HTML5 Overview Meetup in Silicon Valley: A Review.

HTML5 Overview by Robin Zimmerman, Product Manager, Kaazing Corporation, September 28, 2010

As is usual in the IT industry, a single phrase or concept (or an acronym) means different things to different people and HTML5 is no different. Robin presented a section by WHATWG group that produces a clear distinction among the following:

1. Features that are considered part of the next generation of HTML beyond HTML5 ...
2. Features that are part of HTML (and this specification) but that are currently published as separate specifications ...
3. Features that are not currently in this document that were in the past considered part of HTML5, or that were never part of HTML5 but have been referred to as part of HTML5 in the media ...

HTML5 Overview (Silicon Valley User Group)

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While there are may features in HTML5, the one with most influence in the creation of rich Internet applications is the feature of WebSockets. Why? Because, we have all seen what static web pages can [and cannot] do, ever since the advent of the browser in 1992. Given that collaboration is what makes groups more powerful than the constituent individuals, the technological underpinning that is required is effective bidirectional communication between geographically distant individuals, and that is what WebSockets provides.  A succinct overview of webSockets by John Fallows is also found on the web.

The Kaazing WebSocket Gateway seems to provide a powerful appliance that enhances user experience at an HTML5 browser by providing scalable performance.

Disclosure: I am not an employee of Kaazing Corporation and I don't have stock in the company.