Learning To SMILe (
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Take a tour of SMIL, the Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language, and find out how you can use it to quickly and rapidly build Web-based multimedia offerings incorporating multiple media types.For a long time, dynamic movement on a Web site meant GIF animations, which were
both tedious to create and annoying after the first three repetitions. Then came
Macromedia Flash, one of the cooler authoring tools for Web animation, and, with
its powerful tweening toolkit, turned drab Web sites into rich landscapes of
sound and colour.
Of course, in order to truly exploit Flash's
capabilities, you need to know the basics of animation...not always a feasible
option, especially for non-technical users who just want to put together a quick
online presentation or display a series of sequentially-linked or synchronized
media clips. GIF animation doesn't have the requisite power or flexibility for
the needs of such users, while the dazzling array of options available in Flash
tends to intimidate.
Which brings me to SMIL...
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