Re: New module proposal: libdmapsharing

["W. Michael Petullo" <mike flyn org>]

>> Purpose:
>> libdmapsharing is a library to access and share DMAP (DAAP & DPAP)
>> content. [...]

> FYI, libdmapsharing's original code comes from the DAAP code of
> Rhythmbox.

Yes (I stated this later in my original email).

>> Target:
>> Developer platform

> Certainly not. The protocol(s) being implemented are not open in any
> way, and libdmapsharing doesn't support newer versions of the protocols
> after Apple closed them down.

Fair enough. Though this may or may not be enough to make libdmapsharing a
hard requirement for GNOME, I feel the library still adds enough value to
be tightly coupled with GNOME. As I stated, I am especially interested in
moving libdmapsharing from SourceForce to GNOME's infrastructure to
increase collaboration with other GNOME projects.

I think it is important to quantify your statement that "libdmapsharing
doesn't support newer versions of the protocols." For example, dmapd,
which uses libdmapsharing, happily shares music and videos with the latest
version of iTunes and Roku's SoundBridge, even transcoding OGG Vorbis
files on the fly using GStreamer. Dmapd will also share photos with the
most recent version of iPhoto. So, while there may be difficulty with a
subset of functionality, most features work, especially on the server
side.

I believe the main point of contention is that DRM content purchased from
the iTunes store may not be played using the client-side libdmapsharing
code. It may be worth noting that the iTunes store has been somewhat
moving away from DRM content. In the interest of disclosure, I do not own
any DRM-protected music. Anything that is not DRM-protected should play.

[...]

>> Miscellaneous:
>> GNOME media applications such as GTHUMB are candidates for an increased
>> feature set provided by libdmapsharing. Rhythmbox presently contains
>> similar functionality (in fact, libdmapsharing was originally pulled
>> from Rhythmbox's implementation), but libdmapsharing separates the code
>> into a reusable library and adds DPAP (photo) support.

> Yes! I'd love for gthumb or any other photo app to integrate with iPhoto
> (does it support iPhoto, in the same way that we can't support being
> iTunes clients for anything beyond iTunes 6.x?).

> I'd approve libdmapsharing as an external dependency without any
> problems, not as a developer dep though...

This would be completely satisfactory to me. If I may ask the list, what
is the process for getting a project accepted into the GNOME
infrastructure?

In response to Andre, I've made several releases of libdmapsharing in the
last few months. The fact that there is only one tarball is more of a
reflection of SourceForge. If anyone would like to review the progress of
the project, I would encourage them to browse the SourceForge SVN
repository.

Thanks.

Mike