This document summarizes recent developments in web standards. Key points include: the rise of mobile and JavaScript, new real-time communication technologies like WebRTC, debates around DRM extensions, advances in offline capabilities and push notifications, evolving system application APIs, and work on payments, HTTP 2.0, and securing the web. It also discusses upcoming elections for the W3C Technical Architecture Group and encourages getting involved in W3C working groups.

1. What’s New in
Web Standards?
Daniel Appelquist (@torgo)
Open Web Advocate, Telefónica Digital
Co-Chair, W3C Technical Architecture Group

2. The Web is Evolving
•
The Web is now a mobile platform
•
Video, 2d & 3d graphics
•
Increasing primacy of JavaScript
•
Peer to peer communication technologies
•
Sophisticated platform APIs
•
Threat from native application environments

3. WebRTC
•
WebRTC is real-time video, audio, data peer-to-peer
browser-to-browser
•
Makes it easy to build “Skype in your browser”
•
(by the way, Telefónica’s own TokBox/OpenTok API is a
WebRTC-based product)
•
VP8 or h.264 as mandatory codec
•
Why does it matter? Could mean the difference
between interoperable WebRTC and WebRTC “islands”

4. DRM (EME) Debate
•
Proposed draft extension spec
to HTML5 to support
“protected (video) content”
•
The HTML working group has
a draft - Google, Microsoft,
Netflix
•
Lots of controversy

5. While we are not in favor of
DRM, we do hear from many
users who want to watch
streaming movies to which
they rent access rather than
“buy to own”.
-Brendan Eich, CTO of Mozilla
The W3C has a duty to send the
DRM-peddlers packing, just as the
US courts did in the case of digital TV.
There is no market for DRM, no
public purpose served by granting a
veto to unaccountable, shortsighted
media giants who dream of a world
where your mouse rings a cashregister with every click and
disruption is something that happens
to other people, not them.
-Cory Doctorow, Author and Futurist
For me the open web and
the internet are tools that we
use to express democratic
values, political discourse,
parody, use and sharing of
culture - DRM does not fit in
this image because it is
made not to do that.
- Amelia Andersdotter, EMP,
The Pirate Party
The W3C community is currently
exploring Web technology that will
strike a balance between the rights of
creators and the rights of consumers.
In this space in particular, W3C seeks
to lower the overall proprietary
footprint and increase overall
interoperability, currently lacking in
this area.
-Tim Berners-Lee, Director of W3C

6. System Applications
•
What’s a “system application API”? Something
outside the Web? Yes and no.
•
Web features that are privileged - and carry
security risks
•
Task scheduler (née Alarms), Contacts,
Messaging, Telephony, Raw Sockets…
•
Future: Bluetooth, Secure Element (smartcard),
System Settings, Network Interface, Calendar…

7. Web & Mobile Interest
Group
•
Taking forward the work of CoreMob
•
“Accelerate the development of Web technology so that it becomes
a compelling platform for mobile applications and the obvious
choice for cross platform development.”
•
Looking at end to end scenarios on mobile and what specs are
needed to support these
•
Collecting data and promoting the issues the group things are
important / key missing elements/APIs/capabilities in the Web stack
Web&Mobile IG: www.w3.org/Mobile/IG/
CoreMob report: coremob.github.io/coremob-2012/

8. The Future of Installable
Webapps?
•
Demonstration in Shenzhen:
Firefox OS and Tizen phones with
same installable (hosted)
webapps
•
W3C (draft) JSON manifest file
•
Stock Firefox OS / customized
Tizen
•
“Install to home screen” as a core
feature of the Web

9. Push API
•
The use case: Web applications that can remotely invoke
alerts on your device
•
•
Familiar feature of native platforms
W3C Push API almost done
•
•
•
Uses a configurable push server
Survived patent “exclusion” from Nokia
Meanwhile, Apple push API has been released with
Mavericks Safari

10. /* Hypothetical end-to-end flow!
+--------+
+--------+
+--------+
+--------+!
| webapp |
| user |
| push |
| app
|!
|
|
| agent |
| server |
| server |!
+--------+
+--------+
+--------+
+--------+!
|
|
|
|!
|-----register------>|
|
|!
|
|
|
|!
|
(user accepts)
|
|!
|
|
|
|!
|
|<-setup push service->|
|!
|
|
|
|!
|<---success---------|
|
|!
|
|
|
|!
|<--activate service with PushService attributes----------------->|!
|
|
|
|!
|
|
|<--push notification-|!
|
|
|
per service API
|!
|
|
|
|!
|
|
(match to user agent)
|!
|
|
|
|!
|
|<--push notification--|
|!
|
| per service protocol |
|!
|
|
|
|!
|
(match to webapp)
|
|!
|
|
|
|!
|<---system message--|
|
|!
|
|
|
|!
*/

11. Advances in Offline :
Service Worker
•
Off-line is hard; HTML5 “Appcache” doesn’t work well
•
Service worker: a new architecture to support offline
webapps
•
A separate JavaScript worker that can act as an
application-specific proxy
•
Some assembly required: you’re the application
developer, you decide how much off-line service logic
your app needs and you build it

12. Web Payments
•
How can the Web better support payments as a first
class citizen?
•
The stakeholders include traditional financial COs (banks,
credit cards, infrastructure), Mobile Operators, traditional
disruptors (Paypal, etc…), new disruptors (Bitcoin, etc…)
•
Can Web standards play a role?
(e.g. Web crypto, access to the “secure element”)
•
Workshop happening: 24-25 March 2014, Paris
Bring all stakeholders together - watch this space

13. HTTP 2.0
•
IETF specification in working draft phase but
consolidating quickly
•
Incorporates many improvements on HTTP from Google’s
SPDY work
•
Confirmed last week by HTTP (IETF) working group chair:
HTTP 2.0 will only run over TLS (secure connection)
•
On the horizon: QUIC
UDP-based transport protocol + security + multiplexing could radically improve Web performance

14. Securing the Internet / Web
•
“Post-Snowden”
•
Lots of energy in IETF (e.g. secure http2)
•
Lots of discussion in W3C - somewhat less
consensus
•
What can W3C do to “harden” the Web?
•
Highlight Security Best Practices; Web Crypto
API; Focus on the UI of security in the browser

15. TAG Election
•
Technical Architecture Group - a technical
steering board for Web Standards
•
2 seats up for election this year - nominations in
by 29 November
•
W3C member companies can nominate, but
nominees can be from anywhere
•
Follow us at @w3ctag, check out our work on
Github: github.com/w3ctag

16. What’s the TAG Working On?
•
Review and feedback - Web Audio, WebRTC, Web Components, Push
API, Web Animations, Web Crypto
•
Helping with liaisons, especially with IETF (HTTP, JSON) and
ECMA TC39 (Javascript, JSON)
•
Capability URLs best practices
•
API Design Guide
•
Extensible Web
•
Offline Web
•
EME - architectural issues thereof
•
“Secure the Web” document: Security recommendations for Web Sites

17. Get Involved
•
w3.org - news and links
Basic info, links and news
•
w3.org/community - Community Groups
Incubation of new stuff - e.g. responsive images, copyright reform
•
Want to participate in a working group? Most working groups have
public mailing lists, or become an invited expert
•
Many working groups are now on Github
github.com/w3c/ - many specs including HTML5
github.com/sysapps/ - system applications
github.com/w3ctag/ - the TAG
github.com/w3c-webmob/ - Web & Mobile Interest Group
•
Workshops and outreach events