superfly-timeline

SuperFly-Timeline

The SuperFly-Timeline is a collection of rules as well as a resolver for placing objects on a virtual timeline. It uses the concept of timing objects in sequences -– absolute or relative timings -– which resolves recursively in nested structures. This means it supports grouping, combinations of timing between groups, and objects within groups. It also supports logical conditions instead of timed conditions.

It is used in the Sofie TV News Studio Automation System.

Installation

NodeJS

$ npm install --save superfly-timeline

Web browser

Can be run in the browser using browserify or the like.

Getting started

var Timeline = require("superfly-timeline");

// The input to the timeline is an array of objects
var myObjects = [];

// Lets add an object to the timeline:
myObjects.push({
	id: 'obj0', // the id must be unique

	trigger: {
		type: Timeline.Enums.TriggerType.TIME_ABSOLUTE, 
		value: Date.now()/1000 - 10 // 10 seconds ago
	},
	duration: 60, // 1 minute long
	LLayer: 1 // Logical layer
});

// Lets add another object to the timeline, set to start right after the previous one:
myObjects.push({
	id: 'obj1', // the id must be unique

	trigger: {
		type: Timeline.Enums.TriggerType.TIME_RELATIVE, 
		value: '#obj0.end'
	},
	duration: 60, // 1 minute long
	LLayer: 1 // Logical layer
});

// By resolving the timeline, the times of the objects are calculated:
var tl = Timeline.Resolver.getTimelineInWindow(myObjects);

// To see whats on right now, we fetch the State:
var stateNow = Timeline.Resolver.getState(tl, Date.now()/1000);
//
/*
stateNow = {
	time: 1511009749,
	GLayers: { 
		'1': {
			id: 'obj0',
			trigger: {},
			duration: 60,
			LLayer: 1,
			content: {},
			resolved: {} 
		}
	},
	LLayers: {
		'1': { 
			id: 'obj0',
			trigger: {},
			duration: 60,
			LLayer: 1,
			content: {},
			resolved: {}
		}
	}
}
*/
// To see what will be on in a minute, we fetch the state for that time:
var stateInAMinute = Timeline.Resolver.getState(tl, Date.now()/1000 + 60);
/*
stateNow = {
	time: 1511009749,
	GLayers: { 
		'1': {
			id: 'obj1',
			trigger: {},
			duration: 60,
			LLayer: 1,
			content: {},
			resolved: {} 
		}
	},
	LLayers: {
		'1': { 
			id: 'obj1',
			trigger: {},
			duration: 60,
			LLayer: 1,
			content: {},
			resolved: {}
		}
	}
}
*/

Features

Trigger types

• Absolute time (TIME_ABSOLUTE) The start time of the object is defined as a float number (unix time).

• Relative time (TIME_RELATIVE) The start time of the object is defined by an expression, relative to another object.

  Examples:

  "#obj0.end" The end time of another object

  "#obj0.start" The start time of another object

  "#obj0.duration" The duration of another object

  It is also possible to use basic math, using +, -, *, /, ()

  Examples:

  "#obj0.end - 2" 2 seconds before the end of another object

  "(#obj0.start + #obj0.end) / 2 " Half-way in

• Duraion The duration of an object can either be an absolute number, or an expresstion (like the Relative time)

• Logical expression (LOGICAL) Use a logical expression to place an object on the timeline (unlike a time-based expression). When the expression is evaluated to True, the object will be present.

  Examples:

  "#obj0" Id of another object (if the other object is playing, this object will be played as well)

  "$L1" Anything on LLayer 1

  "$G1" Anything on GLayer 1

  ".main" If any other object with this class is present (read more on classes below)

  "#obj0 & .main" Logical AND

  "#obj0 | .main" Logical OR

  "!#obj0" Logical NOT

Expressions as objects

It is also possible to define expressions as objects, as opposed to the strings explained above. The object has a left-hand-side operand, a right-hand-side operand and an operator. The operand can be a number, a reference or another expression.

Example:

"#obj0.end - 2" is equivalent to

{
	r: "#obj0.end"
	o: "-"
	l: "2"
}

Layers

• Logical layer (LLayer): If two objects are on the same LLayer, the latest (or the one with highest priority) will take precedence.

• Graphical layer (GLayer): The difference between GLayers & LLayers are that while LLayers are used first to find out WHAT to play, WHERE to play it is defined by GLayers. (For most applications, these two will always be the same.)

Object reference

Attribute	Description	Examples
id	The id must be unique	'obj0'
trigger.type	See "Trigger types" above	Enums.TriggerType.TIME_ABSOLUTE, TIME_RELATIVE, LOGICAL
trigger.value	See "Trigger types" above	For TIME_ABSOLUTE: Date.now()/1000, TIME_RELATIVE: "#obj1.end", LOGICAL: "#obj1"
duration	The duration of the object (0 is infinite)	60
LLayer	See "Layers" above	1
priority	Objects with higher priority will take precedence	0
classes	An array of class-names, that can be referenced from other LOGICAL objects	['main', 'bug']
disabled	Disables this object for resolving	true/false
content	This is where you put your specific attributes, to use later in your application	{}
content.keyframes	See keyframes below	[{Keyframe}]

Keyframes

It is possible to add keyframes to an object, which works the same way as normal objects, and their content is added to the object's.

// example of an object with keyframes

{

	id: 'obj0',
	duration: 50,
	trigger: {
		type: Timeline.Enums.TriggerType.TIME_ABSOLUTE, 
		value: 1000,
	},
	LLayer: 1,
	content: {
		media: 'AMB',
		attributes: {
			positionY: 0,
			positionX: 0,
			scale: 1
		},
		keyframes: [
			{
				id: 'K0', // id must be unique
				duration: 5, // duration of keyframe
				trigger: {
					type: Timeline.Enums.TriggerType.TIME_ABSOLUTE,
					value: 5 // Abslute time means "relative to parent start time" for a keyframe
				},
				content: {
					attributes: {
						scale: 0.5
					}
				}
			},
		]
	}
}
// At the time 1000 the content will be:
/*
{
	media: 'AMB',
	attributes: {
		positionY: 0,
		positionX: 0,
		scale: 1
	}
}
// At the time 1005 (when the keyframes has started) the content will be:
/*
{
	media: 'AMB',
	attributes: {
		positionY: 0,
		positionX: 0,
		scale: 1,
		opacity: 0.5
	}
}
// At the time 1010 (when the keyframe has ended) the content will be:
/*
{
	media: 'AMB',
	attributes: {
		positionY: 0,
		positionX: 0,
		scale: 1
	}
}
*/

Todo

• Add documentation for how to use groups

Changelog

6.0.3 (2018-11-07)

Bug Fixes

• Create TimelineTrigger interface for trigger property (a497393)

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