Abstract
Working Group 8 of ISO/lEC Joint Technical Committee 1 Subcommittee 18 (JTC1/SCI8/WG8) is tasked with developing Information Technology (IT) standards for use in Text and Office Systems. The Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) introduced by WG8 in 1986 is now widely recognized as one of the key standards in developing systems for Open Information Interchange (OII).
In November 1992 WG8 published an important new standard, based on SGML, for the interchange of multimedia and hypermedia data. The Hypermedia/Time-based Structuring Language (HyTime) detailed in ISO 10744 provides hypermedia and multimedia systems developers with a standardized way of representing their data sets when interchanging information with other systems.
Since the publication of the HyTime standard, WG8 have started work, in conjunction with SC29/WGI2, on the development of a Standard Multimedia Scripting Language (SMSL). Based on the concepts behind HyTime, SMSL will enable system developers to interchange compiled forms of information flow scripts, probably using the UK-developed Architecture Neutral Distribution Format (ANDF). Whilst still in the early stages of development, the early emergence of a standard for interchangeable multimedia scripts should make it possible to reduce some of the competition that is already too prevalent between the developers of hypermedia and multimedia systems.