We all remember DHTML from the late 90’s and early 2000’s. The potential was awesome. Functionality that combined html4, css2 and javascript. It turned out to be a big flop because there were not dhtml standards that all browsers would adopt making a website compatible on one browser but not the others. Thus DHTML faded from the spotlight – but never disappeared.
Recently there has been a lot of buzz around HTML5, mainly because Apple has been avid on not using Flash on their iPhone and iPad. HTML5 is simply html5, css3, and javascript combined. Seem familiar to DHTML (html4, css2, and javascript)? Absolutely. It is basically the same thing. Another similarity is that right now HTML5 is a mess on browsers. There are no standards so what works on one browser is not working on another. Will it have the same downfall as DHTML? I dont know but I do know that people are excited to see what happens.
The one thing people need to not confuse is that HTML5 is an update to HTML4 and HTML5 refers to a combination of HTML5, CSS3, and Javascript. Seems confusing but what everyone is talking about is the combination, not just HTML5 by itself.