Compared to XHTML, HTML5 (just like HTML 4) is a lot more forgiving of the syntax you use. Like I mentioned in HTML 5 syntax, it allows you to mix tag and attribute case as you wish, leave some attribute values unquoted, and leave out closing (and in some cases opening) tags for some elements.
In my opinion this can easily make markup more time-consuming for humans to read and understand. It can also lead to a wider difference in syntax depending on the personal preference of the person creating the markup. I think both of these are bad for maintainability. Fortunately HTML5 doesn’t prevent you from creating markup that is as clear, unambiguous and easy to maintain as XHTML.
Posted in HTML 5, Productivity.