Recently, I was in the IRC channel, #drupal-html5, and I had a nice conversation with Jen Simmons about HTML 5. Jen is actively working to promote the use of HTML5 in Drupal.
jensimmons [~jensimmon@drupal.org/user/140882/view] has joined #drupal-html5
<katy5289> Hi Jen, do you recommend we start using html5 in Drupal 7 themes?
<jensimmons> hello
<jensimmons> katy5289: yeah!
<jensimmons> I'm going to....
<jensimmons> when it makes sense
<katy5289> when would that be?
<jensimmons> depends on the client and the budget of the project etc etc
<jensimmons> but also — why not!?!
<katy5289> w3c says to wait on using html5 in production
<jensimmons> ?
<katy5289> I just read an article today
<jensimmons> I haven't heard that from anyone I respect
<katy5289> I see
<jensimmons> in some ways really html5 vs html4 isn't our choice. The browser is a html4 browser, or it's an html5 browser....
<katy5289> I read that IE8 does not support the semantic tags
<jensimmons> we don't "turn on" html5 with the doctype, it's already there
<jensimmons> ie 6 7 and 8 don't look for the new elements: like section, article, etc
<jensimmons> so you can't target CSS towards them
<jensimmons> unless you use a javascript shiv to get IE to see the new elements
<jensimmons> so that's what everyone is doing
<katy5289> is that the google chrome frame, available at googlecode.com?
<jensimmons> no
<jensimmons> much simpler than the chrome frame
<jensimmons> totally different
<katy5289> what javascript shiv do you recommend?
<jensimmons> there's only one
<jensimmons> remy sharp's
<jensimmons>
http://remysharp.com/2009/01/07/html5-enabling-script/
<katy5289> OK, I'll try that
<jensimmons> unless you use modernizer — and they include it already, so you don't need to add it
<katy5289> what is modernizer?
<jensimmons> a lot has been written about how to make html5 work
<jensimmons> read Introducing HTML5 (bruce lawson / remy sharp) and/or HTML5 for Web designers (jeremey keith)
<jensimmons> both books totally explain what's up
<katy5289> OK, I have Introducing HTML5
<jensimmons> and if you haven't seen Jeremy Keiths' keynote — its awesome
<jensimmons>
http://drupalradar.com/video-jeremy-keith-keynote-session
<jensimmons> yeah — then Intro HTML5 will explain the need for the shiv
<katy5289> OK, that sounds great
<jensimmons> just read it!
<jensimmons> :)
<katy5289> Does Bartik (new default Drupal 7 theme) use html5?
<jensimmons> like any tool, understanding it and how it all works, pros and cons will help you figure out when to use it or not
<jensimmons> no, Bartik is the same doctype as Drupal core
<jensimmons> I wanted to go HTML5, but there wasn't any opportunity to deviate from what Dries had already decided: XHTML 1.0 + RDFa 1.0
<katy5289> OK
<katy5289> Scott Vandehey made Boron theme with html5 - it's a Drupal 7 theme
== jensimmons [~jensimmon@drupal.org/user/140882/view] has quit [Quit: jensimmons]
Thank you, Jen, for the informal interview. I'm really interested in learning more about HTML5.
