Where Is HTML Going?

Th e current version of HTML

Where Is HTML Going?

Th e current version of HTML has been around for over 10 years and has not kept pace with many of the advances in technology, such as the iPhone. Th e World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the standards organization responsible for maintaining  and updating HTML and other web standards, has been working diligently on updating the language and released a working draft of HTML 5 in October, 2009. A final version is not scheduled to be ready for several years, so what does that mean for current or up-and-coming web designers? Not much—yet. Websites and their developers change and adapt to current technologies and market realities quickly, but the underlying technologies progress at a more glacial  pace. Some say the full transition won’t happen until 2020 or later. In any case, your old pages and sites won’t suddenly explode or disappear.

Defining a remote site:

several methods for connecting to a remote site:

• FTP (File Transfer Protocol)—Th e standard method for connecting to hosted websites.

• SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol)—A new protocol that provides a method to connect to     hosted websites in a more secure manner to preclude unauthor ized access or interception of online content.

• Local/Network—A local or network connection is most frequently used with an intermediate web server, called a staging server. Files from the staging server are eventually published to an Internet-connected web server.

• WebDav (Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning)—A web-based system also known to Windows users as Web Folders and to Mac users as iDisk.

• RDS (Remote Development Services)—Developed by Adobe for ColdFusion and primarily used when working with ColdFusion-based sites.

• Microsoft Visual SourceSafe—A version-control system that features check-in/check-out management and rollback capabilities.

Learning about forms:

Forms, on paper or on the web, are tools for gathering information. In both cases, the information is entered into designated data areas, or fi elds, to make it easier to find and understand. Forms should be clearly delineated: Paper forms often use a separate page or graphical borders to distinguish them, while web forms use the <form> tag and other specifi c HTML elements to designate and contain the desired data.

Online forms have decided advantages over paper forms because the user enters the data in a way that can then be automatically transferred into spreadsheets or databases, reducing the labor costs and error rates associated with paper forms.Web-based forms are composed of one or more HTML elements, each used for a

specific purpose:

• Text field—Permits the entry of text and digits, up to a specific c number of char acters. Text fields designated as password fi elds mask or obscure characters as they are typed.

• Text area—Identical to text fields, but intended for larger amounts of text, such as multiple sentences or paragraphs.

• Checkbox—A graphical element that permits users to designate a yes or no selection. Check boxes can be grouped together; however, unlike radio buttons,  they allow multiple items to be chosen within the group. Also unlike radio but tons, check boxes can be deselected, if desired.

• Radio button—A graphical element that permits users to select one option from a group of items. Only one item in the group can be chosen. Th e selection of a new item in the group deselects any currently selected item. And once one item is selected, it can’t be deselected.

• List/menu—Displays entries in a pop-up menu format. Lists (also called select lists) may enforce the selection of a single element or allow the choice of multiple items.

• Hidden—A predefined data field that conveys information to the form-processing mechanism that is unseen by the user. Hidden form elements are used extensively in dynamic page applications.

• Button—Submits the form or performs some other single-purpose interaction, such as clearing or printing the form.

Paper forms, when completed, are mailed or passed along for processing. Web forms are electronically mailed or processed. Th e <form> tag includes an action attribute, and the value of the action attribute is triggered when the form is submit ted. Often, the action is the web address for another page or server-side script that actually processes the form.