Facebook has launched a new HTML5 Resource Center to help developers as they delve into the use of HTML5 to create new, standard Web applications.
The social networking giant has demonstrated its commitment to HTML5 development, not only with a new HTML5 Resource Center, but also with a new HTML5 Blog and an HTML5 Developer Group.
In a post on the new Facebook HTML5 Blog, Matt Kelly, an engineer at Facebook, said, “Today we are releasing three new HTML5 resources to help developers learn from our experience and the experience of other industry leaders building HTML5 apps.”
The Facebook HTML5 Resource Center helps developers build, test, and deploy Web applications. The HTML5 Blog covers a wide range of HTML5 topics written by Facebook and industry experts. And the HTML5 Developer Group is the place for raising questions and sharing insights with fellow HTML5 developers, Kelly said.
Discussing the benefits of using HTML5, Kelly said:
“Technically, HTML5 is a World Wide Web Consortium [W3C] specification. In practice, it is the umbrella term for the set of open Web technologies used to build modern Web apps. These include HTML, of course, but also CSS, JavaScript and a number of new APIs, which, until recently, were only available to native apps [for example, offline capabilities]. Combined, these new technologies enable you to build the next generation apps, using the Web.“
Kelly further explained that today almost every device, including phones, tablets, computers and even TVs, has a browser. “Developers relying on HTML5 benefit from working with a single codebase that can run on all of these devices, so they build once and deploy everywhere within a minimal amount of changes for each device,” he said. “Many developers, including Facebook, are using HTML5 in their mobile products, as it makes reaching users across many different devices simpler.”
Moreover, according to a Facebook advisory on HTML5, when building Web applications, developers do not have to make a choice when it comes to distribution. “Your app is directly accessible via URL, Web search and browser bookmarks on the latest version of every browser,” Facebook said. “In addition, you can easily get your HTML5 games and apps in front of Facebook’s 800 million users using Facebook Platform and can also deploy them through the Apple App Store and Android Market using simple native wrappers like PhoneGap.”
Looking ahead, Kelly added: “The Web already allows developers to create great apps, and things are advancing rapidly. We hope these new HTML5 resources help accelerate the rate of innovation and improve the user experience of Web apps.”