Multimedia Glossary: S

Saturation

The saturation (or intensity, also called chroma) refers to how much of the same hue is present. For example, the reddest red possible is a color that is 100% saturated with red hue. "Lighter" shades of red are less saturated with the hue red.

For a more detailed explanation, see chroma.

Scalable Vector Graphics

See SVG

Scene

a segment of the entire movie

In Flash a scene consists of a number events that the developer regards as constituting a sub-theme of the entire Flash movie. A Flash movie should be divided into scenes to facilitate the management of the project. Scenes thus segment the production into smaller more manageable parts.

Schema

W3C XML Schema recommendations are still in Working Draft status.

A Schema is a mechanism similar to a DTD for defining data types. Schema are closer to the notions of programming objects and database data types than DTD element definitions. The concept of Schema was introduced to the XML-family in order to overcome some of the limitations of DTD, and also to be somewhat simpler. However, the enterprise proved to be much more difficult than first envisaged, and the W3C Recommendation is now more than a year late as the proposed documents were referred back to the work groups.

Score

In music the score contains the notes of a composition. It is a synonym for sheet music.

In Macromedia Director the term score means timeline and used to indicate the position of objects within a time-based production.

SECAM

Sequential Couleur avec Memoire

an analogue video standard used in France, Eastern Europe and previous USSR countries. The frame rate is 25 frames per second (fps). SECAM scans the cathode ray tube (CRT) horizontally 625 times to form the video image.

Other standards are PAL and NTSC

Secure Sockets Layer

See SSL

Sequential Couleur avec Memoire

See SECAM

Serial Line Internet Protocol

See SLIP

Server

A server is computer software that "serves" documents or programs to another computer which requested them. In such instances the requesting computer is known as a "client". A server could also just be software that serves files to a client program on the same box. On the web the most used server is the HTTP server. Other types of servers are FTP, NNTP (for news), SMTP (for email) , etc.

Server Side Include

See SSI

SGML

Standard Generalized Markup Language

ISO 8879 of 1986.

SGML is an international standard for the transport of documents in a format independent of the device, system or application.

The technical detail need not bother you as HTML author. But note that this standard is also constantly in the process of being revised. In 1993, for example, Korean Hangul characters have been added to the standard. Also, there is presently a restriction on the total of codepoints allowed in the document character set. This is also in the process of being revised.

SGML is the granddaddy of HTML and XML. HTML is an application of SGML, while XML is a metalanguage based on SGML, used for creating XML applications.

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Shade

The term shade refers to a color which consists of the basic color (or hue) with black added to it. The color thus consists only of a shade of its possible hue, so to speak.

Simple Mail Transport Protocol

See SMTP

Simple Network Management Protocol

See SNMP

SLIP

Serial Line Internet Protocol

A protocol allowing connection to The Internet via a phone line. Also see PPP.

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SMTP

Simple Mail Transport Protocol

This is the mail protocol used on The Internet. Email can be sent to a transport engine (i.e. a mail server) that stores and deliver mail. Only when a session is established by the agent (i.e. the user's mail program) is mail sent to the receiving agent.

SMTP is defined by RFC821 and RFC1441. Message format is defined by RFC822, the Standard for ARPA Internet Text Messages.

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SNMP

Simple Network Management Protocol

A communications protocol used for managing and controlling monitor devices on a network.

SNMP is defined by RFC1157. The SNMP client side is used a management console, while the server side is called an agent, which can reside on any TCP/IP device, such as a router, hub or host. Novell LAN is a DOS-based SNMP.

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SONET

Synchronous Optical Network

A highspeed fibre optic network.

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Sound

The following sound file types are used for compressed sound files through The Internet: WAV, AU AIFF, MIDI.

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Sprite

In Macromedia Director the term Sprite is used for a special design tool that controls when, where, and how cast members (i.e. the objects in the production) appear in a movie (i.e. the multimedia production). Sprites are associated with cast members. More than one sprite can be associated with a particular cast members. A cast member is an autonomous object and changes to its attributes will change the sprite. However, changes to a sprite will not change the attributes of the object itself, only its behavior.

sRGB

Standard RGB

sRGB is calibrated colorimetric RGB color space well suited to Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) monitors, television, scanners, digital cameras, and printing systems. sRGB was developed by the ICC.

SSI

Server Side Include

An SSI is a command directing a server to run a program. One kind of SSI results in parsed HTML, ie web pages that are created on the fly (or DHTML).

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SSL

Secure Sockets Layer

A secure HTTP protocol, identified with https

Stage

In the world of theatre and music production the stage is the designtaed area where the production is executed. It is usually an elevated area so that audiences can view events better.

In Macromedia Flash and Director the stage is the area on the computer screen where a production is created. For example, an animation will be created on the "stage". Different scenes can be created on the same stage.

Standard Generalized Markup Language

See SGML

Standard RGB

See sRGB

Streaming

Multimedia files are typically large. A user does not want to wait until the entire file is received through an internet connection. Streaming makes possible that a file's content can be viewed before it is completely received. The data of the file is continuously sent from the server. While loading the user can begin viewing the streamed data.

Special server software makes streaming possible.

Substractive color

naturally perceived color

Also see Additive color.
In the substractive color scheme a color is specified by the amount of it removed (substracted) from white light. This is how the human eye sees color. A substractive color absorbs, reflects and transmits light, which our eyes see as color.

Primary substractive colors are: red, yellow, blue. When they are mixed in some proportions, secondary colors are derived. Tertiary (or intermediate) colors result when two primary colors are mixed in the ratio 2:1.

Even though colors are added when mixed together, the perception is substractive -- we perceive the colors absorption of light.

.swf

A Flash file extension

The .swf file extension is used for a Flash document that can be played with a Flash player. Before it is published, a Flash document, while it is being developed, has the extension .fla.

Symbol

The word has many different meanings in many different contexts.

In Semiotics....

In typography a symbol is a non-alphabet character (such as the copyright symbol ©) in alphabet-based languages.

In Macromedia Flash symbol is used for a graphical object that can be animated. In terms of function Flash symbol is similar to the Director cast. A Flash symbol is any image object that is made a symbol by adding it to a library. Symbols can be reused. Animations can only be applied to symbols. A symbol put on the developer's stage is called an instance of the symbol.

Synchronous Optical Network

See SONET

SVG

Scalable Vector Graphics

W3C Proposed Recommendation 19 July, 2001

SVG is an XML-based application based on the vector graphics model. SVG images can be written with a text-editor, but to do that you need to know vector graphics inside-out. In 2001 you need a plug-in for your browser to be able to display SVG files. In future releases of browsers they will most probably support SVG from scratch.

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