HTML5 and CSS3 - Is there a Web standards divergence?

[kgun]

Where is Microsoft in all of this?

I don't know, but I register that there is a lot of attention to MS solutions like SilverLight.

Example: http://snow.cs.uit.no/ A Norwegian University health surveillance site that requires (required?) that you have Microsoft Silverlight installed on your computer. That site functions fine on my new laptop, but I have to install Silverlight (not very user friendly) on my old computer to see the content of the site.

See also: http://www.silverlight.net/

In addition I have found this http://www.jcxsoftware.com/vs.php Visual Studio plugin to code php in Visual Studio. PHP is the server scripting language that is easiest to integrate with HTML.

When reading computer books and online articles it is my personal impression that Internet Explorer still give webmasters greatest headache.

As far as I know Windows 8 will run on mobile devices, so Microsoft follow at least the mobile trend.

[jhannawin]

The early Windows 8 I got a sneak peak at from an MS developer friend of mine didn't support Silverlight. He was surprised and could only deduce it was not long for this world.

As for IE, the most frustrating thing is that they can't be consistent BETWEEN versions! I can forgive them being different from Firefox, Chrome or Safari, but when 7 is so different from 8 and 8 from 9 it is just crazy. These days I just say "Oh you're using a proprietary browser, just upgrade to one of the standard ones". That normally sets off a discussion which ends with them downloading Firefox

[kgun]

The modernizr library that I menioned in the beginning of this thread is made to let your site render on different browsers and mobile platforms.

Modernizr is an open-source JavaScript library that helps you build the next generation of HTML5 and CSS3-powered websites.

Why use Modernizr?

Taking advantage of the new capabilities of HTML5 and CSS3 can mean sacrificing control over the experience in older browsers. Modernizr 2 is your starting point for making the best websites and applications that work exactly right no matter what browser or device your visitors use.
Thanks to the new Media Query tests and built-in YepNope.js micro-library as Modernizr.load(), you can now combine feature detection with media queries and conditional resource loading. That gives you the power and flexibility to optimize for every circumstance.

It is more targeted to these needs than jQuery, so learn to use the library. It is well documented on the site.

[OmariCelestine]

I think they are moving too quick with these updates as it is sometimes confusing working with these various platforms especially when it relates to browser compatibility.

[weegillis]

I think they are moving too quick with these updates as it is sometimes confusing working with these various platforms especially when it relates to browser compatibility.

Markup language is not a platform, nor is a browser. The operating systems they run on, are though. Personally, I wouldn't agree that the standards are moving too quick, they're not. They take years and years to gel into something everyone will adopt and implement.

In truth, the browser makers are miles ahead of the standards, implementing their own brand of support for proprietary features that eventually, if ever, make it in to finished recommendations. These vendors would say that the standards are moving too slow.

Then there is the question, what's to learn? If a person has learned HTML and CSS, then learning HTML5 and CSS3 (which are independent specs, mutually exclusive of one another) is just an addon. These are emerging specs, and are not departures from the 1995 iteration, only extensions of it. @kgun mentions one of the ideal tools for cross browser support: Modernizr.

For anyone with an incomplete understanding of HTML and CSS, the newly emerging specs might be a lot to take in, but otherwise, it's just another day at the office.

[kgun]

@kgun mentions one of the ideal tools for cross browser support: Modernizr.

Now modern IDE's like DreamWeaver takes care of that by automatically importing the relevant library in your site:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tO4UFVDltt4

Additional video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVwH5IcRGyo