The Expected Specifications of HTML6

by Unknown | Friday, October 31, 2014 | HTML 89 Comments

HTML5 has most definitely proven to be a transformational platform, giving abundant room to web developers to spread their wings (it rather has given them some blockbuster wings).
With its elements like <header>, <menu>, <nav>, <menuitem> and so on, it has given a new dimension to how developers go about their job of creating web apps of the highest order.
But just when you thought that HTML is going to take some time before it swings something new at us, bam, it's right here. Now HTML6 hasn't been launched per se, but the specs are well and truly in.

Delving a Little Deeper into HTML6

In its bare bones, HTML6 is composed of the standard HTML and namespaces that are structured on the XML. This is apparently a very unique combination that equips developers with a host of capabilities.

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html:html>
    <html:head>
        <html:title>HTML6 Code Snippet</html:title>
        <html:meta type="title" value="Page Title">
        <html:meta type="description" value="We present an HTML code sample with namespaces">
        <html:link src="css/main.css" title="Main Styles" type="text/css">
        <html:link src="js/main.js" title="Main Script" type="text/javascript">
    </html:head>
    <html:body>
        <header>
            <logo>
                <html:media type="image" src="images/logo.png">
            </logo>
            <nav>
               <html:a href="/bus">bus</a>
               <html:a href="/train">Train</a>
               <html:a href="/plane">Plane</a>
            </nav>
        </header>
        <content>
            <article>
                <h1>Here is the article head</h1>
                <h2>Here is the article sub head</h2>
                <p>[...]</p>
                <p>[...]</p>
            </article>
            <article>
                <h1>Some fun!</h1>
                <h2>Look closely at the media elements</h2>
                <p>[...]</p>
                <html:media type="video" src="vids/moving-bus.mp4" autostart controls>
                <p>What a slow bus.</p>
            </article>
        </content>
        <footer>
            <copyright>This site is © to John William</copyright>
        </footer>
    </html:body>
</html:html>

What's noticeable in this code are the peculiar <html:x> tags. Most essentially, these are the namespace elements and are responsible for setting off the browser events. <html:title>, for instance, helps you alter the title of the browser.
The elements in the code can be used by the developer for a host of development purposes and these bear no use for the browser at all. You can find various hooks here.

Then You Have the APIs

There are tags in APIs and they have namespaces:

<html:html>

And using the same you can create a new HTML document:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html:html>

</html:html>

We then have the <html:head> that basically helps us with creating the head of HTML but it comprises of data that is not visible. What it does is that it fetches the data and also all the scripts that are needed for the display of content. And we are here talking about stuff like CSS, JavaScript and so on.

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html:html>
<html:head>

</html:head>
</html:html>

Then we have the <html:title> that is used by the browser for its tab bar and so on. Also, it helps in better search engine indexing of the website:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html:html>
<html:head>
<html:title>HTML6 Spec Version 0.1</html:title>
</html:head>
</html:html>

We then segue on to <html:meta> that is surely a transformation over the present HTML version. There can be random attributes or meta data in HTML6 and it does not depend on the meta types at all. And this can be leveraged by the developers in order to preserve content:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html:html>
<html:head>
<html:title>HTML6 Spec Version 0.1</html:title>
<html:meta type="description" value="This is an example of HTML with namespaces">
</html:head>
</html:html>

There are noticeable difference in the <html:link> element as well. It is a useful way to create a bridge between JS, CSS, favicons, RSS and the document that is being worked upon. It is defined by these attributes:

charset: It is the character encoding
href: It provides a link to the source file
media: It represents the device that is being used to operate the respective item. It can either be a mobile device or a tablet
type: It is the MIME type of the document

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html:html>
<html:head>
<html:title>HTML6 Spec Version 0.1</html:title>
<html:link src="js/main.js" title="Main Script" type="text/javascript">
</html:head>
</html:html>

<html:media> is another noteworthy diversion from the current version. Traditionally, we expect tags like <img>, <video>, <audio>, <embed>, etc with media. With HTML6, there is no need for tag for each file type. The type attribute will be made use of:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html:html>
<html:head>
    <html:title>HTML6 Spec Version 0.1</html:title>
</html:head>
<html:body>
    
    <html:media src="images/logo.jpg" type="image">
    
    <html:media src="videos/cute-cat.mov">
    
    <html:media src="misc/example.abc" type="abc">
</html:body>
</html:html>

HTML6 also introduces new changes with <form:input>. A new form input is initiated with this and how it is different from the current version that any form input which has a scope for a text entry is considered in input. To get more idea about the types of inputs, you can refer to the following list:

text
email
url
tel
search
number
datetime
date
month
week
time
datetime-local
textarea
password
file - (multiple)

The probable attributes are:

name
disabled
readonly
placeholder
autofocus
required
novalidate

And for those who wish to know how they can be implemented, here is a piece of code for your consideration and clarity:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html:html>
<html:head>
    <html:title>HTML6 Spec Version 0.1</html:title>
</html:head>
<html:body>
    <form:form method="post" action="/sendmail">
      
      <form:input>
      
      <form:input type="password" name="user_password">
      <form:input type="password" match="user_password">
      
      <form:input type="email" placeholder="user@site.com" autofocus required>
    </form:form>
</html:body>
</html:html>

<form:select> is a way for user to choose something from the available options. Again, the possible input types are:

select - (multiple)
color
calendar - (range)
meter - (range, step)

Attributes that work for all select types are:

name
readonly
disabled
required
autofocus

That's how we use them:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html:html>
<html:head>
    <html:title>HTML6 Spec Version 0.1</html:title>
</html:head>
<html:body>
    <form:form method="post" action="/scheduler">
      
      <html:select type="select" name="favorite_color">
      
      <html:select type="calendar" name="the_calendar" range="10/10/10-10/10/11">
    </form:form>
</html:body>
</html:html>

HTML6 is surely bringing along a pack of delights. Just make sure you tuck them in.

Ben Wilson has been into WordPress from last 5 years. His front end knowledge is creating HTML to Wordpress friendly websites. He is master in developing and customizing WordPress websites.