[vlc-devel] Re: playlist API

[Sam Hocevar]

On Wed, Jan 29, 2003, Stephan Assmus wrote:

> Here is my proposal for an easier but more powerful API:
> 
> playlist_item_t* playlist_ItemAt( int index );
> int              playlist_AddItem( playlist_item_t* item, int index = - 1 );
> int              playlist_RemoveItem( playlist_item_t* item );
> playlist_item_t* playlist_RemoveItem( int index );

   Be careful that this is not enough. The current API sucks a lot, but
this is mainly due to locking (several threads may be accessing the
playlist at the same time). I think your proposal needs at least two
additional functions to work properly (playlist_Lock/playlist_Unlock).

> With these four simple functions, any playlist modification is 
> possible. The most annoying thing about the current API is, that items 
> actually get freed when you remove them.

   Let's implement playlist_Swap( int index1, int index2 ), so that
bubble sort is trivial to implement! (just joking)

> This caused me troubles when 
> trying to implement sorting. In my API, no function would do any 
> allocating or freeing of the items. That would be left up to the 
> caller.

   My opinion is that the caller should not necessarily know what is
in p_item, which is a playlist's internal type, but still be able
to delete items.

> The power in my API lies in the fact, that you can disconnect 
> playlist items from the list and add them at another index.

   This could be done with a playlist_MoveItem function.

> An additional playlist_DeleteItem() is still needed, and that function 
> should also take care of actually stopping the playback if the deleted 
> item happens to be the currently played item. Currently, 
> playlist_Delete() does nothing in that regard.

   Hehe, my feeling was that the deleted item should continue playing,
but it can probably be made a config option :)

> Last but not least, playlist_Add( const char* path ) would be 
> convenient to keep arround.
> If you are in trouble, please contact <postmaster at videolan.org>

   Agreed.

-- 
Sam.
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