World Wide Web Consortium

The Domains of the W3C

The five areas of activity, or domains, that the W3C pursues are Architecture, Document Formats, Interaction, Technology and Society, and the Web Accessibility Initiative.

The goals of the Architecture domain are to enhance the infrastructure of the Web and to increase its automation. Berners-Lee has articulated some architectural principles to guide the work of W3C. In his view, the concept of interoperability encompasses both technical and social elements; these include “the principles of universality of access irrespective of hardware or software platform, network infrastructure, language, culture, geographical location, or physical or mental impairment.”

Five specific architectures are the focus of work: DOM, Jigsaw, XML, XML Protocol, and URI. DOM, or Document Object Model, is an API (Application Programming Interface) for the structure of documents. Essentially, DOM allows programmers to write applications that work across a variety of browsers and servers, and on all platforms. Jigsaw, one of the W3C's open-source projects, is a Java-based, object-oriented Web server for the storage of files and the processing of incoming requests, with the goal of creating efficiency and extensibility of Web services. XML (Extensible Markup Language) is the universal format for structuring documents and data on the Web. XML Protocol allows technologies with two or more peers to communicate in a distributed environment. URI, the Universal Resource Identifier, is the fundamental specification of the Web, providing a global identifier for Web pages.

The Document Formats domain is concerned with improving the technology that allows Web users to effectively perceive and express information. This domain develops formats and languages to present information to users with higher levels of accuracy and control. Specific areas of focus include: HTML (Hypertext Markup Language); style sheets, using Cascading Style Sheets (CSSs); the creation of a Mathematical Markup Language (MathML); graphics development; and the establishment of standards toward internationalization, such as the development of Unicode, which provides a unique number for every character, regardless of platform, program, or language.

...