When W3C is publishing a new Web standard, the specification has worked its way from an idea through a lot of refining processes including the following things:

• W3C receives a Submission
• W3C creates a Working Group
• W3C publishes a Note
• W3C publishes a Working Draft
• W3C publishes a Candidate Recommendation
• W3C publishes a Proposed Recommendation
• W3C publishes a Recommendation

The next chapters of this section of W3Schools summarize the HTML, CSS, XML, XSL activities at the W3C, including status and timeline for each Web standard.

Any W3C member can submit suggestion for a Web standard to the consortium. Most W3C Recommendation started as a submission to the consortium.

If a submission is within the W3C work area (or charter), the W3C will decide if they should start working to refine suggestion.

Often a submission to W3C becomes a Note. A Note is a description of a suggestion refined as public document.

A Note is made available by the W3C for the discussion only. Publication of a Note indicate no endorsement by W3C. The content of a Note is edited by the member that submitted the Note, and not by W3C. A Note may be updated, replaced, or rendered obsolete at any instant of time. The publication of a Note does not indicate that the W3C has started any work related to Note.

When a submission is acknowledged by W3C, a Working Group consisting of members and other interested parties is formed.

The Working Group will normally define a time schedule and issue a Working Draft of the proposed standard, describing the work in the progress.

W3C Working Drafts are normally posted on W3C Web site, along with an invitation for public comments.

A Working Draft indicate work in progress, but should not be used as reference material. The content may be updated, replaced, or rendered obsolete at any instant of time.

Some specifications are more complex than others, and might require more inputs, more time, and more testing from members and software vendors. Sometimes these specifications are published as a Candidate Recommendations.

A Candidate Recommendation is also a "work in progress" and should not be used as the reference material. The document may be updated, obsolete, and replaced at any time.

A Proposed Recommendation represent the final stage of the work in the Working Group.

A Proposed Recommendation is still "work in progress" and may still be updated, obsolete, and replaced. But even if it does not imply any official endorsement by the W3C, most often a Proposed Recommendation is close to the final Recommendation both in time and in content.

W3C Recommendations have been reviewed by the W3C member, and have the W3C's director's stamp of approval.

A W3C Recommendation is considered as a stable document and may be used as reference material.

The next chapters of this section of academictutorials summarize the HTML, CSS, XML, XSL activities at the W3C, including the document status and timeline for each Web standard.