These features included the use of XML as a foundation; the ability to describe a musical object or event comprehensively (as opposed to merely providing a machine-readable format for a traditional musical score, or for a determinate sound recording of one performance); and the division of this comprehensive information into modules (often termed layers in later work), with separate modules for metadata, lyrics, notation, sound, and performance.
These features included the use of XML as a foundation; describing musical objects or events in great detail (as opposed to just providing a machine-readable format for traditional scores or specific recordings); and separating this comprehensive information into distinct parts (often referred to as layers in later work), with separate components for metadata, lyrics, notation, sound, and performance.