Method and system for modeling and presenting integrated media with a declarative modeling language for representing reactive behavior

In a programmed computer system for presenting integrated media, a method for regulating the presentation of the integrated media comprising:

• reading a declarative model including a description of media in terms of continuous, time varying behavior, discrete user-defined events which alter the presentation of the media, and a reactive behavior corresponding to a user defined event and defining a behavior of the media in response to the corresponding user-defined event;
• at a first system time, analyzing the declarative model to predict the user-defined event corresponding to the reactive behavior from the discrete events programmed to occur at a second, later system time;
• based on the predicted event, performing preparatory actions to achieve low latency playback of the reactive behavior in response to the predicted event.

In a method of transmitting an animated display sequence over a network to a user, and displaying the sequence to the user, an improvement comprising transmitting a textual declarative model defining behavior of an object to be displayed during said sequence over the network, said model including a description of animation as a continuous function of time and at least one user-defined event affecting behavior of the object.

A computer implemented system for modeling and presenting interactive media comprising:

• a declarative model stored on computer readable medium including a user-defined description of reactive media as a continuous function of time and as a function of a discrete event that alters the presentation of the media, where the description includes a user-defined expression of the reactive media having a first behavior as a continuous function of time until the discrete event and then a second behavior as a continuous function of time in response to the event;
• a declarative modeling engine operable to read the declarative model and to create a functional data graph representing the model, operable to control the presentation of the media through evaluation of the functional data graph, and operable to monitor the discrete events and update the functional data graph in response to the discrete events.