Blue Sky Browser Summit Review: XTech Paris, May 15, 2007

Report by Molly Holzschlag

The morning session was an open discussion regarding the current status of browser and device implementation in the current environment of changing specifications. Specifically, the issue is how HTML in regards to the W3C and the adoption of the WHAT WG’s HTML 5. There were some concerns voiced regarding current leadership and organization of the group as well as concern over the difficulty of W3C processes. Add to that the opening of the group to the public, which raised specific issues for some attendees who fear that vendors would not adopt HTML 5 fast enough, or at all.

Anne Van Kesteren, who works with Opera Software and is an active member of the WHAT WG commented that he felt these concerns were far less problematic than people think, and that with the commitment from the W3C’s HTML WG to adopt the WHAT WG’s HTML5, this was a very positive step forward for the future of HTML. Of course, arguments, particularly regarding <canvas> and accessibility, remain at the heart of the debate with no clear solutions in sight.

There is already an implementation for the Web Forms 2.0 portion of HTML5 in Opera and it’s currently being implemented in Mozilla.

Interestingly, there was precious little conversation about CSS implementation. The focus has clearly shifted back to markup, and the desire to repair HTML so it can address future concerns as well as providing backward compatibility. One concern that was raised by representatives from Nokia was regarding a general disinterest in the mobile space for adoption CSS media type “handheld” on mobile platforms. The extent of this issue is still unclear, but raised a few alarms for folks who are attempting to deliver CSS to numerous media types.

The afternoon session focused on interoperability concerns between vendors. A great deal of the discussion focused on the acceptance that there is a real need to create test suites that are developed and shared between interested and participating vendors. An interesting and potentially pivotal suggestion from Bennet Marks of Nokia and The Open Mobile Alliance, who described a method being used by vendors in the mobile space. In that model, a “cocoon” of vendors create test suites, and a third party oversees the process so the environment is moderated. The end goal is to agree on common baselines, common test suites, and protected discussions between vendors in order to improve interop without compromising individual company and organization goals.

Attendees of the summit agreed that discussions external to vendor specific environments, the W3C and other standards organizations are valuable and necessary to gain broader perspectives along with more specific goals in relation to browser and device interoperability. Everyone agreed that vendors aside, web developers and designers need to begin examining the HTML5 specifications and observe or actively participate in the W3C’s HTML working group so as to keep as current with the emerging specification as possible.

Attending

• Tristan Nitot, Mozilla Europe
• Henri Sivonen, Independent Developer, WHAT WG
• Bennett Marks, Nokia and Open Mobile Alliance
• Brian Suda, W3C, Microformats
• David Storey, Opera Software
• Arve Bersvendsen, Opera Software
• Karl Dubost, W3C
• Ted Drake, Yahoo! Europe
• Daniel Glasman, W3C
• Anne Van Kesteren, WHAT WG and Opera Software
• Molly E. Holzschlag, Vendor Liaison on behalf of Microsoft
• Fraser Pearce, BBC
• Hakon Wium Lie, W3C
• Mike Smith, W3C
• Edwin Aoki, AOL

Related information

• Summit announcement