Way back, in the early days
of the Net, all URLs used to end with either .Htm or .html, signifying that
they were HTML pages. How many URLs do you see today that do the same?
Today, you have ASP pages and PHP pages and God knows what else. So, is HTML
dead?
Yes, HTML in its pure form is
more or less dead, but not because of ASP or PHP.
HTML is a non-interactive
layout language. It can lay out the text and graphics, and provide color,
bold fonts, blinking fonts, et al. And it stops pretty much there. The
biggest limitation of pure HTML is that it can’t interact with the user,
accepting inputs from him and responding to that. Communication is all about
interactivity, and if the Net is about communication, then HTML is just
ground zero. One had to go beyond simple HTML to achieve interactivity.
On the Web, you can do this
by using a mixed bag of tricks. The Web designer uses various scripting
languages, evolved layout languages like XML (eXtended Markup Language), and
add-ons like Flash to make the Web a live and happening medium. Today,
HTML-only pages are more or less dead. Long live HTML.