W3C Standard Aims At Device Independence
The organization's Composite Capability/Preference Profiles (CC/PP) recommendation provides a method by which servers can deliver content that is readable by the specific device that is accessing it. Currently, most sites are difficult to read and navigate with devices, such as PDAs and smartphones, that don't use full-screen Web browsers.
In W3C parlance, a recommendation is akin to a standard in that it is considered stable and has been reviewed by W3C members.
"CC/PP plays a vital role in supporting the ability of people to access the Web from an increasingly diverse range of devices," Rhys Lewis, chair of the W3C Device Independence Working Group (DIWG) said in a statement.
"By providing a stable framework for devices and Web servers to optimize content delivery, CC/PP provides a foundation for a device independent Web, and actual device empowerment," Lewis said. "As CC/PP uses RDF for the actual descriptions, we can foresee ease in sharing existing profiles, and more easily combining and creating new ones as new devices appear on the market."
The group said that the new standard is aimed at fostering universal access to the Web no matter what type of device is used. For example, according to the group, the standard would enable a handheld device to tell the server that it isn't capable of viewing a site with frames and, instead, to deliver content in the form of detailed lists.
CC/PP enables devices to express their capabilities by using the Resource Description Framework (RDF). It was designed in cooperation with the Open Mobile Alliance's User Agent Profile and the Java Community Process, which has developed a Java API for CC/PP.
Although the recommendation has the weight of a standard, it is only a recommendation to the industry. The standard was developed by the W3C Device Independence Working Group, which has members from a variety of companies including Nokia, NTT DoCoMo, Panasonic, Ericsson, IBM, HP and Sun Microsystems.
*This story courtesy of Mobilepipeline.com.