Overview
ISO/IEC 13522-6:1998 - part of the ISO/IEC 13522 family - defines the semantics and final-form coded representation for interchange of enhanced interactive multimedia and hypermedia applications (MHEG-6). Building on base-level MHEG classes, this part specifies program and applet support, runtime interfaces, and interworking provisions to enable richer interactive services across networks and storage media.
Keywords: ISO/IEC 13522-6, MHEG-6, multimedia, hypermedia, interactive applications, program interchange, MHEG-5, JVM, API, ASN.1.
Key Topics
- Object classes and semantics: Formal definitions for program-related classes such as InterchangedProgram and Applet, including attributes, events and lifecycle (preparation, activation, deactivation, destruction).
- Conformance requirements: Rules for information object, implementation and application conformance (encoding, semantics, profiles, and conformance documentation).
- Virtual machine (VM) support: Specification elements for a VM instruction set and VM interchange format to encapsulate program code in final-form interchange.
- Kernel API and MHEG-5 API: Definitions and requirements for a runtime Kernel API and the MHEG-5 API, including syntax, semantics and pragmatics requirements, plus design principles and grades for API behavior.
- MHEG-5/JVM interworking: Provisions and execution semantics for integrating MHEG script/program objects with Java Virtual Machine (JVM) applets, including program content interchange format and mapping of elementary actions.
- Formal notations and annexes: Normative ASN.1 notation and textual notation (Annexes A–C) for encoding, with informative annexes providing action-to-API mappings, WWW applet relationships, feature summaries and IPR guidance.
Applications
ISO/IEC 13522-6 is intended for:
- Interactive TV and set‑top box software designers implementing enhanced multimedia services.
- Broadcast and multimedia service providers packaging interactive applications for distribution.
- Software vendors creating MHEG engines, applet containers or JVM interworking layers.
- System integrators and conformance testers validating interchange formats and runtime behavior.
Typical use cases include enhanced interactive television services, multimedia kiosks, and any platform where standardized interchange of interactive program objects (applets/programs) and runtime APIs is required.
Who should use this standard
- System architects, implementers of MHEG engines, middleware developers, receiver/set-top box manufacturers, and standards/QA teams responsible for interoperability and conformance.
Related Standards
This standard is essential when designing interoperable multimedia/hypermedia interactive applications that require standardized program interchange and runtime integration (MHEG-6).
