I like that this article, “Yes, you can start using HTML 5 Today,” begin with some history and basic information about HTML 5. Before this article I had only heard of HTML in passing during class. So this added information provided me with context, which helped me further grasp what HTML 5 is all about and where it originated from.
I could relate to the first section labeled “Markup” because of the hooter footer thing. I was able to follow right along when the author was talking about how in HTML 4, web designers must use a div for a header or footer. I really like how in HTML 5 there is a host of new, structural tags such as header, footer, nav, article, and section, which fit common requirements and allow us to mark up our archetypal blog with more meaningful elements. I think it’s really interesting that HTML 5 elements could be used right now, even though the main browsers were yet to support HTML 5. This was made possible because CSS allows you to style anything.
Since the article is now a bit dated, I found the new header footer rules to be the most applicable to my own web publishing style. I particularly think it’s interesting that there can be a footer at the bottom of the whole page, but also a footer at the bottom of each article, listing the category that the article is in and how many comments it has.
Instead of using a “content” div and placing text or images within that div, I think it’s easy and nice that with HTML 5 I can use an “article” element, which represents a standalone part of your content.
So far I’m not entirely clear on the “aside” element, but I hope to figure it out. Similarly, I’m not totally sure what web forms are either but they seem exciting and full of possibility.
Overall, I’m impressed with all the new structural elements that are available with HTML 5 and I think that, once I get used to them, writing HTML markup will ultimately be easier and more efficient. I can see why HTML 5 was such a neat advancement in the computer science world back in 2009.