Only xine? why?

[Torgil Svensson]

> CDDA/CDDB isn't a universal feature - for example, since the helix
> engine (one of the 2 actually recommended engines) has no capability to
> play CDs, so right now it doesnt make sense to us to pull cddb UI
> elements outside the engine config.

I can see the point in that CD-reading phase is engine specific since
it transferring audio data, but I also see a point in using things
like the CDDB database lookup from a different library without have to
make a new engine for that or reimplement that code for every engine.

> As for the todo list, yes, I would agree.  However, I dont think cddb
> support is essential to reenabling the engine - resume on startup is
> fairly simple and can be knocked off quickly.  Crossfade is a different
> matter.

Thanks, now it's crystal clear what the state is and what has to be
done. At least there isn't any unspecified framework instability
issues (WMA put aside) or potential political issues to overcome.

> I'm happy to work with you or anyone else to get the engine to a state where
> we think it is worth enabling.

I'm happy if I can help, currently i'm trying to fiddle with my dev
environment and gstreamer in general (for multiple purposes). To
contribute to amarok I predict I'll (in addition to some creative
idea) have to familiarize with the letter Q:

amarok$ find . -iregex ".+\.cpp$\|.+\.h$"  | xargs sed 's/[^qQ]//g' |
tr -d '\n' | wc -c
35906

//Torgil


On 8/20/06, Paul Cifarelli <paul at cifarelli.net> wrote:
> Torgil,
>
> CDDA/CDDB isn't a universal feature - for example, since the helix
> engine (one of the 2 actually recommended engines) has no capability to
> play CDs, so right now it doesnt make sense to us to pull cddb UI
> elements outside the engine config.  However, it might make sense if we
> complete the work in gstreamer - we could then use the engine plugin
> property to decide whether to expose the UI elements wherever we decide
> to put them.
>
> This however isnt the most critical issue for the gst10 engine or for
> Amarok for that matter - we view CD playing as an add on feature -
> really we think Amarok's strength is as a collection manager/player -
> not as a CD player.
>
> As for the todo list, yes, I would agree.  However, I dont think cddb
> support is essential to reenabling the engine - resume on startup is
> fairly simple and can be knocked off quickly.  Crossfade is a different
> matter.
>
> > So, please specify a list what's need to be done before enabling the
> > engine and the community might help you
>
> We practically *begged* for a maintainer to come forward before I took
> on the task.  At least 3 people showed up and disappeared when they
> either saw how much work it was or disagreed with our direction.  I'm
> happy to work with you or anyone else to get the engine to a state where
> we think it is worth enabling.
>
> I'll have a look at your patch for 117208 tonight - and apply it if all
> is well.
>
> Paul
>
>
>
>
> Torgil Svensson wrote:
> >> I'm afraid its just you - this is the way our engines work.  As a
> >> general
> >> principle, allowing the engine to handle this type of stuff allows
> >> you to make
> >> more effective use of the specifics of the framework's api.
> >
> > Maybe, but thats no excuse for having the _settings_ specified there.
> > Code and
> > UI:s doesn't always follow the same logic. These settings are reusable
> > between engines, just like the crossfade.
> >
> > What if a few "engines" must complement some features with the same
> > external library; maybe the "engine" interface has grown little too
> > fat ?
> >
> >
> >
> >> At least not until it (and the framework) is ready.
> >
> > Here's the bug list for GST-0.10:
> >
> > 117208     Compile error on Solaris 8 - amarok/src/engine/gst/equali...
> >   - just replace the command or #ifdef different solutions
> > 123401     Multiple dialog boxes appear with gstreamer engine
> >   - should not affect normal users installing gstreamer through a distro
> >   - this should barf at configure/startup time, not allowing user to
> > play (??)
> > 124339     gst 0.10 is silent on resuming on startup for MP3's; work...
> >   - tried this. resume doesn't work. song starts from beginning
> > 125714     Gstreamer 0.10 and Lossless WMA cause Major error
> >   - Haven't tried this. Files that ends with ".wma" seems to be
> > disabled the hard way in the code.
> > 126337     [GST-0-10] Pausing amarok causes crash
> >   - Only applicable for ESD the sink
> > 126362     [GST-0.10] Program hangs occasionally at end of song
> >   - Comments says that a workaround exists in SVN
> > 126447     [GST-0.10] GUI freezing when seeking with gstreamer engine
> >   - Bug report says that this happens on Xine engine as well, so I
> > guess this needs fix before 1.4.2 anyway.
> > 128529     GstEngine plugin floods .xsession-errors with "QObject: 3...
> >   - Havem't seen this
> >
> > Judging from comments I received on IRC i'll guess a TODO-list for GST
> > before inclusion looks like this:
> > 1. Crossfade
> > 2. Resume on startup
> > 3. CDDB support (why the config resides inside the engine here is in
> > my opinion just broken design)
> >
> > I have no lossless WMA file to test that issue, I'll guess that will
> > use binary windows drivers. Does Xine-engine/Rhythmbox/Totem support
> > it?
> >
> > So, please specify a list what's need to be done before enabling the
> > engine and the community might help you
> >
> > //Torgil
>
>
>
>