Next Generation HTML: The W3C Process

Before we talk about the Big Picture, it's important to understand that W3C specifications go through several discrete stages before they become standards. Initially, a proposal from a member company or from non-members in the technical community is accepted as a Note. The Consortium clearly explains that a Note carries no endorsement or guarantee that the proposal with ever become a recommendation; developers should not base any plans on a W3C Note, although if the idea appears promising, it is useful to monitor its progress as it goes through the W3C process. If sufficient interest is generated, a Working Group is formed to refine the concepts proposed in the Note until eventually a Working Draft results. While a Working Draft is typically defined well enough for companies to begin developing plans, the W3C emphasizes that they reserve the right to make incompatible changes in subsequent drafts. Furthermore, publication of a Working Draft does not imply any commitment on the part of W3C to evolve the proposal into a Recommendation.

Often there will be several versions of Working Drafts for a given proposal. For example, the fourth Working Draft of the Document Object Model ( DOM) was published in mid-April, 1998; the first draft was in October, 1997. The number and frequency of drafts probably indicates that the DOM is nearing the next stage in the W3C process -- a Proposed Recommendation which typically lasts only a few months, providing the membership one final chance to suggest changes. A Proposed Recommendation must contain a statement indicating how the current proposal relates to existing documents and standards. Members vote on whether or not to accept the proposal as is, or with changes, or to return it to Working Draft status, or to reject it altogether (drop it from the W3C activities); members submit questions which must be addressed. After incorporating the latest comments and revisions, if the W3C members reach a consensus, the document becomes a W3C Recommendation, the highest status of such specifications. Although the W3C does not use the word "standard", a Recommendation is essentially a standard since all major browser and tools vendors will need to adhere to its descriptions and proscriptions.

Next Generation HTML: The Big Picture
Next Generation HTML: The Big Picture
Next Generation HTML: The Big Picture