HTML as the New User Interface
As the role of the computer evolves, HTML is becoming more and more central to nearly everything we do with computers. HTML is the de facto global standard for connecting all types of information in a predictable and presentable way.
HTML gives you a painless and reliable way to combine and arrange text, graphics, sound, video, and interactive programs. Unlike older proprietary page layout standards, HTML was originally designed for efficient communication among all kinds of computers worldwide.
The prominence of HTML, however, does not mean that web browsers will be a major category of software application in the coming years. In fact, the web browser as a distinct program has already nearly disappeared. Microsoft Internet Explorer, for instance, does much more than retrieve pages from the World Wide Web. It lets you use HTML pages as the interface for organizing and navigating through the information on your own computer, including directory folders and the Windows desktop itself. In conjunction with HTML-enabled software such as Microsoft Office, HTML becomes the common standard interface for word processing, spreadsheets, and databases. Mozilla Firefox is also much more than a web browser. It uses HTML to integrate all types of media into email, discussion groups, schedule management, business documents, and collaborative project management.
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The newest Windows operating system, Windows Vista, seamlessly blends a web browser into the desktop computing experience. In other words, the concept of a web browser as a distinct application may be a thing of the past as web pages are incorporated into every nook and cranny of the computing experience. |
Meanwhile, HTML support is being included in virtually every major software release so that most programs on your computer can import and export information in the form of HTML pages. In a nutshell, HTML is the glue that holds together all the diverse types of information on our computers and ensures that it can be presented in a standard way that will look the same to anyone in the world.
In situations in which HTML doesn't provide enough structure to accurately describe information, XML is filling in as a universal data format. So while HTML may suffice to serve as the glue for different kinds of visual information, XML serves as the glue for information that isn't so easily seen: electronic orders, automatic funds transfers, news feeds, mobile phone settings, and so forth. XML provides a highly structured alternative to HTML for representing information on the Web.
In a business world that now sees fast, effective communication as the most common and most important task of its workers, the "information glue" of HTML and XML has the power to connect more than just different types of media. It is the hidden adhesive that connects a business to its customers and connects individual employees to form an efficient team. Knowing how to apply that gluethe skills you gained from this bookputs you in one of the most valuable roles in any modern organization.
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