After years spent goading Netscape Communications and Microsoft into complying with guidelines recommended by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), standards proponents say they are turning their attention to companies that make Web authoring tools. Topping the hit list now are the likes of Macromedia and its popular Dreamweaver authoring tool; Adobe Systems and its GoLive product; and Microsoft again, for its low-end but widely used FrontPage software.
"None of the big tools--Dreamweaver, GoLive, FrontPage--none of them currently writes standards-compliant code," said Tom Negrino, author of numerous books about the Web and a member of the Web Standards Project, or WaSP.
The shift in standards enforcement marks a significant turning point in the adoption of common rules for displaying Web pages. Though Microsoft and Netscape have both released browser versions that conform with W3C recommendations, activists say they face a new problem: Almost nobody is producing Web pages written exclusively in standards-compliant code.
Standards proponents say such compliance promises significant advantages, such as conserving bandwidth with "lighter" code and the ability to provide access to disabled Web surfers--something the federal government requires of all its agencies. Nevertheless, standards efforts continue to be a source of friction in the development community, as pragmatists and idealists clash over the best way to implement them.
While few deny the benefits of full standards compliance, many argue that the switch to standards must come gradually, because millions of Web surfers still use old browsers that can't read the latest and greatest code. As a result, most Web developers continue to support outdated code, a task that has been made effortless by tools such as Dreamweaver, which automatically includes workarounds for older browser versions.
Now, however, some standards advocates are asking developers to do their part in convincing the technology laggards to upgrade--even at the risk of alienating un-savvy Web surfers who might be challenged or intimidated by the task of downloading and installing new software.
That effort is causing some tension with Web developers, who insist they, too, are eager for a more fully standards-compliant Web.
"For our Web developers, the No. 1 issue we see in our research is cross-browser compatibility," said Eric Ott, group product manager for Dreamweaver at Macromedia. "The browsers start off with standards but then build on top of that with their own bells and whistles. So developers pull their hair out trying to make things work in both browsers. It's really hard to get things to work across all the browsers in every environment, so moving towards standards is going to make things a lot easier for us."
Sam Hui, senior product manager for Adobe's GoLive tool, agreed, warning that patience, not brute force, was the only thing that could rid the Web of the older, noncompliant browsers.
"As Netscape changes its tune and Microsoft builds browsers closer to the standard, it certainly makes our job easier," Hui said. "It's much harder for us to take into account all these little variations than it would be to just create one standards-compliant browser. But the reality is that we don't live in that world yet."
