4. The SMIL 2.1 Content Control Modules

Editor for SMIL 2.1

Dick Bulterman, CWI

Editors for SMIL 2.0

Dick Bulterman, Oratrix

Jeffrey Ayars, RealNetworks.

4.1 Introduction

This section defines the SMIL 2.1 content control modules. These modules contain elements and attributes which provide for runtime content choices and optimized content delivery. SMIL content control functionality is partitioned across four modules:

• BasicContentControl, containing content selection elements and predefined system test attributes;
• CustomTestAttributes, containing author-defined custom test elements and attributes;
• PrefetchControl, containing presentation optimization elements and attributes; and
• SkipContentControl, containing attributes that support selective attribute evaluation.

Since all of the content control elements and attributes are defined in modules, designers of other markup languages can reuse this functionality on a module by module basis when they need to include media content control in their language.

The functionality in the CustomTestAttributes module builds on the functionality of the BasicContentControl module; profiles implementing the CustomTestAttributes module must also implement the BasicContentControl module. The PrefetchControl and SkipContentControl modules have no prerequisites.

In some of the module descriptions for content control, the concept of "user preference" may be present. User preferences are usually set by the playback engine using a preferences dialog box, but this specification does not place any restrictions on how such preferences are communicated from the user to the SMIL player.

It is implementation dependent when content control attributes are evaluated. Attributes may be evaluated multiple times. Dynamic reevaluation is allowed but not required.

The SMIL 2.1 specification leaves the SMIL 2.0 Content Control Modules unchanged.
Please refer to the former SMIL 2.0 Content Control Modules [SMIL20-content-control] for information about semantics, elements and attributes allowing content choices and optimized content delivery of SMIL documents.