SMIL, TIME, or make up my own?

I would like to know what the feasability SMIL, TIME, (other ?) 
markup languages are to building a sort of common indexing or
cataloging format for media.

On the cdwrite discussion list, 
all of us agree that some sort of common format for 
indexing data on a disk, tape, net-drive, etc is needed.  
For example, when I create an MP3 CD-ROM or a zip disc with a buch
of images on it (or a combination of these) I want to be able to catalog
the files in some standardized way.   This index/catalog should 
be in a common location with a common name (like INDEX in the root 
directory of the media).

Also as well as coentent labeling,
some sort of cassification and function should be applied to the files on the
media (for example image, video, audio, streamimage, streamtext).
For large video files data, timed track/index markers and capability
for spanning multiple media volumes are needed as well.

I started to make up something of my own:
http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/bchafy/indexer/indexer.html
but if SMIL, TIME or some other SGML/XML markup language fits the bill, 
perhaps that would be better.?

But what is better?  Is any "w3c approved" language geared toward
media (think of CDI)?  The language needs to be easy to parse as well.
From what I can tell, SMIL looks like the closest to what I am talking about. 

Bryan

Received on Tuesday, 27 October 1998 16:29:44 UTC