Versions
The HTML standard dates back over a decade ago and is still undergoing changes. Let’s take a look at the evolution of the standard over time:
HTML version timeline
- November 24, 1995 – HTML 2.0 was published as IETF RFC 1866. Over time supplemental RFCs were used to add capabilities such as form-based file upload, tables, client-side image maps and internationalization.
- January 1997 – HTML 3.2 was published as a W3C Recommendation. Dropped math formulas and adopted most of Netscape’s visual markup tags.
- December 1997 – HTML 4.0 was published as a W3C Recommendation. Deprecated visual tags in favor of style sheets.
- December 1999 (Current version) – HTML 4.01 was published as a W3C Recommendation.
- January 2008 (Future version) – HTML 5 was published as a Working Draft by the W3C.
XHTML version timeline
XHTML is a separate languages. It can be thought of as a branch from HTML 4.01 that has taken on a life of its own.
- January 26, 2000 – XHTML 1.0 published as a W3C Recommendation.
- May 31, 2001 (Current version) – XHTML 1.1 published as a W3C Recommendation. Added XHTML modularization.
- 2009 (Future version) – XHTML5 is being defined as part of the HTML 5 specification.
