In How HTML5 Crashed, Burned, and Rose Again, Rob Grossberg gives an excellent summary of HTML 5’s long and difficult path towards mainstream adoption. As we enter 2014, it seems that HTML 5 will play an important part within our solutions, platforms, and product. This article is the first in a series that will take a deeper look into HTML. This month I will explain the origins of HTML and why it took almost twenty years to go from the original spec to version 5.

What Is HTML

HyperText Markup Language (HTML) was originally created by Tim Berners-Lee, a contractor working at CERN in the late eighties. HTML was designed to provide a simple method for sharing knowledge. Using a system of tags, it enables you to created a formatted page with text, graphics, and links to other web pages.

For example:

<h1>Heading</h1>
<p>paragraph</p>

Following the release of the Mosaic browser in 1993, HTML became the standard method for creating web content. In 1994, Tim Berners-Lee left CERN to create the World Wide Web Consortium(WC3). The WC3 became the owners of the HTML specification.

The Browser Wars And Their Aftermath

In the mid- to late-90s, Netscape Navigator and Microsoft’s Internet Explorer engaged in a long and protracted struggle. Each vendor tried to lock users in with their own propriety extensions to HTML and other web standards. The release of the HTML 4 standard coincided with the end of the browser wars.

In the war’s aftermath, HTML was eclipsed by the rise of a new markup language called XML. Since the WC3 managed XML and HTML, it created an XML/HTML hybrid called XHTML. By 2008, it was clear that XHTML was not going to replace HTML, and the WC3 abandoned the project.

The New Web

In its original form, web browsers were little better than dumb terminals. For example, when a user clicked a link or pressed a button on a page, a request was sent to a server. The server would handle all the processing, and generate a web page. If the connection was slow or broken, the user was stuck in limbo.

Following the introduction of newer web technologies, the balance of power was shifted to the browser. Now, when the user clicked a link or button, the server would respond by sending data back to the browser. The browser stored this information locally. By eliminating the need to maintain an open connection to a server, it was possible to create browser-based apps, like Google’s GMail.

Two further developments spurred the growth of these new web apps. Firstly, following Google’s lead, many services switched from a subscription to ad-based revenue model. In addition, the growing availability and decreasing cost of domestic broadband made YouTube, Flickr, and Facebook possible.

The Rebirth Of HTML

By 2005, a new generation of companies and services had reawakened interest in the web. Over time, new browsers were released that were better suited to these apps than Microsoft’s antiquated IE6.

Unfortunately, no matter how good a browser was, none of them could overcome the fact that HTML had not kept pace with the demands of the web. For example, HTML 4 had no native method for handling streaming video. The closest thing to an industry standard video player was Adobe’s proprietary Flash browser plug-in. Although nearly all video sites used Flash, Flash itself suffered from both security and memory related issues.

While the WC3 was promoting its XHTML standard, Opera, Mozilla, Apple, and Google formed the Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group (WHATWG). Eventually, the WC3 also joined the process, and by 2010, they released the initial draft of the HTML 5 spec. While Microsoft did not take part in the process, the current generation of IE does comply with the spec.

What’s Nexts

One of the main promises of HTML 5 was the potential for a consistent, cross-browser and cross-platform user experience. Over the last four years, each of the browser vendors has made great strides in this direction, but their implementations still remain inconsistent. While there is no perfect HTML 5 browser, the differences between browsers is getting smaller.

This is one of the reasons that we are seeing more interest in HTML 5 within our industry. For content producers and distributors, HTML 5 has the potential to provide a solution for delivering content over a range of platforms and devices. For this reason it has been adopted by a growing number of companies, including YouTube, NetFlix, Vimeo, Disney, and HBO, as well as others.

In next month’s article, we will explore HTML 5 in greater depth. The article will focus on those features most relevant to us, such as its graphics, animation, and native audio and video support.