| Year |
Event |
| 1989 |
Tim Berners-Lee invented the "World Wide Web", and the Internet took off in the 1990s. From 1991 to 1998, HTML developed from version 1 to version 4. |
| 1991 |
Tim Berners-Lee invented HTML |
| 1993 |
Dave Raggett drafted HTML+ |
| 1995 |
HTML Working Group defined HTML 2.0 |
| 1997 |
W3C Recommended HTML 3.2 |
| 1999 |
W3C Recommended HTML 4.01 |
| 2000 |
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) recommended XHTML 1.0. The XHTML syntax was strict, and the developers were forced to write valid and "well-formed" code. |
| 2004 |
WHATWG (Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group) was formed in response to slow W3C development, and W3C's decision to close down the development of HTML, in favor of XHTML. WHATWG wanted to develop HTML, consistent with how the web was used, while being backward compatible with older versions of HTML. In the period 2004-2006, the WHATWG initiative gained support by the major
browser vendors. |
| 2006 |
W3C announced that they would support WHATWG. |
| 2008 |
The first HTML5 WHATWG First Public Draft was released. |
| 2012 |
WHATWG and W3C decided on a separation:
- WHATWG will develop HTML as a "HTML5 Living Standard": A living standard is never fully complete, but always updated and improved. New features can be added, but old functionality can not be removed. The WHATWG Living Standard was published, and is continuously updated.
- W3C will develop a definitive HTML5 and XHTML5 standard, as
a "snapshot" of WHATWG.
|
| 2014 |
The W3C HTML5 recommendation was released on October 28. |
