Multimedia Authoring with MAVA

Multimedia authoring is still subject to computer experts with programming knowledge. Most multimedia systems provide fixed concepts for the specification of the temporal and spatial layout of multimedia documents. Starting with interaction some approaches require script programming by authors. Special effects like animations, complex interactions or alternative concepts have to be programmed in almost every multimedia system. If a multimedia system does not provide a scripting language the realization is impossible. As different application areas for multimedia documents are considered (e.g. computer based training) authors need authoring languages with a high abstraction level that support the specification of documents in these areas. Because application areas that have to be used for authoring cannot be predicted in advance an extensible document language is required. For the presentation and authoring of multimedia documents this means that an extensible multimedia presentation system and an extensible document editor are required. The paper presents research results achieved in a project that aims at the simplification of authoring and dissemination of multimedia documents. The approach is based on an extensible document language. Separation between authoring and development of language extensions requires only scanty programming knowledge by authors. Extensions have to be developed by programmers and will be disseminated together with documents. With a growing number of available extensions a decrease of programming effort can be expected because of reuse of