Doubts related to html vs html5

Everyone is now talking about HTML5, i dont really understand what is the difference开发者_开发百科 between it and the normal .xhtml

could you please solve some of my doubts:

• What are the differences?
• What are the advantages and disadvantages?
• Is HTML5 considered a markup language or an scripting language?

What are the differences?

HTML 5 is just the next version of HTML. It takes HTML 4 and adds more stuff to it (while throwing out a few bits that shouldn't be used and changes the rules on how to parse it (to what browsers have been doing for the last decade anyway)).

What are the advantages and disadvantages?

It lets you do more stuff.

It doesn't have any disadvantages (other than that the new stuff isn't well supported yet).

Is HTML5 considered a markup language or an scripting language?

It is a markup language with a bunch of DOM APIs.

I guess the confusion is that HTML4 and HTML5 don't do much (on their own). You need javascript and css and that is when the party really starts.

When people are talking about HTML5 I guess they are talking about HTML5+ CSS3 + Javascript (compared to HTML4 + CSS2 + Javascript).

For a good example of the adventures you can have in the new world check this out: http://slides.html5rocks.com/

Remember this isn't using .NET or PHP or any thing, its "just" HTML5 + javascript + css

pro

• fancy new options
• more elements to better define your content
• video without flash

con

• not supported by all browsers
• Not a lot of good quality docs available (yet)

And it is still a markup language as it has no dynamic elements in it that are scriptable.

basically html5 is just like html, with some extra tags added, like the canvas element for drawing, the video and audio elements for media playback, some new content specific elements, like article, footer, header, nav, section. it has also better support for local offline storage. and also some new form controls, like calendar, date, time, email, url and search

So actually not much you couldn't do earlier with some JavaScript (or jquery, as some people like to call it now :p), but it's designed to make those (nowadays) common tasks a lot easier

What are the differences?

See HTML5 differences from HTML4

What are the advantages and disadvantages?

That's going to depend to a certain extent on what you're trying to achieve, but it might help to understand the rationale behind the spec. Basically, backwards compatibility is one of the main goals so, if you avoid using any of the new features like video or canvas, there should be no disadvantages over the previous standards.

Is HTML5 considered a markup language or an scripting language?

From the WHATWG FAQ:

HTML5 is a new version of HTML4, XHTML1, and DOM Level 2 HTML addressing many of the issues of those specifications while at the same time enhancing (X)HTML to more adequately address Web applications. Besides defining a markup language that can be written in both HTML and XML (XHTML) it also defines many APIs that form the basis of the Web architecture. Some of these APIs were known as "DOM Level 0" and were never documented before. Yet they are extremely important for browser vendors to support existing Web content and for authors to be able to build Web applications.