What do we mean by HTML5?

This might sound like a silly question, but there is an increasing tendency amongst standards pundits to lump all exciting new web technologies into a box labeled HTML5. So, for example, we’ve seen SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) referred to as “one of the HTML5 family of technologies,” even though it’s an independent W3C graphics spec that’s 6 years old. Further confusion arises from the fact that the oicial W3C specis something like an amoeba: Bits split of and become their own specifi cations, such as Web Sockets or Web Storage (albeit from the same Working Group, with the same editors). So what we mean in this book is “HTML5 and related specifi cations that came from the WHATWG “ (more about this exciting acronym soon). We’re also bringing a “plus one” to the partyGeolocation—which has nothing to do with our defi nition of HTML5, but we include simply for the reason that it’s really cool, we’re excited about it, and it’s part of the New Waveof Exciting Technologies for Making Web Apps.