You should pay attention to the real cause of the Web standard
Author: Acha 2004-7-4 2:28:39
Original author: Andrei Herasimchuk ORIGINAL: designbyfire.com Original Published: June 11, 2004
Translator's preface: This is a shocking article. The author's analysis is profound, and the writing is sharp. The author is worried that Microsoft will control the entire world, but you have to cause our vigilance and think. After the article, he has caused a fierce debate and even ambiguous, and it is interested in recommendation to the original text. From China, we can understand the real situation of Web standards in foreign countries, and though think how should we do?
Translation
Important: The following article is my personal point of view, not to express yourself or write for my boss.
Although I now think that the Web standard is worthy of attention, but I don't care about the Web standard before I understand the topic of the Web Standard, I don't realize the existence of these problems I have to discuss below. These problems are precisely everyone should care about the Web standard, as well as the true cause of the role they play in high-tech products and services.
One. W3C rally
From June 1, 2004, I participated in a rally of W3C in the Adobe Group Headquarters in San Jose, USA. (Sitting on me is Donna, a friend who has joined Adobe group, she feels very surprised, why do you participate in the W3C gathering? Well, she only looks at the house from the surface.) If you have time to spend a few minutes to read the meeting, you will find Tantek Celik and Hakon Lie, and there are representatives from Sun, Microsoft, IBM, Adobe, NOKIA, SONY, OpenWave, and many Independent consultants and other companies participate.
With many interesting demonstrations, discussing more about the status quo of Web standards and how to develop during the meeting. The focus of discussion is how to use the web standard on the next-generation web application. I am very eager to stood up two views, but I broke myself. In the meeting, I have said my views and Jon Ferraiolo, they agree and suggest that I will grab the microphone for me, I block them. Maybe I am afraid that people know me from my RTFM RANT, I know? At this time, I think I should do just sit and listen.
Second. Some background situations
Before we start text, I will allow me to recall first.
Last month, I wrote a letter to a group and asked: Whether it is worth working to set up a "Web Standard Promotion Day". This day, as many blogs are closable at the same time, while the same page is placed on the home page to explain the true goals of the Web standard. And explain some things: Microsoft is reluctant to modify its IE to establish a unified benchmark platform, which developers can establish a lightweight code to work in IE, Safari, Mozilla, Firefox, and Opera and other browsers. --- Do at least causing people to focus on the first page.
This proposal is still not determined, it may not occur, we need to see how many people are interested in doing so. I don't say this. In fact, there are many good articles and related discussions on Web standard benefits. If you haven't seen, the following is some quick link list:
The Business Benefits of Web Standards About Web Standards Web Standards ROI Web Standards for Business An Interview With Mike Davidson of ESPN Eric Meyer Interview on Web Standards The Way Forward with Web Standards Developing With Web Standards Embracing Best Practice Of course, Zeldman's "Designing with Web Standards is about this topic's best book, which is very easy to understand, and the web standard application and technical points are available.
All articles discuss the benefits of Web standards: simplify code, accelerate development, compressed file size, improve download speed, better ease of use, get more users, easier to maintain, multi-platform compatibility. These benefits only stay in the technical level, and there are some ROI discussions.
The above is the correct, very important view of the Web standard, I assume that you have already heard and understand it.
Summary
For the discussion of this article, I hope you forget all the technical benefits mentioned above; forget your content, you can compatibility between different browsers, operating systems, or computers, and mobile devices; forget High-tech giants 100% support standards (rather than 90% support), developers can save how much time and money adopt standards. They are the most perfect goals that can be achieved through standards, but they are not why Web standard is really important for the world.
In general, standardization means pressure on the company. They have to change behavior habits, not only to benefit shareholders, but also benefit everyone.
In the end, the most important purpose of the standard is rarely achieved by code, ROI, or day-day debate. When you start seriously, you find companies that are constantly innovating and competing in business, such as Microsoft, Sun, Adobe and IBM, essentially they need to survive in a free market. If these companies think they follow the standards, especially this standard is just a development of unofficial organizations within their forces, will they follow? It is expected that these companies change their essence, just like the meat animals do not prey in hunger.
In fact, you can also easily find some company examples that refuse to adopt standards and very successful, especially when you stand at the company's slowness of innovation speed (many of the point of view from Microsoft). There will be no life and work in the free economic system will not think so.
Standards are all important for all of us is that it is expected that it can create a balanced behavior based on the benefits of all parties, universally acceptable behavioral benchmarks, whether you like or don't like it. Especially those who are working, but away from standards, smart engineers. (Although these specifications that are named "standard" have been established for 10 years).
Four. Microsoft and standards
You may ask what is Microsoft in the late 1990s and early Microsoft? Why is it possible to start the road to take a standard road, but in fact, only 80% to 90%? This problem is very simple. Microsoft uses web standards on the IE4 to IE6 browser, just a marketplace. At that time, IE implements the standard that exceeded the Navigator browser of the competitor Netscape. From the surface, we feel that Microsoft's approach is correct. In fact, Microsoft is only driven by the essence of commercial interests: Web standards mean innovation.
Once Microsoft got it what it wanted, it didn't have any counted, and continued to become convinced, and even more far. For example, Microsoft is now starting to develop new private technology XAML on the new operating system Longhorn. As some people point out, Microsoft starts to split the market, just like 1995. There is nothing to be surprised, Microsoft's behavior is derived from the essence of its business interests, and its past and today's behavior is logical. More importantly, it will not change unless there is a powerful pressure from the outside. 5. One lesson from Asimov
This may be an inappropriate metaphor, but I still stick to it. This metaphor is from ISAAC Asimov (Aiximov) "Foundation Tria". In the first book, it depicts a separate planet in the universe, called the base, which has become the only source of the entire Galaxy Empire Technology. At the beginning, everything is very beautiful until one day, the Galaxy Empire is shown to control the entire base. So when the Galaxy Empire sent a spacecraft to attack the small star, all the machines, utensils and computer systems of the Galaxy Empire were out of the same time. The base rely on the only technological victory, and forced the Galaxy Empire to allow its independent existence.
In the book, the Galaxy Empire is evil and corruption, so that the universe will move again to the dark age. We have to worry about similar situations happen in reality. We must clearly take into account a company like Microsoft likely to have a "base" ability.
In modern networks, the business community has excessively dependent on Microsoft technology - at least in this period, our common operating system, main content transmission equipment is similar to HTML performance engine (not only for IE browser, but also can express Web Windows application). Everyone should take a look at the statistics of the Google's Times Hot Page.
There is a very timely point to say that a few people's actions have a deep impact on most people. In such an environment, most of them must establish a mutually restriction equilibrium mechanism to prevent minority mistakes, greed and rights trading. If there is no such balance mechanism, a few people will abuse their rights, ignoring the needs of most people and sacrifices the interests of most people, and most people don't have to be surprised.
We have our own restrictions, that is, W3C provides Web standard specification to the world. However, if this specification is not more than 100%, it is not meaningful, 90% of compliance is not enough, 9 9% of compliance is not enough. (Just like Hakon's comments at the W3C meeting, the specification has been developed, we are now waiting for Microsoft to fully implement it.)
Dear Microsoft has already sounded a alarm for the business community: Microsoft Office's security measures are poor and terrible. Among them, the security vulnerabilities have enabled a sixteenth, seven-year-old hackers to invade the entire system with an extremely simple virus code and make the system. It is desirable that the business community can force Microsoft to force it to fully follow the standards formulated by W3C in greater pressure.
If our business and political leaders do not apply pressure to Microsoft, do not surprise future possible results. More importantly, if we (including all developers, programmers, designers and content creators around the world do not do our efforts to "education" those business and political leaders, we will be subject to the final result blame.
Practical steps
Finally, if the web standard is truly valued, becoming a means of establishing an equal competitive environment (Lowest Common Denominator), which is close to me in the W3C rally. . At the end of the next day, there are some proposals that the W3C needs to be brave enough. Dean (W3C researcher) looks some hesitant. You'd better go to see this Note.
According to my point of view, before worried that the next generation of Internet development issues, W3C needs to do the following points, focus on the web application (Applications):
1. Merge, organizing the current specification When I browse XHTML or CSS norms, the most important thing is that I want to see the current standard, not the criteria, or the future standards. The standards make it easy and follow, but also provide users with an independent and updated documentation for the Critical Information. 2. Determine that the set of specifications should be followed by the current phase Web development is here the relevant discussion. I initiate a voting proposal to use two lists: the first specification list Description Today or next year's specification, list Only the current W3C has approved specification version, including XHTML, CSS, and DOM; the second specification list will contain XHTML, CSS, SMIL, SVG, XForms, ECMAScript, and DOM. Once our content distribution system can process the second The specification in a list, then we can discuss what will be next level. At that time, I believe that many specifications for web applications will be included in the discussion. 3. Establish two documents. We need a set of regulations to developers and creators specializing in the user agent (Similar Microsoft); it also requires a set of specifications for designers and web developers. Now the specification is mixed together, and it is not convenient to see the appropriate knowledge when all types of users apply standards. 4. Re-adjust the current W3C homepage focus now only a small amount of information on the W3C homepage indicates why use and pay attention to Web standards is important. The page is filled with specifications and links. This is a typical "bureaucrat" design that violates the most important design principles: If all information on the page is important, then all information is not important. It is time to change, the key points of the W3C home page should be how to make people browse the specification, not how to make the bureaucracy. Seven. What can you do in this case?
More opportunities to Web standards, limit Microsoft's power. This looks not an ordinary person to do, maybe it may be right. They said that democracy is every vote. If a vote is slightly, then I want to collect each invoice that supports the Web standard, maybe "Web Standard Day" is needed. If there is enough voice to say the importance of the Web standard and protest, there may be enough business and political leaders to pay attention to the pressure we need to give Microsoft.
I have done this.
I am also very happy to see John AllSopp initiated activities on his Web Essentials 04 website has attracted enough interest. This activities in the US and Europe will greatly advance the advancing of the Web standard.
What is the truth? One of my claims is that Microsoft should not do anything about IE, unless they are forced to change the practice. Honestly, if all developers use the same platform, the same set of APIs, the same set of standards, the world will become simpler.
This is true. In fact, many companies have been doing this (more opportunities to Web standards, restricting Microsoft's power), just worried that Windows and IE use, just as everyone knows. I also insisted on doing this in several companies in the past, just for morality and responsibility.
Who said that the only specification should not be developed by Microsoft? This may make things a thousand times (such as learning HTML, CSS, and JavaScript code), which may make us only work on a browser, an operating system or a platform. Who said that Microsoft has made that specification is wrong? Who said Microsoft put XAML or other extension into .NET CSS and HTML wrong? We write all the web content and the code in the Microsoft specification? Why can't we depend on all our technologies?
Perhaps Bill Gates is really a Hari Seldon of the Asimov Universe (Harriendon: Trying to build a hidden base in the Gala corner to shorten the subsequent Dark age). Perhaps all this is a plan to help the world's subsequent dark age, just we don't know? Don't care about the Web standard?
Be careful, you may get you don't want.
