The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
W3C was founded in October by Tim Berners-Lee at the MIT Laboratory of Computer Science in collaboration with CERN (European Laboratory for Particle Physics), where the Web originated. Its objective is to lead the World Wide Web, the universe of network-accessible information on the Internet, to its full potential by developing relevant technologies (specifications, guidelines, software, and tools).
Technologies under development by W3C is transforming the relatively static Web based on URIs, HTTP and HTML to a Web that allows Universal Access (through different types of devices, to people using different languages and to people with disabilities), understands the meaning of the information and provides a trusted collaborative medium. The basic technology behind all these is XML and other related specifications.
The W3C developed specifications that we have come across in this book are listed in Table F-2.
| Technology | Description |
|---|---|
| Extensible Markup Language and related standards (Namespaces, XML-Schema, XSLT, XPath, etc. ) | Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a simple, very flexible text format derived from SGML. Originally designed to meet the challenges of large-scale electronic publishing, XML is also playing an increasingly important role in the exchange of a wide variety of data on the Web and elsewhere. |
| Document Object Model Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 specifications. | The Document Object Model is a platform- and language-neutral interface that will allow programs and scripts to dynamically access and update the content, structure and style of documents. This model is described in a set of specifications. |
| XML Signature | XML-compliant syntax used for representing the signature of Web resources and portions of protocol messages (anything referencable by a URI) and procedures for computing and verifying such signatures. |
| XML Encryption | A process for encrypting/decrypting digital content (including XML documents and portions thereof) and an XML syntax used to represent the (1) encrypted content and (2) information that enables an intended recipient to decrypt it. |
| Web Services Description Language (WSDL) 1.2 | Defines an XML language that can be used to describe Web services based on an abstract model of what the service offers. |
| SOAP 1.2 | Defines an extensible messaging framework, using XML technologies, containing a message construct that can be exchanged over a variety of underlying protocols. |
| Refer to http://www.w3.org for more information on these technologies. | |