Overview
ISO/IEC 23007-1:2010/Amd 1:2012 is an amendment to the international standard for rich media user interfaces, specifically focusing on widgets and their extensions. Developed by the joint ISO/IEC JTC 1 technical committee, this standard enhances the core specification (ISO/IEC 23007-1:2010) by introducing widget extensions that support advanced widget capabilities and interoperability between widget managers. The standard plays a crucial role in streamlining the management, discovery, migration, and communication of widgets in rich media applications.
Key Topics
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Widget Manager Discovery and Interoperability
- Widget managers must advertise their services for discoverability and compliance, ensuring broader interoperability and seamless integration with other conformant managers.
- Introduction of a standardized service type identifier, allowing widget managers to announce their capabilities and services on supported discovery protocols.
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Lifecycle and Catalog Management
- Widget managers maintain a set of “known widgets”-those verified for renderability-enabling enhanced functions such as searching for components and displaying widget catalogs.
- The lifecycle management includes detailed handling for activating, migrating, and cataloging widgets.
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Widget Messaging and Communication
- Standardizes a comprehensive set of messages for controlling widgets, such as:
startWidget, for launching widgetsrequestCapabilitiesList, for querying manager processing capabilitieslistWidgets, for fetching available widgetsgetWidget, for initiating widget migration between managers
- Specifies error codes for robust status reporting and troubleshooting.
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Component Activation and Migration
- Extends activation options, allowing widgets and their components to be activated locally, remotely, or selectively migrated to other devices or widget managers.
- Defines robust migration targets and component alternatives, supporting dynamic deployment strategies across distributed environments.
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Message Parameter Types
- Expands supported parameter types for script communication (boolean, number, string, stringarray), improving compatibility with existing and future widget interaction standards.
Applications
The widget extensions outlined in ISO/IEC 23007-1:2010/Amd 1:2012 facilitate advanced rich media user interfaces and interactive media systems by:
- Enabling multi-device widget management-widgets can be activated, migrated, and cataloged dynamically across a wide range of platforms and devices.
- Supporting smart TVs, set-top boxes, and multimedia platforms, where rich interactive applications need to be smoothly managed and discovered by different user agents.
- Allowing third-party widget integration and cross-platform interoperability for vendors and service providers developing rich media applications.
- Providing a standardized interface for developers building widget managers that require reliable communication and lifecycle control of downloadable, installable, and migratable widgets.
Related Standards
- ISO/IEC 23007-1:2010 - The base specification for rich media user interfaces, detailing the widget model and lifecycle.
- MPEG-U - The framework supporting interactive multimedia widgets as described in the MPEG standards family.
- W3C CC/PP - Related to capability description standards, leveraging XML for profile and capability exchange.
- MPEG-21 - Covers user environment description and other multimedia framework aspects.
- Service Discovery Standards (e.g., UPnP, Zeroconf) - Often used in conjunction to realize widget manager discoverability and integration.
By adhering to ISO/IEC 23007-1:2010/Amd 1:2012, organizations and developers can ensure that their widget-enabled media user interfaces are interoperable, discoverable, and future-ready, thus fostering a more robust and flexible digital ecosystem.