Archive notice: This article was originally published on May 16, 2008. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Google launched Doctype on Wednesday, a reference platform for topics surrounding open standards in web development. The “encyclopedia by web developers for web developers,” as Mark Pilgrim of the Google Code team calls the project, promises help with web design. It provides articles on topics such as security and the use of Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), as well as references including HTML tags. The “largest development platform in the world” is intended to grow with the help of the developer community.
The platform’s beta launch includes dozens of contributions on areas generally important in web development. These include security topics such as cross-site scripting, handling the Document Object Model (DOM) for HTML and XML files, and using CSS. Tips and tricks are also provided, for example for identifying browser versions or detecting the Flash plug-in. The articles frequently contain useful JavaScript code. More than 8,000 lines of code from Google libraries have been published, according to Pilgrim. Doctype also offers extensive references for HTML tags, DOM methods and CSS properties. To ensure developers can truly benefit from the service, most content has been published under a Creative Commons license.
Pilgrim said some details are still missing at the beta launch. To close the gaps, Google is relying on the help of the developer community and emphasizing the project’s openness. Every developer is invited to contribute to Doctype articles. “Create new ones, update old ones, and help expand the world’s understanding of the open web,” Pilgrim said. A Google account for login is the only prerequisite for participating. Initial reactions in developer blogs and forums show strong interest in the developer community. The cross-browser and cross-platform test examples and the information on web security have received particular praise.
