Microsoft, QUALCOMM, and Lotus today announced the acknowledgment by
the World Wide Web Consortium of their
HTML Threading Proposal.
The proposal details how Extensible Markup Language (XML) may be utilized
by developers to enable the data-rich features in HTML e-mail software.
The HTML Threading Proposal was previously submitted to the W3C for
consideration as an open standard, and is available for review on the
W3C Web site.
It provides the basic structure that will enable HTML e-mail applications
to provide rich, structured data. Potential uses include adding stylization
to text, adding hierarchical order to individual author’s comments within a
message, and displaying data from different authors in a distinctive manner.
By building on the strengths of open industry standards, including HTML
4.0, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), and XML, the HTML Threading Proposal
enables developers to use features that are not possible using any single
Web technology. Standard HTML 4.0, particularly the CITE attribute, is used
within the proposal to associate properties with text and to identify the
role of that particular text contained within the message
For more information on the proposal or the workings of the W3C, visit the
World Wide Web Consortium site.
