W3C - The World Wide Web Consortium

W3C - The World Wide Web Consortium

Sam Rola

Mitchell Smith

Claire Stewart

May 30th 2007

Sam Rola

Mitchell Smith

Claire Stewart

May 30th 2007

W3CW3C

An international consortium, where organizations and the public work together to develop Web standards

Develops technologies to lead the Web to its full potential. W3C is a forum for

information commerce communication collective understanding

Published more than ninety such standards, called “W3C Recommendations”

Created by Tim Berners-Lee

An international consortium, where organizations and the public work together to develop Web standards

Develops technologies to lead the Web to its full potential. W3C is a forum for

information commerce communication collective understanding

Published more than ninety such standards, called “W3C Recommendations”

Created by Tim Berners-Lee

Tim Berners-LeeTim Berners-Lee

Worked at CERN: (physics lab) information sharing was hard within the lab

Wanted to make file sharing easier People liked the idea of Hypercard and

hyperlinks for other documents

Worked at CERN: (physics lab) information sharing was hard within the lab

Wanted to make file sharing easier People liked the idea of Hypercard and

hyperlinks for other documents

Developed HTML protocol for formatting, and HTTP for transferring data from one computer to another

Allowed computers to transfer information in a language most computers could understand

Wanted to keep it open Needed to prevent big company hijacking Needed coordinated standards for the Web, to develop for

the future

W3C was born, offices is France, US, Japan

Developed HTML protocol for formatting, and HTTP for transferring data from one computer to another

Allowed computers to transfer information in a language most computers could understand

Wanted to keep it open Needed to prevent big company hijacking Needed coordinated standards for the Web, to develop for

the future

W3C was born, offices is France, US, Japan

StandardsStandards

Different parties can abide by standards TCP/IP protocol

- rules computers must follow to communicate with each other; e.g.,

- TCP: Transmission Control Protocol - IP: Internet Protocol

- Microsoft tried to rewrite some of these protocols

- Rest of the world did not buy into the idea

Different parties can abide by standards TCP/IP protocol

- rules computers must follow to communicate with each other; e.g.,

- TCP: Transmission Control Protocol - IP: Internet Protocol

- Microsoft tried to rewrite some of these protocols

- Rest of the world did not buy into the idea

Membership in the W3CMembership in the W3C

Open to any organization or individual Best for businesses that have a significant stake in

the Web Requires application, agreement, and membership

dues: Annual fee depends on entity’s nation and revenues E.g., USA membership for entities with over

50,000,000 USD in annual revenue = $63,500; all other organizations = $6,350.

Size of company does not reflect amount of influence

Open to any organization or individual Best for businesses that have a significant stake in

the Web Requires application, agreement, and membership

dues: Annual fee depends on entity’s nation and revenues E.g., USA membership for entities with over

50,000,000 USD in annual revenue = $63,500; all other organizations = $6,350.

Size of company does not reflect amount of influence

Membership by CountryMembership by Country

Membership by SectorMembership by Sector

Why become a member of the W3C?

Why become a member of the W3C?

Influence technical standards Have a say in the future of the Web Introduce new ideas Track development of emerging technologies and

markets Implement standards ahead of the market Ensure that standards remain royalty free

Influence technical standards Have a say in the future of the Web Introduce new ideas Track development of emerging technologies and

markets Implement standards ahead of the market Ensure that standards remain royalty free

Standardization: the process of establishing a technical standard among competing entities in a

market, where this will bring benefits without hurting competition

Companies conform to Web standards instead of creating proprietary ones because they estimate

that everyone (including them) will benefit more.

How might this restrict new development?

Standardization: the process of establishing a technical standard among competing entities in a

market, where this will bring benefits without hurting competition

Companies conform to Web standards instead of creating proprietary ones because they estimate

that everyone (including them) will benefit more.

How might this restrict new development?

Benefits of Web StandardsBenefits of Web Standards

Interoperability Accessibility and browser compatibility Decreased development and maintenance

time Versatility Stability

Interoperability Accessibility and browser compatibility Decreased development and maintenance

time Versatility Stability

Other Standard Setting Organizations:

Other Standard Setting Organizations:

International Organization for Standards (ISO)

The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE = ‘I-triple-E’)

American National Standards Institute (ANSI)

International Organization for Standards (ISO)

The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE = ‘I-triple-E’)

American National Standards Institute (ANSI)

Common Web Standards Common Web Standards

HTTP: HyperText Transfer Protocol HTML: HyperText Markup Language XML: Extensible Markup Language

DOM: Document Object Model XHTML: Extensible HyperText Markup Language CSS: Cascading Style Sheets

Where would we be without them?

HTTP: HyperText Transfer Protocol HTML: HyperText Markup Language XML: Extensible Markup Language

DOM: Document Object Model XHTML: Extensible HyperText Markup Language CSS: Cascading Style Sheets

Where would we be without them?

Validators

Markup Validator

Line Checker

CSS Validator

Markup

Markups are computer languages Most pages on the Web are written in computer

languages such as HTML As with all languages, these have grammar,

vocabulary, and syntax which should be followed

The process used to verify conformance is called validation, and the tool used is called a validator

Markup Validator

Markup validation is the process of checking a Web document against the grammar it claims to be using

It is a free tool which checks to make sure Web documents are written correctly

Similar to Microsoft Word's spell/grammar check

Why Validate

Web browsers will try to make an educated guess about what you probably meant

Problem is that different browsers, or even different versions of the same browser, will make different guesses

Or if your language is really bad the browser could produce a mangled mess or even crash

Validator ExampleValidator Example

http://validator.w3.org/ http://validator.w3.org/

Decision Making process

Consensus based If a consensus can not be reached then a

formal vote is used Organizations may formally object to a

decision, but it is not desirable Tim Berners-Lee can veto any decision