(
HTML Version
5) The latest generation of HTML. HTML5 provides a comprehensive development platform for Web pages that eliminates the need to install third-party browser plug-ins such as Java and Flash. HTML5 supports 2D graphics (see
canvas element), document editing, drag and drop, browser history management, audio and video playback (see
HTML5 video) and local file storage (see
Web storage). After 10 years of development, the W3C made HTML5 a formal standard in 2014.
HTML, JavaScript and Style Sheets (CSS)
HTML5 consolidates and formalizes previous coding methods. Although JavaScript had been the de facto HTML programming language, HTML5 made it part of the standard. The same goes for style sheets (CSS), which are separate files that define the page formatting. Prior to HTML5, CSS was an option; however, in HTML5, certain layout tags are no longer permitted in the body of a page and must be defined in the style sheet (see
Cascading Style Sheet).
HTML5 and XHTML5
To ensure compatibility, both HTML5 and XHTML5 were developed in parallel. See
XHTML and
HTML.