Welcome to the September 2008 newsletter from the Australian W3C Office.
Your link to the latest Consortium news and events…
News & Events
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1. Tim Berners-Lee Announces Creation of New Foundation to Bring the Web
to All People
2. Mike Smith at Web Directions South 08
3. New W3C Working Group Brings Location Information to the Web
4. The Power of Tests: New Licenses Promote Collaboration
Last calls
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5. Last Call: Widgets 1.0: Requirements
6. Last Call: Efficient XML Interchange (EXI) Format 1.0
7. Last Call: WebCGM 2.1
8. Last Call: Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) Tiny 1.2 Specification
9. Last Call: Service Modeling Language (1.1) and Interchange Format
10. Last Call: SKOS Simple Knowledge Organization System Reference; Primer
Updated
Reports & Working Drafts
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11. Access Control for Cross-Site Requests Draft Published
12. CSS Backgrounds and Borders Module Level 3 Draft Published
13. W3C XML Schema Definition Language (XSD): Component Designators Draft
Published
14. Representing Content in RDF and HTTP Vocabulary in RDF Drafts Published
15. Efficient XML Interchange (EXI) Impacts First Public Draft
16. Best Practice Recipes for Publishing RDF Vocabularies Note Published
17. Web IDL Draft Published
1. Tim Berners-Lee Announces Creation of New Foundation to Bring the Web
to All People
Before a gathering of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation in
Washington, D.C. (USA), Tim Berners-Lee announced today the creation
of the World Wide Web Foundation. The mission of the Foundation is:
* to advance One Web that is free and open,
* to expand the Web’s capability and robustness,
* and to extend the Web’s benefits to all people on the planet.
Following Berners-Lee’s speech, Alberto Ibargüen, Knight
Foundation’s president and CEO, announced a $5 million seed grant in
support of the mission. Learn more about the World Wide Web
Foundation at www.webfoundation.org, which also includes a FAQ and
video and photos from the event.
http://www.knightfoundation.org/
http://www.webfoundation.org/
http://www.webfoundation.org/donations/knight2008/tbl-speech
http://www.webfoundation.org/about/
http://www.webfoundation.org/faq/
http://www.webfoundation.org/donations/knight2008/
2. Mike Smith at Web Directions South
Mike Smith, Co-Chair of the W3C HTML working group presented at
Web Directions South. Mike gave a great presentation about HTML 5
and the great new features from HTML 5 that are already supported
by browsers.
A photo of Mike presenting can be seen on the W3C Blog at:
- http://www.w3c.org.au/newsandevents/index.php/2008/10/15/
3. New W3C Working Group Brings Location Information to the Web
The number of location-aware Web devices has increased dramatically
as of late: built-in Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers and
mobile phone tower triangulation services have made mobile phones
location-aware, Wifi triangulation services brings location
information to Wifi enabled devices, GPS receivers now have Web
connectivity. Location, location, location!
Thus far there has been no standard method for these devices to make
their location available to Web applications, and so in response to
requests from the community W3C has created the new Geolocation
Working Group, which is chartered to develop a standardized
interface to provide location information to Web applications and
thus enable an exciting new class applications. This new group is
part of W3C’s Ubiquitous Web Applications Activity.
http://www.w3.org/2008/geolocation/
http://www.w3.org/2007/uwa/
4. The Power of Tests: New Licenses Promote Collaboration
W3C announced today its new Licenses for W3C Test Suites. Two
licenses promote two goals:
1. A 3-clause BSD License is designed to enable developers to use
test cases easily, and promote software development and
bugtracking.
2. A W3C Test Suite License is designed to enable a W3C Working
Group to create a branded, “Authoritative W3C Test Suite” to
reflect the group consensus process, and to promote
interoperability and stability of performance claims.
W3C appreciates the support of those who suggested these changes,
who provided use cases, and who patiently reviewed drafts.
http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Legal/2008/04-testsuite-copyright
http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Legal/2008/03-bsd-license.html
http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Legal/2008/04-testsuite-license.html
5. Last Call: Widgets 1.0: Requirements
The Web Applications Working Group has published the Last Call
Working Draft of “Widgets 1.0: Requirements.” A Widget is an
interactive single purpose application for displaying and/or
updating local data or data on the Web, packaged in a way to allow a
single download and installation on a user’s machine or mobile
device. Typical examples of widgets include clocks, CPU gauges,
sticky notes, battery-life indicators, games, and widgets that make
use of Web services, like weather forecasters, news readers, e-mail
checkers, photo albums and currency converters. This document lists
the design goals and requirements that specifications would need to
address in order to standardize various aspects of widgets. Comments
are welcome through 13 October. Learn more about the Rich Web Client
Activity.
http://www.w3.org/2008/webapps/
http://www.w3.org/TR/2008/WD-widgets-reqs-20080915/
http://www.w3.org/2006/rwc/
6. Last Call: Efficient XML Interchange (EXI) Format 1.0
The Efficient XML Interchange Working Group has published the Last
Call Working Draft of “Efficient XML Interchange (EXI) Format 1.0.”
EXI is a very compact representation for the Extensible Markup
Language (XML) Information Set that is intended to simultaneously
optimize performance and the utilization of computational resources.
The EXI format uses a hybrid approach drawn from the information and
formal language theories, plus practical techniques verified by
measurements, for entropy encoding XML information. Using a
relatively simple algorithm, which is amenable to fast and compact
implementation, and a small set of data types, it reliably produces
efficient encodings of XML event streams. Comments are welcome
through 07 November. Learn more about the Extensible Markup Language
(XML) Activity.
http://www.w3.org/XML/EXI/
http://www.w3.org/TR/2008/WD-exi-20080919/
http://www.w3.org/XML/
7. Last Call: WebCGM 2.1
The WebCGM Working Group has published the First Public Last Call
Working Draft of “WebCGM 2.1.” Computer Graphics Metafile (CGM) is
an ISO standard, defined by ISO/IEC 8632:1999, for the interchange
of 2D vector and mixed vector/raster graphics. WebCGM is a profile
of CGM, which adds Web linking and is optimized for Web applications
in technical illustration, electronic documentation, geophysical
data visualization, and similar fields. First published (1.0) in
1999, WebCGM unifies potentially diverse approaches to CGM
utilization in Web document applications. It therefore represents a
significant interoperability agreement amongst major users and
implementers of the ISO CGM standard. Comments are welcome through
01 November. Learn more about the Graphics Activity.
http://www.w3.org/Graphics/WebCGM/WG/
http://www.w3.org/TR/2008/WD-webcgm21-20080917/
http://www.w3.org/Graphics/
8. Last Call: Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) Tiny 1.2 Specification
The SVG Working Group has published the Last Call Working Draft of
“Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) Tiny 1.2 Specification.” This
specification defines the features and syntax for Scalable Vector
Graphics (SVG) Tiny, Version 1.2, a language for describing
two-dimensional vector and mixed vector/raster graphics in XML. Its
goal is to provide the ability to create a whole range of graphical
content, from static images to animations to interactive Web
applications. SVG Tiny 1.2 is a profile of SVG intended for
implementation on a range of devices, from cellphones and PDAs to
desktop and laptop computers. Comments are welcome through 13
October. Learn more about the W3C Graphics Activity.
http://www.w3.org/Graphics/SVG/
http://www.w3.org/TR/2008/WD-SVGMobile12-20080915/
http://www.w3.org/Graphics/
9. Last Call: Service Modeling Language (1.1) and Interchange Format
The Service Modeling Language Working Group has published the Last
Call Working Drafts of “Service Modeling Language, Version 1.1″ and
“Service Modeling Language Interchange Format Version 1.1.” The
former specification defines the Service Modeling Language, Version
1.1 (SML) used to model complex services and systems, including
their structure, constraints, policies, and best practices. The
latter defines the interchange format for SML 1.1. This format
identifies the model being interchanged, distinguishes between model
definition documents and model instance documents, and defines the
binding of rule documents with other documents in the interchange
model. Comments are welcome through 03 October. Learn more about the
Extensible Markup Language (XML) Activity.
http://www.w3.org/XML/SML/
http://www.w3.org/TR/2008/WD-sml-20080912/
http://www.w3.org/TR/2008/WD-sml-if-20080912/
http://www.w3.org/XML/
10. Last Call: SKOS Simple Knowledge Organization System Reference; Primer
Updated
The Semantic Web Deployment Working Group has published the Last
Call Working Draft of “SKOS Simple Knowledge Organization System
Reference.” This document defines the Simple Knowledge Organization
System (SKOS), a common data model for sharing and linking knowledge
organization systems via the Web. The SKOS data model provides a
standard, low-cost migration path for porting existing knowledge
organization systems to the Semantic Web. SKOS also provides a light
weight, intuitive language for developing and sharing new knowledge
organization systems. It may be used on its own, or in combination
with formal knowledge representation languages such as the Web
Ontology language (OWL). Comments are welcome through 03 October.
The group has also published an update of the companion “SKOS
Primer.” Learn more about the Semantic Web Activity.
http://www.w3.org/2006/07/SWD/
http://www.w3.org/TR/2008/WD-skos-reference-20080829/
http://www.w3.org/TR/2008/WD-skos-primer-20080829/
http://www.w3.org/2001/sw/
11. Access Control for Cross-Site Requests Draft Published
The Web Applications Working Group has published a Working Draft of
“Access Control for Cross-Site Requests.” Other specifications that
wish to enable cross-siterequests in an API they define can use the
algorithms defined by this specification. If such an API is used on
http://example.org resources, a resource on
http://hello-world.example can opt in using the mechanism described
by this specification. Learn more about the Rich Web Client
Activity.
http://www.w3.org/2008/webapps/
http://www.w3.org/TR/2008/WD-access-control-20080912/
http://www.w3.org/2006/rwc/
12. CSS Backgrounds and Borders Module Level 3 Draft Published
The Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) Working Group has published a
Working Draft of “CSS Backgrounds and Borders Module Level 3.” CSS
is a language for describing the rendering of structured documents
(such as HTML and XML). This draft contains the features of CSS
level 3 relating to borders and backgrounds. It includes and extends
the functionality of CSS level 2. The main extensions compared to
level 2 are borders consisting of images, boxes with multiple
backgrounds, boxes with rounded corners and boxes with shadows.
Learn more about the Style Activity.
http://www.w3.org/Style/CSS/members
http://www.w3.org/TR/2008/WD-css3-background-20080910/
http://www.w3.org/Style/
13. W3C XML Schema Definition Language (XSD): Component Designators Draft
Published
The XML Schema Working Group has published a Working Draft of “W3C
XML Schema Definition Language (XSD): Component Designators.” This
document defines a system for designating XML Schema components.
Schema components are the building blocks that comprise the abstract
data model of the schema. They are specified by XML Schema Part 1:
Structures and XML Schema Part 2: Datatypes. The XSD specification
divides the problem of constructing schema component designators
into two parts: defining a designator for an assembled schema, and
defining a designator for a particular schema component or schema
components, understood relative to a designated schema. Learn more
about the Extensible Markup Language (XML) Activity.
http://www.w3.org/XML/Schema
http://www.w3.org/TR/2008/WD-xmlschema-ref-20080910/
http://www.w3.org/XML/
14. Representing Content in RDF and HTTP Vocabulary in RDF Drafts Published
The Evaluation and Repair Tools Working Group today published
“Representing Content in RDF” as a First Public Working Draft. This
document provides a vocabulary to represent content in RDF, and is
flexible for any type of content available on the Web or in local
storage media. The Working Group also published an an updated
Working Draft of “HTTP Vocabulary in RDF,” which defines terms to
allow HTTP headers that have been exchanged between a client and a
server to be recorded in RDF. These documents can be used to extend
the “Evaluation and Report Language (EARL) 1.0 Schema,” an RDF
vocabulary to record test results such as those generated by Web
accessibility evaluation tools. They are part of the EARL
Specification. Learn more about the Web Accessibility Initiative.
http://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/
http://www.w3.org/TR/Content-in-RDF/
http://www.w3.org/TR/HTTP-in-RDF/
http://www.w3.org/TR/EARL10-Schema/
http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/earl.php
http://www.w3.org/WAI/
15. Efficient XML Interchange (EXI) Impacts First Public Draft
The Efficient XML Interchange Working Group has published the First
Public Working Draft of “Efficient XML Interchange (EXI) Impacts.”
EXI defines a new representation for the Extensible Markup Language
(XML) Information Set. The introduction of such a format may cause
disruption in systems that have so far been able to assume XML as
the only representation of XML Information Set data. This document
reviews areas where the introduction of EXI may disrupt or otherwise
have an impact on existing XML technologies, XML processors, and
applications. It also describes EXI design features and steps that
may be taken by implementors to reduce or eliminate disruption and
impacts. Learn more about the Extensible Markup Language (XML)
Activity.
http://www.w3.org/XML/EXI/
http://www.w3.org/TR/2008/WD-exi-impacts-20080903/
http://www.w3.org/XML/
16. Best Practice Recipes for Publishing RDF Vocabularies Note Published
The Semantic Web Deployment Working Group has published the Group
Note of “Best Practice Recipes for Publishing RDF Vocabularies.”
This document describes best practice recipes for publishing
vocabularies or ontologies on the Web (in RDF Schema or OWL). It is
intended for the creators and maintainers of vocabularies in RDFS
and OWL (vocabulary and ontology are used interchangeably in the
context of this specification). It provides step-by-step
instructions for publishing vocabularies on the Web, giving example
configurations designed to cover the most common cases. Learn more
about the Semantic Web Activity.
http://www.w3.org/2006/07/SWD/
http://www.w3.org/TR/2008/NOTE-swbp-vocab-pub-20080828/
http://www.w3.org/2001/sw/
17. Web IDL Draft Published
The Web Applications Working Group has published the Working Draft
of “Web IDL.” This specification defines a syntactic subset of OMG
IDL version 3.0 for use by specifications that define interfaces.
Web IDL is an IDL variant with a number of features that allow the
behavior of common script objects in the web platform to be
specified more readily. A number of extensions are given to the IDL
to support common functionality that previously must have been
written in prose. In addition, precise language bindings for
ECMAScript 3rd Edition and Java are given. Learn more about the Rich
Web Client Activity.
http://www.w3.org/2008/webapps/
http://www.w3.org/TR/2008/WD-WebIDL-20080829/
http://www.w3.org/2006/rwc/
________________________________________________________________________
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