HTML was never designed to do what we expect of it today. You can
look at HTML markup and the various iterations of the language
itself, and see how it has evolved as a way to keep up with the Web's
demands. What began as a simple structural language has evolved to
include stylistic markup that affects display and not structure. As
Netscape and Internet Explorer fought for market share, they too
introduced their own HTML elements, which forced Web designers to
learn different nonstandard elements. Why has HTML fallen behind in
the rat race? Here are a few limitations to working with HTML
today:
n Lack of large
amounts of semantic markup leads to difficulty in describing and
exchanging data.
n Proprietary and
stylistic elements create sloppy, bloated code that is difficult to
maintain-not to mention slow to download.
n The predefined
element set (as well as the way developers use the element set) does
not work well with nonconventional platforms, such as handheld
devices.
These are some of the reasons HTML has seen its day. To learn more
about why XHTML will make any Web designer grin from ear to ear, see
Chapter 2, "All About Markup."
Viewing Web Pages
According to the Web gods, by 2002 over 75 percent of desktop
users will view Web pages on platforms other than your average
desktop machine, for example, mobile phones, refrigerators, and Palm
Pilots.
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