[Kdenlive-devel] New to list

[Jason Wood]

On Saturday 22 Nov 2003 11:42 pm, Varol Okan wrote:
> Jason,
>
> thank you for your reply.
>
> Info :
> SuSE puts kde under /opt/kde3/  (for now). I have set the KDEDIR and
> used the --prefix option. Unfortunately I still have the same issue that
> the menu items do not show up.

Make sure that there is no kdenliveui.rc file in ~/.kde/share/apps/kdenlive. I 
believe that changing the keyboard shortcuts and similar things can cause 
this file to appear.

Other than that, I cannot think of anything that can cause it other than the 
installation files being installed in the wrong directory.

> Development :
> I saw the targets on the program versions to come. Is there anything
> like a time line attached to those deliveries ? Also is there a doc
> (somewhere between developer and user guide) that explains the
> connections between piave and kdenlive ? Piave seems to be the kernel
> and maybe people would like to make some add ons in functionality (like
> splitting sound and video and using both independantly)

I tried to put dates on the targets in the past, but it does very much depend 
on how much spare time Rolf and I have. Every time I have tried to estimate 
in the past, I have always got it completely wrong :-) So I prefer to simply 
say "when it is ready" these days.

The roadmap is still sort-of correct, although I need to update it to reflect 
the new priorities that we have put on different features now : for instance, 
it is likely that the ability to manipulate video and audio separately will 
appear before the effects framework is finished.

There is a brief description of the roles of Piave and Kdenlive at the 
beginning of the cutting list specification document here :

http://www.uchian.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/kdenlive_documentation.html

But I can summarise for you here.

Piave is the video renderer/player. It performs all of the tasks that require 
manipulation of video data - so it plays video files, it can accept a 
"cutting list" with details on how to render several video files together, it 
handles effects, it figures out how long a video file is and what format it 
is in, etc.

Kdenlive is a video editing user interface. It handles the graphical 
representation of the project you ware working on, for instance the timeline 
that piave renders. It handles saving and loading, and any project management 
that is required, and provides (or rather, will provide) the dialogs through 
which you define the effects that piave will use. Kdenlive does no video 
processing itself, it offloads everything onto piave.

Kdenlive and Piave then communicate to each other through a reasonably simple 
XML interface.

From this, it is easy (with the occasional exception) to decide on which 
application a feature should be implemented.

For instance :

* Adding a new video effect would belong in Piave.
* Adding a new support input/output codec would belong in Piave.
* Adding a new timeline tool would belong in Kdenlive
* Adding support for subclips (a logically defined section of an existing 
clip) has no rendering implications and is purely project management; it 
belongs in Kdenlive.

Some features will require work in Kdenlive and Piave.

* Having separate video and sound tracks needs work on the timeline in 
Kdenlive, and on the infrastructure in piave. It will also require some 
modifications to the XML that is passed between the two applications.

> Question :
> does no one else have this problem ? Are thos menu items put into place
> dynamically dependand on piave maybe ? What other options/leads could I
> follow ?

The menu options are defined by the kdenliveui.rc file, which should live in 
the /share/apps/kdenlive directory in the relevant location (on Mandrake that 
is /usr/share/apps/kdenlive). If this file is missing or not where Kdenlive 
expects it to be, you will only get the "standard" menu items - new, load, 
save, etc.

None of the menu items are generated via piave at this point in time; Kdenlive 
should still show all of the menu items even if piave is not installed.

> About me :
> I am a programmer by hobby and if I could help a >>>Little<<< bit let me
> know. Maybe I coudl see if I can make the system run under SuSE. Time is
> very short for me since I am a very recent father (thus the new Sony
> Camcorder :)

Congratulations :-)

As I have mentioned above, the releases of Kdenlive and Piave are very much 
dependant on how much spare time Rolf and I have to develop, and we are the 
only developers at the moment, so if you are interested in developing, even 
if it's only an hour or two a month then that would be great!

Getting Kdenlive working under SuSE would be a very good first step, and after 
that, suggest a feature that you would like to try and implement, and we can 
discuss the best way to go about implementing it :-)

Cheers,
Jason

-- 
Jason Wood
Homepage : www.uchian.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk