The Language of the Web for the future: XHTML

   New ground has been broken and a successor to traditional HTML has been annointed. XHTML (Extensible Hypertext Markup Language) is the first of what is expected to be a new family of Web authoring languages written in XML (Extensible Markup Language). The objective is to allow users define new Web languages and tag digital documents to make it easier for computers to read and manipulate them.

   As written in this issue, one of the critical career path foci for consultants is their ability to get up to speed with new emerging technologies and specifically those relative to Web opportunities.

   "As soon as the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) blessed this 'backwards compatible' language, we began to develop new training tracks for our employees," commented David Dillow, Implementations Manager for Consultis. "We're ramping up so we can help consultants stay leading edge. This looks to be a firm foundation for the Web of the future."

   Developers, after first criticizing some of the nuances with XHTML, won the battle and got some important changes made. In the end, web authors will have to write more carefully but they won't have to start from scratch. And, the language is said to be more friendly for machines to read.

   A number of companies have pledged support for XHTML, including IBM, Netscape, Ericsson, Hewlett-Packard and organizations like the HTML Writers Guild.

   One company has released an XML authoring environment, too: Stack Overflow's "Mozquito Factory". Information about it can be found at www.mozquito.org.

   "It's all about markup conformance," added Dillow. "Web developers will need to follow rules on tagging and case sensitivity."