HTML Reference

Abstract
This specification defines the HyperText Markup Language (HTML), version 4.0, the publishing language of the World Wide Web. In addition to the text, multimedia, and hyperlink features of the previous versions of HTML, HTML 4.0 supports more multimedia options, scripting languages, style sheets, better printing facilities, and documents that are more accessible to users with disabilities. HTML 4.0 also takes great strides towards the internationalization of documents, with the goal of making the Web truly World Wide.

HTML 4.0 is an SGML application conforming to International Standard ISO 8879 -- Standard Generalized Markup Language [ISO8879]). As an SGML application, the syntax of conforming HTML 4.0 documents is defined by the combination of the SGML declaration and the document type definition (DTD). This specification defines the intended interpretation of HTML 4.0 elements and adds syntax constraints that may not be expressed by the DTD alone.

Status of this document
This is a stable document derived from the 17 September working draft of the HTML 4.0 specification. This document has been produced as part of the W3C HTML Activity. The publication of this document does not imply endorsement by the Consortium's staff or Member organizations.

On 7 November, this document enters a period of review by the Members of the World Wide Web Consortium. Details of this review will be distributed to the representatives of each W3C Member organization.

The review period will end on 5 December. Within 14 days after that date, the document's disposition will be announced: it may become a W3C Recommendation (possibly with minor changes), it may revert to Working Draft status, or it may be dropped as a W3C work item.

Most of this document represents technology tested by multiple implememntations. It includes a small number of features that have not had the benefit of extensive implementation experience. Nonetheless, the experience of the Working Group members with analogous features in other domains has resulted in consensus that these features belong in this specification.

The Working Group expects to resolve minor technical issues during the review phase and communicate its results to the W3C Director.

A list of current W3C Proposed Recommendations and Working Drafts can be found at: http://www.w3.org/TR.

It is proposed that HTML 4.0 be recommended for new documents and applications rather than HTML 3.2, specified in http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html32.

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Posted in: HTML