[KPhotoAlbum] Importing and Exporting tags

[Marco Molteni]

Ashley J Gittins wrote:
> On Sunday 18 June 2006 20:35, Rui Malheiro wrote:
>> I think it would be great to have a standard XML format so that every image
>> browser/manager could pickup tags when displaying an image.
> 
> Sounds like a job for IPCT tags (since I think that's what they were invented 
> for) - does anyone know if there is a standardised method/format for placing 
> them in separate files (like a image.jpg.ipct) rather than embedding the info 
> into the image file itself? I am thinking of cases where the original format 
> (raw files) may not support iptc or where people don't want their originals 
> modified at any cost.

It *is* a job for IPTC.

And I really cannot understand why so many people don't want their image
files modified.

Let's look at how professionals manage their workflow: they tag their 
images with IPTC keywords, that are stored INSIDE their raw files.

Why? Interoperability. As simple as that.

All the XML or binary databases or whatever can just be used as a quick
lookup cache, or maybe for file formats that do not support IPTC tagging.

And please spare me the "I am afraid that storing the IPTC keywords in 
the file might corrupt it". This is pure nonsense. There are well-known
algorithms to preserve a file and commit (in database jargon) a new 
version only when it is safe to do so.

marco