...in 7 points
You've heard it: the World Wide Web
Consortium (W3C) creates Web
standards. W3C's mission is to lead the Web to its full
potential, which it does by developing technologies (specifications,
guidelines, software, and tools) that will create a forum for information,
commerce, inspiration, independent thought, and collective understanding. This
summary in 7 points explains W3C's goals and operating principles.
W3C
defines the Web as the universe of network-accessible
information (available through your computer, phone, television, or
networked refrigerator...). Today this universe benefits society by enabling new
forms of human communication and opportunities to share knowledge. One of W3C's
primary goals is to make these benefits available to all people, whatever their
hardware, software, network infrastructure, native language, culture,
geographical location, or physical or mental ability. W3C's Internationalization Activity, Device Independence Activity, Voice Browser Activity, and Web Accessibility Initiative all illustrate our
commitment to universal access.
People currently share their knowledge on the Web in language intended for other
people. On the Semantic Web ("semantic" means "having to do
with meaning"), we will be able to express ourselves in terms that our computers
can interpret and exchange. By doing so, we will enable them to solve problems
that we find tedious, to help us find quickly what we're looking for: medical
information, a movie review, a book purchase order, etc. The W3C languages RDF, XML, XML Schema, and XML signatures are the building blocks
of the Semantic Web.
The Web is a collaborative medium, not read-only like a magazine. In fact, the
first Web browser was also an editor, though most people today think of browsing
as primarily viewing, not interacting. To promote a more collaborative
environment, we must build a "Web of Trust" that offers
confidentiality, instills confidence, and makes it possible for people to take
responsibility for (or be accountable for) what they publish on the Web. These
goals drive much of W3C's work around XML signatures, annotation mechanisms,
group authoring, versioning, etc.
Twenty years ago, people bought software that
only worked with other software from the same vendor. Today, people have more
freedom to choose, and they rightly expect software components to be
interchangeable. They also expect to be able to view Web content with their
preferred software (graphical desktop browser, speech synthesizer, braille
display, car phone...). W3C, a vendor-neutral organization, promotes
interoperability by designing and promoting open (non-proprietary) computer
languages and protocols that avoid the market fragmentation of the past. This is
achieved through industry consensus and encouraging an
open forum for discussion.
W3C
aims for technical excellence but is well aware that what we know and need today
may be insufficient to solve tomorrow's problems. We therefore strive to build a
Web that can easily evolve into an even better Web, without disrupting what
already works. The principles of simplicity, modularity, compatibility,
and extensibility guide all of our designs.
Decentralization is a principle of modern distributed systems, including
societies. In a centralized system, every message or action has to pass through
a central authority, causing bottlenecks when the traffic increases. In design,
we therefore limit the number of central Web facilities to reduce the
vulnerability of the Web as a whole. Flexibility is the necessary companion of
distributed systems, and the life and breath of the Internet, not just the
Web.
Who wouldn't like more interactivity and richer
media on the Web, including resizable images, quality sound, video, 3D effects,
and animation? W3C's consensus process does not limit content provider
creativity or mean boring browsing. Through its membership, W3C listens to
end-users and works toward providing a solid framework for the development of
the Cooler Web through languages such as the Scalable Vector
Graphics (SVG) language and the
Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL).
W3C was founded in October 1994 to lead the
World Wide Web to its full potential by developing common protocols that promote
its evolution and ensure its interoperability. Today, W3C has over 510 Members
and nearly 60 full-time staff around the world who contribute to the development
of W3C specifications and software. Find out more about:
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Last modified: $Date: 2001/05/14 21:03:33
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