What is the W3C?
The
World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is
an international industry consortium dedicated to "leading
the Web to its full potential". It’s led by Tim Berners-Lee,
the inventor of the Web. Founded in 1994, the W3C has more than 450
member organizations
- including Microsoft,
America Online (parent company of Netscape
Communications), Apple Computer,
Adobe, Macromedia,
Sun Microsystems, and a variety
of other hardware and software manufacturers, content providers, academic
institutions, and telecommunications companies. The Consortium is
hosted by three research institutions -
MIT in the US,
INRIA in Europe, and
Keio University in Japan.
What does it do?
The W3C develops open specifications (de facto standards) to enhance
the interoperability of web-related products. W3C Recommendations
are developed by working groups consisting of Consortium members and
invited experts. Working groups obtain general consensus from companies
and other organizations involved in creating applications for the
Web, and create Working Drafts and Proposed Recommendations. These
are then submitted to the W3C membership and director, for formal
approval as W3C Recommendations. More information regarding this process
and the review stages can be obtained from the
W3C website.
CSS and DOM
XML
XHTML
