ISO/IEC 15938-10:2005

Overview

ISO/IEC 15938-10:2005 - "Information technology - Multimedia content description interface - Part 10: Schema definition" specifies the formal schema for the multimedia metadata system defined by the ISO/IEC 15938 family (commonly known as MPEG-7). This part collects the Description Tools (Description Schemes, Descriptors, Datatypes) defined across ISO/IEC 15938, assigns a namespace designator, and presents a consolidated syntax using the Description Definition Language (DDL) from ISO/IEC 15938-2. The schema is intended for XML-based representations and aligns with W3C recommendations such as XML Schema and XPath.

Key topics and technical requirements

• Schema consolidation: centralizes the metadata description tools from all ISO/IEC 15938 parts into a single schema file for consistent use.
• Description tools: formal definitions of Description Schemes (DS), Descriptors (D), and Datatypes used to describe multimedia content features and relationships.
• DDL usage: syntax specified using the Description Definition Language (ISO/IEC 15938-2) and presented with XML Schema conventions.
• Namespace and naming conventions: prescribes a namespace designator and consistent naming rules (element, attribute, complexType/simpleType conventions) to ensure interoperable schemas.
• Type-centric approach: tools are defined as complexType/simpleType entries (rather than as global elements), with one root element declared for examples.
• Documentation and canonicalization: includes documentation conventions, examples, and references to XML Canonicalization and XPath for processing and equivalence checks.
• Versioning: includes schema definitions for multiple versions (Version 1 and Version 2) to support evolution of the metadata set.

Applications

• Implementing MPEG-7 metadata for multimedia indexing, retrieval, and content description.
• Building interoperable XML metadata producers and consumers (search engines, media asset management, digital libraries).
• Designing metadata-driven features: automated extraction, content synchronization, multiplexing descriptions with media, and metadata-based search and recommendation.
• Creating conformance test suites, reference software, or transformation tools that rely on a standardized schema.

Who should use this standard

• Metadata architects, multimedia system designers, and developers implementing MPEG-7 metadata.
• Digital library, media asset management, and streaming platform engineers.
• Standards implementers, conformance testers, and researchers working on multimedia description, indexing, and retrieval.

Related standards

• ISO/IEC 15938 Parts 1–11 (Systems, DDL, Visual, Audio, MDS, Reference software, Conformance, Extraction and use, Profiles, Schema definition, Profile schemas)
• W3C XML Specifications: XML 1.0, XML Schema (Parts 0–2), XPath, Canonical XML

Keywords: ISO/IEC 15938-10:2005, MPEG-7 schema definition, multimedia content description, metadata schema, Description Definition Language, XML Schema, namespace, Description Scheme, Descriptor, Datatype.