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What is the future of XHTML Basic?

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What is the future of XHTML Basic?

There are currently three main languages being used to program wireless devices, and each one is supported by different companies and consortiums.

  1. WML and WMLScript,

  2. cHTML, and

  3. XHTML Basic.

WML is being used to program phones, pagers and PDA’s worldwide. It was defined and developed by the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) Forum, which joined with the Open Mobile Architecture (June 2002) to form the Open Mobile Alliance (OML). WML 1.1 was developed in 1999.

cHTML was developed by NTT DoCoMo (a subsidiary of the Japanese firm NTT) in 1999, and is used to program the wireless devices that use i-mode, the wireless Internet access service provided by NTT DoCoMo.

While all three languages currently exist in the wireless world, OMA is trying to consolidate these languages and is developing a specification for WAP 2.0, which encompasses two of the three languages – XHTML Basic and WML 1. WAP 2.0 specifies WML 2, which encompasses XHTML Basic, and will be backward compatible to WML1. It utilizes standards developed by W3C, and adopts XHTML Basic and CSS Mobile Profile as part of WML2.

cHTML is still being used for i-mode devices, but is not as widely used as XHTML Basic and WML. In the future, since cHTML is based on HTML, it may merge with a form of WAP or XHTML.

Currently, XHTML Basic is sanctioned by two major organizations, W3C – World Wide Web Consortium which developed it, and OMA - Open Mobile Alliance that developed the WAP 2.0 specification that encompasses XHTML Basic and WML.

Therefore, XHTML Basic will most likely be one of the languages that continue to be used in programming wireless devices since it is sanctioned by two main organizations, and is included in the most widely accepted WAP specification 2.0. Also, due to its very close similarity to HTML, XHTML Basic can easily pick up by HTML programmers.

Summary

  • The World Wide Web Consortium (WC3) created XHTML Basics.

  • XHTML Basic is used to program wireless devices in the application of Mobile-business or M-business.

  • There are currently three main languages being used to program wireless devices, XHTML Basic, cHTML, and WML, and each of them are supported by different companies and consortiums.

  • Unlike WML that has WMLScript, XHTML Basic and cHTML rely on cgi-bin programs written in perl, java, or C++ to process data inputted from a user.

  • XHTML Basic is derived from XML, and is therefore similar to WML.

  • XHTML Basic documents are created with a text editor, but are now included in some of the newer SDK’s for wireless devices.

  • XHTML Basic documents use start and end tags, like HTML and WML.

  • The head section contains information about the XHTML Basic document.

  • The body section contains the content that a browser displays.

  • Comments in XHTML Basic are bounded by the tags <!— and — >.

  • XHTML Basic provides for six headers or header elements, h1 through h6.

  • The a element creates a hyperlink for accessing other resources on the internet. The href attribute specifies the location of the linked source.

  • XHTML Basic displays images using the img element. The attribute src specifies the location of the image. XHTML Basic handles gif and jpeg formats.

  • Special characters are handled in XHTML Basic in the form &code;. The code can be an abbreviation for the special character, or a hex value for the special character.

  • XHTML Basic allows for tables, but tables don’t have borders and cannot be nested. It uses the table element, and tr and td elements specify row and cell, respectively.

  • XHTML Basic allows for unordered lists, using the ul element and the li element. Unordered lists are not ordered by number or letter.

  • Ordered lists also exist in XHTML Basic, using the ol element and the li element. Both ordered and unordered lists can be nested in XHTML Basic.

  • XHTML Basic uses forms for inputting data from the user to cgi scripts residing on the web server. The input element specifies data to be provided to the script. The attribute name specifies the variable name for the data. The type attribute can be: text, hidden, submit, reset, checkbox, and radio.

  • XHTML Basic also uses the textarea element for inputting multiline text.

  • Another element in XHTML Basic is the select element that creates a drop down list.

  • In the WAP 2.0 Specification, XHTML Basic and WML were merged in the sense that WAP 2.0 micro browsers will recognize both XHTML Basic and WML.

  • XHTML Basic documents are created with a text editor such as Wordpad or Notepad, or any word processor such as Microsoft Word or Word Perfect.

  • Many of the new SDK’s (Software Development Kits) can accommodate XHTML Basic both for writing the programs as well as simulating them.

  • When writing your XHTML Basic programs you can use the file extensions.xhtml,.html, or.htm.

  • The method of getting XHTML Basic programs on-line, or “ published”, is the same as the method used for HTML programs.

  • A WAP server is a software program that resides on a computer on the internet, that acts as a WAP gateway and a WAP content server.

  • XHTML Basic will most likely be one of the languages, continues to be used in programming wireless devices since it is sanctioned by two main organizations, and is included in the most widely accepted WAP specification 2.0.

Questions

  1. Of the three main languages used in programming wireless devices, which two are being merged in WAP 2.0 specifications?

  2. How does XHTML Basic process data inputted by the user?

  3. What basic features are not included in XHTML Basic that is in XHTML?

  4. What is wrong with the XHTML Basic code below?

    <?xml version="1.0"?>
    <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML Basic 1.0//EN"
    http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml;-basic/xhtml-basic10.dtd>
    
    <html xmlns=http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml>
     <head>
     <title> Welcome</title>
     <head>
      <body>
      <!—displays a welcome message>
         <p>
         Welcome to XHTML Basic!</p>
      </body>
    </html>
  5. How many headers are allowed in XHTML Basic, and what are the elements for them?

  6. Write a correct line in XHTML Basic that links to the web site www.msn.com.

  7. What attributes are used in the img element that can size the image?

  8. Write the XHTML Basic line of code that prints: if x > y then z < 3.

  9. What two features are not included in the table element in XHTML Basic?

  10. What two elements are used in tables in XHTML Basic?

  11. How do unordered lists differ from ordered lists?

  12. Can ordered lists be nested in XHTML Basic?

  13. List the allowable type attribute values for the input element in XHTML Basic.

  14. What element is used if a larger text input area is needed in XHTML Basic?

Problems

  1. Write a XHTML Basic document that includes comments and displays a greeting to the user.

  2. Write a XHTML Basic program that links to three different web sites.

  3. Write a XHTML Basic program that shows an image that is sized using the width and height attributes, and is also a link to a web site : www.drivers.com.

  4. Write a XHTML Basic program that displays the line: Ѕ is > ј.

  5. Write a XHTML Basic program that has a table with 3 rows and 2 columns with the words one, two, three, four, five and six in the cells.

  6. Write a XHTML Basic program that has an unordered list specifying three top news magazines.

  7. Write a XHTML Basic program that has a nested ordered list within a nested ordered list where the main list is of three car manufacturers, and the inner list has three models of one of the manufacturers.

  8. Write a XHTML Basic program that requests the user to input his name and phone number using type = text, and also passes a hidden code (abc123) to the script.

  9. Use the textarea element in a XHTML Basic program to input a description of a web site.

  10. Generate a drop down list in a XHTML Basic program that specifies a list of choices in three different flavors of ice cream.


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