T.1 Timing Object

The Web already defines a rich set of concepts and frameworks for timed operations, e.g., HTMLMediaElement, HTMLTrackElement, HTMLMediaController, WebAnimation, SMIL and WebAudio. Naturally, we would like to construct timed media by combining the strengths of different frameworks. After all, composition is a key feature of the Web. Unfortunately, this is not so easy. Timing is internal and custom to each framework, and timing models tend to be pulse-based, imprecise and non-deterministic.

The TimingObject is proposed to address this issue. It is precise, expressive and deterministic. This makes it an excellent basis for timed coordination of heterogeneous frameworks. Perhaps even more important, the TimingObject is designed specifically to integrate with Shared Motion, a generic timing mechanism for the Web. This way, we envision the TimingObject as a common basis for timed coordination both in single-device and multi-device Web applications.

The draft spec for TimingObject is maintained at GitHub.

http://webtiming.github.io/timingobject/

A JavaScript polyfill implementation is provided for the timing object at

http://webtiming.github.io/timingsrc

Detailed documentation for timing object and timing converters is available here

http://webtiming.github.io/timingsrc/doc/index.html#timingobject

http://webtiming.github.io/timingsrc/doc/index.html#timingconverter