Adobe released an XMP Library for ActionScript. Adobe® Extensible Metadata Platform (XMP) is a labeling technology that allows you to embed data about a file, known as metadata, into the file itself. XMP is an open technology based on RDF and RDF/XML. Find the original article on Adobe Labs.
In simpler terms, Adobe’s XMP is a way to share information about a Flash movie with technologies that do not utilize Flash. A great example of this is W3C’s attempts to achieve integration and interoperability in RealTime. For years this technology has been available in Adobe products. It is a first for Adobe Flash.
Orginally XMP was used to automate workflows for the different Adobe products such as Photoshop and Illustrator. Now XMP can be added dynamically to SWF files at Flash runtime using the new XMP ActionScript Library.
Collecting data about the Flash movie, organizing it into human readable lists, and then spitting out an XML file is one possible workflow. RealTime data streams, automated XHTML file creation, and realtime XML site maps are just a few of the use cases that spring to mind.
One of the main objectives of this project is the semantic web. The XMP guidelines are in accordance with the RDF guidelines set out by the W3C. There are already quite a few services standardizing their workflows with XMP. A list can be seen on Adobe’s Website.
Using XMP as opposed to writing custom XML data formats could be a great way to create scalable Flash content. The more standardized the data becomes, the more scalable all Flash applications become. Imagine Flash application frameworks that can share data… anything from image galleries to robust enterprise solutions. All apps using XMP could read any XMP data file from any other app. That is HUGE!
Once again, Adobe is pushing the limits of Flash technology with The Open Screen Project as the driving force behind its attempts to standardize Flash. Thankfully, the new XMP Library for ActionScript handles all the heavy structural lifting. Whether or not applications can scale to handle the change in data structure remains to be seen.
For more information and theories on Flash Scalability please see my previous article on the FCSS ActionScript Library.
