[M4IF Technotes] Bifs and xmt

[Mikael Bourges-Sevenier]

Hi Jim and All,
> 
> Hello all,
> 
> I was just wondering what the differences and similarities 
> are between bifs 
> and xmt? I have looked at the standard (systems) and don`t 
> see any mention 
> of xmt, yet I see it mentioned in various web pages and books.

XMT should be part of Systems spec 2nd edition (part 1:2001) I think and is
definitely in the 3rd edition in chapters 14, 15, 16, 17. It will be in the
forthcoming Part 11.
XMT comes in 3 flavors: XMT-A, XMT-O, XMT-C. XMT-A is a XML representation
of BIFS and OD streams. XMT-O is a higher-level language based on SMIL 2.0
and SVG 1.0. XMT-C defines modules for MPEG-7 and encoding, delivery and
publication hints.
The 2 languages and the XMT-C modules come with a XML Schema, which is very
helpful to validate scenes using generic XML mechanisms (and tools).
> 
> Is there any documentation on xmt (in english!!) available?? 
> Why is it required in the first place if we have bifs??

MPEG-4 defines XMT as a textual authoring language and that's the only
textual representation required by the standard i.e. for
interoperability/interchange. 
Hope this helps,
Mike
> 
> Thanks in advance,
> 
> Jim
> 
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