WWW at 15 years: looking forward

ABSTRACT

The key property of the WWWW is its universality: One must be able to access it whatever the hardware device, software platform, and network one is using, and despite the disabilities one might have, and whether oner is in a "developed" or "developing" country; it must support information of any language, culture, quality, medium, and field without discrimination so that a hypertext link can go anywhere; it must support information intended for people, and that intended for machine processing. The Web architecture incorporated various choices which support these axes of universality.Currently the architecture and the principles are being exploited in the recent Mobile Web initiative in W3C to promote content which can be accessed optimally from conventional computers and mobile devices. New exciting areas arise every few months as possible Semantic Web flagship applications. As new areas burst forth, the fundamental principles remain important and are extended and adjusted. At the same time, the principles of openness and consensus among international stakeholders which the WWW consortium employs for new technology are adjusted, but ever-important.