It can be argued that the most prevalent programming language to date is JavaScript, given the fact that billions of web pages exist, and as we approach the closing of the HTML5 standards in 2014, HTML is becoming the computing platform for the future.


When Tim Berners-Lee created the ``WorldWideWeb'' he was also thinking about the political and corporate issues that could potentially harm the web, and he helped form the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), whose purpose is to ``lead the Web to its full potential'' \cite[1]{pioneersberners}.


The W3C works to create an open standard and specification and keep moving the Web forward in a democratic way, adding new features that it believes are conducive to the achieving the Web's full potential. Soon we will see full access to the device sensors and actuators on mobile devices, although these specifications are actually recommendations. Soon the lines between what we call Web vs. Native will begin to blur.


There exist myriad disparate languages out there to create ``native'' apps, however soon all functionality will be accessible within HTML5 as well. HTML5 is the democracy of programming. HTML is a survivor like Lisp was: ``Using Lisp we restrict or limit not what we may program, but only the notation for our program descriptions'' \cite[10]{sicp}. The Abelson and Sussman book is considered by some to be one of the most important books in computer programming. Lisp could not limit what is possible to program in the context of a computer programming book that covers every possible software idea, mostly because Lisp provided access to higher-order functions that can be described by lambda calculus, and functional and object-oriented programming patterns. JavaScript is just as flexible as Lisp, and also has access to the document object model (DOM), which is the user interface, or representation of elements on a Web page.


JavaScript, which is a part of the HTML5 specification, is in the family of {\it evented languages}, which `` have been successful because they map well to the direct manipulation graphical user interface'' \cite[6]{futureofhci}. JavaScript is inherently tied to the DOM (unless you are using node.js), which provides a way to express a user interface along with functionality. Other languages (python, etc) are still stuck in the terminal, while HTML5 is readily available to the non-technical person!


In general, the WWW has lowered the barrier for authorship and consumption on the Web \cite[9]{futureofhci}. However, with the growing complexity of the Web, things like CSS and JavaScript are not necessarily something that ordinary people understand. 


HTML5: The Living Standard