W3C

We invite you to register for the W3C Mobile Web and Application Best Practices (MWABP) course. Register by 9 January and save 60 Euros. This is the third edition of this online course, which begins 30 January for 8 weeks. Developed by the W3C/MobiWebApp team, this course will be taught by Frances de Waal and Phil Archer. Participants spend an average of 4-6 hours per week on the course material and assignments. Read the past students' feedback and find out more about the course.

The SPARQL Working Group has published (second) Last Call Working Drafts of the following SPARQL 1.1 documents. SPARQL is a set of specfications related to querying a web of linked data. Today's publications

• SPARQL 1.1 Update defines an update language for RDF graphs.
• SPARQL 1.1 Service Description defines a vocabulary and discovery mechanism for describing the capabilities of a SPARQL endpoint.
• SPARQL 1.1 Query Language adds support for aggregates, subqueries, projected expressions, and negation to the SPARQL query language.
• SPARQL 1.1 Protocol describes a means for conveying SPARQL queries and updates to a SPARQL processing service and returning the results via HTTP to the entity that requested them.
• SPARQL 1.1 Entailment Regimes defines conditions under which SPARQL queries can be used with entailment regimes such as RDF, RDF Schema, OWL, or RIF.

Review comments welcome through 6 February. Learn more about the Semantic Web and Linked Data.

The Web Applications Working Group has published a Working Draft of DOM4. DOM4 defines the event and document model the Web platform uses. The DOM is a language- and platform-neutral interface that allows programs and scripts to dynamically access and update the content and structure of documents. Learn more about the Rich Web Client Activity.

The XML Security Working Group has published a new Last Call Working Draft of "XML Encryption 1.1" to solicit review of changes since the previous Candidate Recommendation. The primary changes are to (1) make the AES-128-GCM algorithm mandatory to implement, to address newly publicized chosen-ciphertext attacks against the CBC class of algorithms, (2) add new security considerations related to chosen-ciphertext attacks, timing attacks, CBC block encryption vulnerabilities, and the insecure use of error messages, (3) add a new algorithm for the RSA-OAEP key transport that does not require SHA-1 with the mask generation function, enabling use of various hash MGF combinations.

The XML Security WG is also soliciting review of the Last Call working draft of "XML Encryption 1.1 CipherReference Processing using 2.0 Transforms". This specification brings the simplification benefits of the ongoing XML Security 2.0 effort to XML Encryption CipherReference transform processing. Feedback on both of these Last Call drafts is requested by 16 February 2012.

The Working Group also published today First Public Working Drafts of "Test Cases for XML Encryption 1.1" and "Test Cases for Canonical XML 2.0" and encourages community participation in developing further tests and performing testing. In addition, they updated "XML Security Algorithm Cross-Reference" to reflect new algorithm definitions in XML Encryption 1.1. Learn more about the W3C Security Activity.

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Working Group today published updates of two Notes that accompany WCAG 2.0: Techniques for WCAG 2.0 and Understanding WCAG 2.0. (This is not an update to WCAG 2.0, which is a stable document.) To learn more about WCAG Techniques and about contributing to future updates, see the WCAG Techniques Updated - Learn about the informative guidance blog post. Read about the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI).

The Protocols and Formats Working Group (PFWG) today published a First Public Working Draft of Media Accessibility User Requirements that describes the accessibility requirements of people with disabilities with respect to audio and video on the Web, particularly in the context of HTML5. Learn more from the call for review email and about the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI).