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> We originally had web standards for a reason, now we're doing this non-standard stuff.

Web standards have always been a mishmash of competing standards. Eventually one spec will win out and that will be the next standard.




Not entirely true.

Pretty much all the major browsers implemented websql, which then never made it into a standard as there were no competing implementations [0]. Nice while it lasted.

0: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_SQL_Database


Can you cite some specific examples?

Do you mean gopher, nntp?


JavaScript is a good example. It wasn't the only web scripting language available, there was JScript and Java Applets and VBScript. JavaScript won and now it's ubiquitous.


And for an example of co-existence of competing languages, see javascript triggering flash/actionscript (e.g. for clipboard access) and vice-versa (e.g. for DOM access).

Both are somewhat dated examples, that is pre-HTML5.


JScript is simply Microsoft's name for its JavaScript implementation. Presumably to avoid Sun's ire.


I agree with your JScript and VBScript answers, but not Java applets.


The entire history of HTML up to and including HTML5. :-)


I was gonna say, i think of all the arguments one can make, this is pretty much the least viable :)

Once the web became mass-market, standards pretty much became a complete mishmash in every area.


XHTML vs HTML?




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