W3C issues HTML 4.0 draft specification

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has published the first public draft of the HTML 4.0 specification, code-named "Cougar."

"HTML 4.0 offers Web designers the solid foundations they need to exploit a host of exciting new features without the hidden costs of proprietary extensions", says Dr. Dave Raggett, lead architect of W3C's HTML activity. "You get much greater control over forms, frames and tables, and all the benefits of scripts, style sheets and objects."

Major new features of HTML 4.0 include:

• Advanced forms with a rich array of form controls.
• Frame improvements including inline frames.
• Table enhancements such as column grouping and improved border control.
• Object embedding, Cascading Style Sheets, and scripting support.
• New Naming entities: important symbols and glyphs for mathematics and internationalization.

For more information, please visit the World Wide Web Consortium and their HMTL 4 press release page