followup discussion. Philip Taylor is concerned that it will increase [...]
[...] - bookmarked by 6 members originally found by durf on 2008-08-28 This Week in HTML 5 - Episode 1 http://blog.whatwg.org/this-week-in-html5-episode-1 - bookmarked by 3 members originally found by [...]
[...] continuing saga of the alt attribute, the new syntax for alternate text of auto-generated images (which I covered in last week’s episode) has generated some followup discussion. Philip Taylor is concerned that it will increase [...]
August 6th, 2008 at 22:22
A nice summary for those of us who haven’t got enough time to keep up with the mailing lists. Thanks
August 7th, 2008 at 06:28
Yeah, thanks Mark! this is great.
August 7th, 2008 at 08:27
Thanks Mark
August 7th, 2008 at 13:24
[...] Open Web, writer extraordinaire, and creator of Google Doctype) has started the series This Week in HTML 5 which aims to keep us up to speed on the spec, and progress across the board (what are browsers [...]
August 7th, 2008 at 16:12
Separate feed for this series please Mark?
August 7th, 2008 at 16:46
Peter, it’s certainly possible to create a separate feed for this series. We could add a new category specifically for this series, in which case, you just subscribe to the feed
/category/whatever/feed.Mark, you should be able to create a category for them called whatever you like if you want to do it that way. If not, I can set it up for you.
August 7th, 2008 at 16:51
This series is a great idea. Thanks for the first installment.
August 7th, 2008 at 20:15
Lachlan, thanks very much. I’d like to follow what’s happening but don’t have the time to read all posts (so a weekly roundup will be great!)
August 7th, 2008 at 21:11
[...] im Blog der WHATWG (Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group) eine Serie angefangen: This Week in HTML 5. Jetzt ist auch mir klar, dass das noch ein ganzes Stück dauern wird. Veröffentlicht [...]
August 8th, 2008 at 10:50
Seconding request for new category so I ca subscribe to the feed.
August 8th, 2008 at 17:45
{} is for unknown stuff? very dogdy sounding. What if someone actually has an image of {} or {captcha} etc — yes, ideally text should not be in graphics, but what if this is needed where say someone is showing how this text looks in a new font they are designing or whatever?
Surely an additional attribute to the image element is the best structural way to do this? Something like an attribute called purpose? or rel? Or is this another case of the xml haters trying to avoid more xml-based solutions to these problems!
August 9th, 2008 at 06:35
Nice to find this, I’ve got an HTML5 website and need to keep up with the times.
August 9th, 2008 at 21:37
I also call for requesting new category so I can subscribe to the feed.
August 10th, 2008 at 13:55
Peter, Bruce, Derek: try http://pipes.yahoo.com/jrus/this_week_in_html5?_render=rss
August 14th, 2008 at 15:40
[...] continuing saga of the alt attribute, the new syntax for alternate text of auto-generated images (which I covered in last week’s episode) has generated some followup discussion. Philip Taylor is concerned that it will increase [...]
August 14th, 2008 at 16:39
A series-specific feed is now available: http://blog.whatwg.org/category/weekly-review/feed
August 14th, 2008 at 16:58
[...] continuing saga of the alt attribute, the new syntax for alternate text of auto-generated images (which I covered in last week’s episode) has generated some followup discussion. Philip Taylor is concerned that it will increase [...]
September 21st, 2008 at 04:15
[...] - bookmarked by 6 members originally found by durf on 2008-08-28 This Week in HTML 5 - Episode 1 http://blog.whatwg.org/this-week-in-html5-episode-1 - bookmarked by 3 members originally found by [...]
December 22nd, 2008 at 23:13
Seconding request for new category so I ca subscribe to the feed.
April 23rd, 2009 at 15:27
[...] continuing saga of the alt attribute, the new syntax for alternate text of auto-generated images (which I covered in last week’s episode) has generated some followup discussion. Philip Taylor is concerned that it will increase [...]