Google, Microsoft, Facebook And Others Launch Web Platform Docs, A Web Standards Documentation Site

A number of leading browser vendors and other tech companies, including Microsoft, Google, Apple, Adobe, Facebook, HP, Nokia, Mozilla, Opera and the W3C, just announced the launch of the Web Platform Docs project at WebPlatform.org. The project aims to create “a new, authoritative open web standards documentation site,” says Opera Software. The wiki-like site, says Opera, wants to ensure that developers can easily find “accurate, quality information on all the latest HTML5, CSS4 and other standards features across the multitude of available web-based resources.”

Currently, the companies behind WebPlatform.org argue, developers struggle to find authoritative answers to their questions about modern web technologies and often, developers have to resort to figuring out the right solutions through trial and error (the Google team describes this as a “scavenger hunt”). The new site, says Adobe, will change this by providing developers a “single, definitive resource to go to.” On the site, users will find API documentation, information on browser compatibility, examples, best practices and the status of the various specifications.

The site has been seeded with information from the participating organizations, but anyone will be able to contribute content to the project. The W3C will serve as the site’s convener and curator, but the various participating organizations stress that this is a community effort.

“People in the web community — including browser makers, authoring tool makers, and leading-edge developers and designers — have tremendous experience and practical knowledge about the web,” said W3C Director Tim Berners-Lee in a canned statement today. “Web Platform Docs is an ambitious project where all of us who are passionate about the web can share knowledge and help one another.”