RIVUS A Template Language for Modelling Multimedia Streams.pdfVIP

RIVUS: A Template Language for Modelling Multimedia Streams Donna Lindsey (email: D.L.Lindsey@ukc.ac.uk) University of Kent Abstract Streams have been included in the Reference Model for Open Distributed Processing (RM-ODP), in response to advances in distributed multimedia computing. They describe the complex interactions that can occur in such systems. The simple client-server model of interaction is insufficient to properly represent stream s and therefore an explicit binding model has been introduced. Details of the communication are encapsulated in a binding object whose behaviour is defined in a template. This report presents the ODP view of streams and then introduces the template language RIVUS. The language can be used to specify binding templates and thus allow classes of communication behaviour to be described. A syntax for the language is provided. 1 Introduction In multimedia systems various forms of information, such as video, text and audio, are combined to produce a wide range of applications, for example video booths and tourist information packages. Powerful new applications are being developed to support video conferencing, distance learning and office information systems [11] by combining distributed system and multimedia technology. With the rise of multimedia applications, there has come a need, in distributed systems, to support the transmission of new kinds of data. This data, for example audio and video, is time-based [3]; it is produced and consumed at continuous and steady rate. With such data comes issues of synchronization, for example lip synch, quality of service, for