HTML5 Is the Future Web Standard

The next generation of HTML language for web page development and web-based applications (beyond HTML4 and XHTML) is here. HTML5 is going to dominate the web someday soon. The iPad early success (300,000 devices sold in the launching week-end) accelerates HTML5 popularity. 

This future web standard allow programmers to build sophisticated web sites that behave more like downloaded applications. 

HTML5 has many advantages:

• It reduces reliance on proprietary plug-ins such as Adobe Flash and Microsoft Silverlight. It has built-in video.
   
• It supports offline data storage: users can access web sites developed in it without being connected to the Internet.
   
• Drag & drop functionality
   
• Document editing (i.e. Google Docs)
   
• Geolocation, that is, the ability to identify the real-world location of a connected computer

HTML5 does not require developers to build sites in a whole new way.

The list of HTML5/iPad-compatible sites increases everyday. Here is an HTML5 projects gallery.

The most notable example is Google, which is using HTML5 for its mobile version of Gmail, that works both on Android and iPhone/iPad. This also allows Google to avoid Apple's approval process, since the application is accessed via the web, and the Apple App Store.

HTML5 resources:

• HTML5.org and HTML5 validator
• HTML5 Cheat Sheet
• HTML5 Demos
• Yes, You Can Use HTML 5 Today! (article)
• A Selection of Supported Features in HTML5
• HTML5 Doctor 
• HTML5 - The Basics
• A Web Developer's Guide to HTML 5 (World Wide Web Consortium's official HTML5 page)