Technology Working Group (WHATWG), working on their proof-of-concept
specification. The spec extended HTML4 forms, until it grew into a spec
called Web Applications 1.0, under the continued editorship of Ian Hickson,
who left Opera for Google.
In 2006, the W3C realized its mistake and decided to resurrect HTML,
asking WHATWG for its spec to use as the basis of what is now called
HTML5.
Those are the historical facts. Now, let’s look at some hysterical myths.
The Myths
“I Can’t Use HTML5 Until 2012 (or 2022)”
This is a misconception based on the projected date that HTML5 will reach
the stage in the W3C process known as Candidate Recommendation (REC).
The WHATWG wiki says this:
“For a spec to become a REC today, it requires two 100% complete and
fully interoperable implementations, which is proven by each successfully
passing literally thousands of test cases (20,000 tests for the whole spec
would probably be a conservative estimate). When you consider how long
it takes to write that many test cases and how long it takes to implement
each feature, you’ll begin to understand why the time frame seems so
long.”So, by definition, the spec won’t be finished until you can use all of it, and
in two browsers.
Of course, what really matters is the bits of HTML5 that are already
supported in the browsers. Any list will be out of date within about a week