[Feedback] Feature suggestion

[Colin Guthrie]

Jeff Mitchell wrote:
> On Tuesday 06 November 2007, Colin Guthrie wrote:
>> I'll go and read more about Nepomuk and Tracker a bit more. If such
>> semi-abstract things are stored about a file (e.g. playcount etc.), can
>> Xesam be made to push data back to the metadata storage (and whether
>> this is stored in-file or by some other separate metadata db is up to
>> the implementation/configuration of the indexer/manager)?
> 
> I think you'd use Nepomuk directly.  For instance, the labels feature in 1.4 
> could be ported to add Nepomuk tags onto audio files instead of storing stuff 
> in the Amarok DB.
> 
>> If not then I would imagine that either Xesam should be extended to
>> support that, or a new FDO standard created to with this kind of use
>> case. If there is no *standard* way of doing this then surely now is the
>> time to get it right, as it would be a shame to see various media apps
>> diverge on different approaches when a little planning could create a
>> very nice interoperable system.
> 
> Have fun.  You're a little late to the party...see, for instance Tracker 
> (Ubuntu/Gnome) vs. Nepomuk (KDE).

Well, I've been spouting on about a subset of this stuff for years so
not really late.... more lazy :p

> Tracker's a new project started because, well, who knows.

Tracker's been going for years no? Has Nepomuk been around for that
long? I thought only since start 2006 ish? Anyway, I realise that I've
been under a bit of a misaprehension about nepomuk anyway... I thought
it was a KDE thing in much the same way as Strigi is a KDE thing, but
reading a little on the nepomuk website I see it's not really meant for
just KDE right? It's meant to be for all, so in theory, links to Nepomuk
from Gnome should be forthcoming? But is that likely to happen? If not
then it's a very sad thing.

Hopefully it will happen. From
http://www.internetnews.com/dev-news/article.php/3688606
"Though currently implemented for KDE, NEPOMUK isn't limited to one
desktop. Mandriva's Stéphane Laurière noted that discussions with some
GNOME developers around the NEPOMUK specification have begun in the
frame of the FreeDesktop.org working group."

So fingers crossed. From that article I see that my fellow Mandriva
developers/contributor seem to have quite a large part in this thing! I
should really try to learn more about this from them :)

> Nepomuk tries to implement the features called for in the (IIRC) 
> 17-million-euro study done by the EU.  If Nepomuk succeeds at that, it'll be 
> a very large superset of features of what Tracker does (the semantic side of 
> Tracker at least, since Tracker's also Yet Another Desktop Search Engine 
> too).

Well that is good from a technology perspective, but it doesn't mean
much from an interoperability perspective if Gnome do not embrace
Nepomuk too.

<rant applicability="maybe - might not happen">
I've done development for both KDE and Gnome apps. Personally I use a
complete hotch-potch of a desktop with elements of Gnome and KDE thrown
around together as I see fit, I really don't take a view point on the
Gnome vs. KDE debate, each to their own in my book (and some can be a
little bi like me ;)).

But what I do care about, is interoperability. If fundamental metadata
that Nepomuk will store cannot be easily accessed by all software, it's
a very sad state of affairs. That's why I was wondering if a common
querying mechnaism to nepomuk should be present, in the same way that
Strigi and Tracker can both work via Xesam. If Gnome implement a
different metadata/semantic desktop thing then such a standard mechanism
is surely needed?
</rant>

> You could feel free to come up with a standard querying language for 
> Nepomuk/Tracker though, if one doesn't exist...

Nah, I'd get it wrong and don't have the time to do anything like this
personally.  I mean I'm already discussing things from a ridiculously
uninformed perspective and only picking up snippets along the way, so
what hope is there that I'd do anything like this right?! None! :p

Anyways, joking aside, I know I *am* under-informed here and I don't
want to get into a debate when I clearly don't have the ammo to discuss
things ;)

Perhaps one day I'll find time to read everything.


I'd just hate to see another Gnome trash system debacle!!! :p

Col