1. 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 HTML 2.0HTML 3.2 HTML 4.0 HTML 4.01 XHTML 1.0 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 malformed, non-standard markup well formed, valid XML DTD Modularization XSD Modularization XHTML 1.1 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 related events XForms 1.0 XML 1.0 XSLT 1.0XSD SOAP 1.0 CSS1CSS2 ebXML Micropayment

2. HTML HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) is the set of markup symbols or codes inserted in a file intended for display on a World Wide Web browser page. The markup tells the Web browser how to display a Web page's words and images for the user. Each individual markup code is referred to as an element (but many people also refer to it as a tag). Some elements come in pairs that indicate when some display effect is to begin and when it is to end. HTML is a formal Recommendation by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and is generally adhered to by the major browsers, Microsoft's Internet Explorer and Netscape's Navigator, which also provide some additional non-standard codes. The current version of HTML is HTML 4.0. However, both Internet Explorer and Netscape implement some features differently and provide non-standard extensions. Web developers using the more advanced features of HTML 4 may have to design pages for both browsers and send out the appropriate version to a user. Significant features in HTML 4 are sometimes described in general as dynamic HTML. What is sometimes referred to as HTML 5 is an extensible form of HTML called Extensible Hypertext Markup Language (XHTML).

3. XHTML XHTML (Extensible Hypertext Markup Language) is "a reformulation of HTML 4.0 as an application of the Extensible Markup Language (XML)." XML is a structured set of rules for how one might define any kind of data to be shared on the Web. It's called an "extensible" markup language because anyone can invent a particular set of markup for a particular purpose and as long as everyone uses it (the writer and an application program at the receiver's end), it can be adapted and used for many purposes - including, as it happens, describing the appearance of a Web page. That being the case, it seemed desirable to reframe HTML in terms of XML. The result is XHTML, a particular application of XML for "expressing" Web pages. XHTML is, in fact, the follow-on version of HTML 4. You could think of it as HTML 5, except that it is called XHTML 1.0. In XHTML, all HTML 4 markup elements and attributes (the language of HTML) will continue to be supported. Unlike HTML, however, XHTML can be extended by anyone that uses it. New elements and attributes can be defined and added to those that already exist, making possible new ways to embed content and programming in a Web page. In appearance, an XHTML file looks like a somewhat more elaborate HTML file.

4. XML XML (Extensible Markup Language) is a flexible way to create common information formats and share both the format and the data on the World Wide Web, intranets, and elsewhere. XML is "extensible" because, unlike HTML, the markup symbols are unlimited and self-defining. XML is actually a simpler and easier-to-use subset of the Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML), the standard for how to create a document structure.

5. XSL Transformations XSLT (XSL Transformations) is a standard way to describe how to transform (change) the structure of an XML (Extensible Markup Language) document into an XML document with a different structure. XSLT is a Recommendation of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).W3C XSLT can be thought of as an extension of the XSL (Extensible Stylesheet Language). XSL is a language for formatting an XML document (for example, showing how the data described in the XML document should be presented in a Web page). XSLT shows how the XML document should be reorganized into another data structure (which could then be presented by following an XSL ). XSLT is used to describe how to transform the source tree or data structure of an XML document into the result tree for a new XML document, which can be completely different in structure. The coding for the XSLT is also referred to as a style sheet and can be combined with an XSL style sheet or be used independently.

6. SOAP Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) is a way for a program running in one kind of operating system to communicate with a progam in the same or another kind of an operating system by using the World Wide Web's Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and its Extensible Markup Language (XML) as the mechanisms for information exchange. SOAP specifies exactly how to encode an HTTP header and an XML file so that a program in one computer can call a program in another computer and pass it information. It also specifies how the called program can return a response. SOAP has been proposed as a standard interface to the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). It is somewhat similar to the Internet Inter-ORB Protocol (IIOP), a protocol that is part of the Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA). Sun Microsystems' Remote Method Invocation (RMI) is a similar client/server interprogram protocol between programs written in Java. An advantage of SOAP is that program calls are much more likely to get through firewall servers that screen out requests other than those for known applications (through the designated port mechanism). Since HTTP requests are usually allowed through firewalls, programs using SOAP to communicate can be sure that they can communicate with programs anywhere.

7. ebXML ebXML (Electronic Business XML) is a project to use the Extensible Markup Language (XML) to standardize the secure exchange of business data. Among other purposes, ebXML would encompass and perhaps replace a familiar standard called Electronic Data Interchange (EDI). ebXML is designed to enable a global electronic marketplace in which enterprises of any size, and in any location, could safely and securely transact business through the exchange of XML-based messages. The United Nations body for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business Information Standards (UN/CEFACT) and the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS) launched the project as a joint initiative. Its membership includes 75 companies, including major IT vendors and trade associations throughout the world. Because ebXML relies on the Internet's existing standards such as HTTP, TCP/IP, MIME, SMTP, FTP, UML, and XML, it can be implemented and deployed on virtually any computing platform. The use of existing standards gives ebXML the advantage of being relatively inexpensive and easy to use.

8. UDDI Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration (UDDI) is an XML-based registry for businesses worldwide to list themselves on the Internet. Its ultimate goal is to streamline online transactions by enabling companies to find one another on the Web and make their systems interoperable for e-commerce. UDDI is often compared to a telephone book's white, yellow, and green pages. The project allows businesses to list themselves by name, product, location, or the Web services they offer. The UDDI specification utilizes World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) standards such as XML, HTTP, and Domain Name System (DNS) protocols. It has also adopted early versions of the proposed Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) messaging guidelines for cross platform programming. The UDDI beta is scheduled to end in the first quarter of 2001. In the future, other companies will act as operators of the UDDI Business Registry. UDDI registration is open to companies worldwide, regardless of their size.