X/HTML 5 Versus XHTML 2

The competition to become the next markup language for the Web is heating up. This article takes a look at what's cool and what's uncool about the competing technologies.

This is something that is progressively getting closer to a topic web designers / developers need to start thinking about. The article 'How HTML 5 Is Already Changing the Web' is what brought this back to focus for me.

What the differences are:

XHTML 2 is a bold step forward intended to create an architecture that will become the host language to many other W3C technologies already in use, or in the works. XHTML 2 is based solely on XML, a technology that most believe will enable the Web to reach its full potential. XHTML 2 is driven by how markup should be used, rather than by how markup is currently used.

X/HTML 5 is an extension of HTML 4 and XHTML 1. It is an incremental step forward rather than a grand leap forward in the style of XHTML 2. Working within the confines of HTML 4 and XHTML 1, X/HTML 5 has devised clever solutions to address some of the faults in HTML 4 and XHTML 1. X/HTML 5 can be also be served as HTML or XML. So, unlike XHTML 2, X/HTML 5 is influenced by the current state of the art (Web browser technology, etc.) and how markup is currently used.

Who will win? I sure hope that it doesn't stay a split and one specification will become the standard. I think small steps forward at a faster rate of finalizing the spec is better than huge steps forward with long breaks between updates.

Link:
http://xhtml.com/en/future/...