Our current main focus is on the Web Applications 1.0 specification, sometimes referred to as "HTML5" or "XHTML5".
Read the spec, send your feedback! We guarantee that all feedback will be responded to before the spec is considered "done".
It is a loose unofficial collaboration of Web browser manufacturers and interested parties who wish to develop new technologies designed to allow authors to write and deploy Applications over the World Wide Web.
The working group mailing list is an open subscription public mailing list and anyone is welcome to contribute.
The focus of this working group is limited to technologies that will need to be directly implemented in Web browsers. It is not the right forum for very domain-specific proposals that would not be suitable for implementation in, for instance, Safari, Firefox, or Opera.
The term "Web Application" in this context refers to applications accessed over the World Wide Web by using a Web browser. This group is not attempting to describe APIs for writing high-end sophisticated programs such as office productivity suites, graphics manipulation packages, or 3D games.
Some of the most famous examples of Web applications currently deployed are eBay and Amazon.
Yes. This working group aims to make their development easier, and hopes to specify new technologies that make it possible to make much prettier and more usable interfaces with less dependence on complex scripts, less dependence on server-generated pages, and a more seamless user experience.
For example, currently HTML forms do not specify a way to specify that a control is a required control that must be filled in before submission: such features have to be scripted explicitly.
The work is currently split between three specifications.
Web Forms 2.0 is targeted to the common needs of web authors. Advanced widgets like RTF controls, menus and toolbars are the domain of Web Applications 1.0. These drafts are in active development. Web Forms 2 is nearing maturity; proposals are currently being discussed and specified for Web Applications 1.
Web Controls 1.0 is intended to add functionality to Javascript and CSS that aid the creation of custom widgets. However, this will be influenced by the design of XBL2, and so will not be available in the near future.
Many of the members of this working group are active supporters and members of the W3C and other standardization bodies. Parts of the work have already been submitted to the W3C, and we intend to work more closely with the W3C in future. The technical work is currently focused on developing the specifications to levels appropriate for the W3C Last Call stage.
Several members of this working group attended The W3C Workshop on Web Applications and Compound Documents. The position paper submitted by Opera and Mozilla represents the fundamental principles upon which the WHAT working group intends to operate.
Queries should be directed either to the mailing list or to Ian Hickson, who is acting as a spokesman for the group.