Squeaky Clean Markup
By Molly E. Holzschlag
HTML as we know it has undergone specific and eye-opening changes to prepare for tomorrow's more demanding technological needs. It has been reformulated into Extensible Hypertext Markup Language, or XHTML. The language's maturation was an eventuality, but that hasn't made it any less of a headache for coders. Despite the annoyance of breaking old HTML habits, XHTML is a useful tool once you've surmounted the learning curve.
Why Extensibility?
Today's data management requirements have become extremely complex. Looking at the number of browsers and browser versions in the current market is enough to make even the most experienced developer dizzy. What's more, developers will need to have methods for managing special user agents that will become more commonplace in coming years: browsers for hand-held computers and other devices like wireless phones and pagers.
Then there's the demand for flexible HTML to accommodate industry specific needs. Public sites and private intranets are becoming highly functional by necessity. For example, sites developed for online banking have different data display and management concerns from those developed for health care management.
A language that can extend to meet these custom demands on both the front and back ends is very desirable. What's more, allowing media management to occur via the language, with the browser acting as an interpreter rather than as a complete engine, is an intelligent approach to reaching beyond HTML's limitations.
