Improved Accessibility
Using the new HTML5 elements to clearly describe our content makes it
easier for programs like screen readers to consume the content. A site’s nav-
igation, for example, is much easier to find if you can look for the <nav> tag
instead of a specific <div> or unordered list. Footers, sidebars, and other
content can be easily reordered or skipped altogether. Parsing pages in gen-
eral becomes much less painful, which can lead to better experiences for
people relying on assistive technologies. In addition, new attributes on
elements can specify the roles of elements so that screen readers can work
with them more easily. In Chapter 5, Making Accessible Interfaces, on page
91 , you’ll learn how to use those new attributes so that today’s screen readers
can use them.Advanced Selectors
CSS3 has selectors that let you identify odd and even rows of tables, all
selected checkboxes, or even the last paragraph in a group. You can accom-
plish more with less code and less markup. This also makes it much easier
to style HTML you can’t edit. In Chapter 4, Styling Content and Interfaces, on
page 67, you’ll see how to use these selectors effectively.Visual Effects
Drop shadows on text and images help bring depth to a web page, and gradi-
ents can also add dimension. CSS3 lets you add shadows and gradients to
elements without resorting to background images or extra markup. In addition,
you can use transformations to round corners or skew and rotate elements.
You’ll see how all of those things work in Chapter 8, Eye Candy, on page 151.Multimedia with Less Reliance on Plug-ins
You don’t need Flash or Silverlight for video, audio, and vector graphics any-
more. Although Flash-based video players are relatively simple to use, they
don’t work on Apple’s mobile devices. That’s a significant market, so you’ll
need to learn how to use non-Flash video alternatives. In Chapter 7, Embed-
ding Audio and Video, on page 131, you’ll see how to use HTML5 audio and
video with effective fallbacks.Better Applications
Developers have tried all kinds of things to make richer, more interactive
applications on the Web, from ActiveX controls to Flash. HTML5 offers
amazing features that, in some cases, completely eliminate the need for third-
party technologies.Chapter 1. An Overview of HTML5 and CSS3 • 4
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