Facebook's (NASDAQ:FB) decision to "go native" for its iOS and Android apps may have made international headlines, but it doesn't seem to have had much influence on the attitudes of other developers around the use of HTML5, according to a recent survey.
In September, Kendo UI, a provider of JavaScript and HTML5 tools and services, surveyed more than 4,000 developers, and 82 percent of respondents said they see HTML5 as important to their job in the next 12 months. In fact, 63 percent said they are already making apps using HTML5. Even the 6 percent who said they aren't actively using HTML5 now plan to do so in the next 1-2 years.
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Source: HTML5 Adoption: Fact or Fiction |
By far the most of-cited reason (73 percent) for using HTML5 was familiarity with languages such as HTML, JavaScript and CSS. Greater reach and cross-platform support came not far behind at 62 percent.
Earlier this year, Mark Zuckerberg commented that using HTML5 for the Facebook app was the biggest mistake the company had made, but his words did not put a damper on HTML5 adoption. According to the report, only 14 percent of the developers who already actively develop in HTML5 claim some levels of confidence loss after Facebook's decision, while 14 percent of the same group said that their confidence in HTML5 for mobile apps actually increased.
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Source: HTML5 Adoption: Fact or Fiction |
Since Kendo UI makes tools to create HTML5 apps, it obviously has a vested interest in promoting HTML5's popularity, but the research did explore some of the more negative concerns with the technology. Not surprisingly, potential platform fragmentation emerged as one of the biggest developer concerns around HTML5.
From a standards body perspective, however, the message came through loud and clear, Kendo UI said."Respondents were asked which approach they prefer: the W3C's slower 'snapshot' approach to updating the HTML5 standard at fixed intervals, or WHATWG's 'living standard' that is constantly evolving as new pieces of HTML5 are added," the report said, explaining that 43 percent favor the W3C approach compared to WHATWG at 17 percent, though another 41 percent have no preference. "The survey shows that developers are not depending on the standards bodies to make decisions about HTML5."
Kendo UI noted that its research findings are in stark contrast with those of traditional analysts like Gartner, which has said HTML5 adoption is unlikely to become widespread for another 5-10 years.
For more:
- read the full Kendo UI report
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