Keeping It Real

The creation of HTML5 has been driven by an ongoing internal tension. On the one hand, the specification needs to be powerful enough to support the creation of web applications. On the other hand, HTML5 needs to support existing content, even if most existing content is a complete mess. If the specification strays too far in one direction, it will suffer the same fate as XHTML 2. But if it goes too far in the other direction, the specification will enshrine <font> tags and tables for layout because, after all, that’s what a huge number of web pages are built with.

It’s a delicate balancing act that requires a pragmatic, levelheaded approach.