18 January 1998
Last night I decided to take a leisurely read through the W3C's
HTML 4.0 Specification. It's
all very fascinating, of course, but it looks like HTML intends to become
less of a design language (if it can be called a language) and more of a
structural one. Maybe this is a good thing. Maybe the web will come to a
point where it is both author- and reader-friendly. Now, however, the new
version of HTML seems a little premature. For example, HTML 4.0 intends to
replace most style tags with Style Sheet specifications, even though only
a minority of browsers support style sheets. In order for web designers to
consider their widest audience, they have to ignore the newest developments
in their medium. It doesn't seem right.
To quote from the W3C:
This specification includes examples that illustrate how to avoid using deprecated elements.
In most cases these depend on user agent support for style sheets. In general, authors
should use style sheets to achieve stylistic and formatting effects rather than HTML
presentational attributes. HTML presentational attributes have been deprecated when style
sheet alternatives exist.
Of course, it's irrational for us to believe that we can come up with a
specification for our medium when we can't even decide what our job is.
The people at the Web Developers
Virtual Library, or the WDVL, have put together a page entitled
What Is A Webmaster?
which attempts to list the duties commonly associated with the variety of
job titles you'll find in this new media. For even more variety, read
ZD Internet Magazine's Salary
Zone for Internet Professionals.
Breaking into the web development industry is becoming increasingly difficult
as more and more clueless companies hear about the ever expanding realm of
flash and extraneous web technology. In the future I hope that clean,
concise web pages will become the ideal that everyone strives toward.
I'll stop now so you can go on to My Pages.
I've already addressed the reasons I will never
be a professional web designer, but I can't stop there. So please indulge me
and this will all be over soon.
A deprecated element or attribute is one that has been outdated by newer constructs.
Deprecated elements are defined in the reference manual in appropriate locations, but are
clearly marked as deprecated. Deprecated elements may become obsolete in future
versions of HTML.