[vlc-devel] Factor HTTP/HTTPS/RTSP port in core

[Pierre Ynard]

> Unless someone has a plan on how to fix the old design to not be highly 
> confusing, hard to configure and plain buggy, I am not interested in 
> discussing this.

I haven't looked into the TLS code since I know little about it
(although you're still welcome to give pointers), but the buggy code
to reuse hosts could be fixed by calling strcmp() on the result of
net_GetSockAddress(), instead of the host name passed. That would also
simplify the data structure. So here's a plan:

 - fix the plain bugginess
 - decide on a consistent way to input server addresses
   * about URIs, answer:
     - although http://:8080/foobar is no valid HTTP URL, it's a valid
       generic URI: is this acceptable to use? (we already use MRLs)
     - is http://0.0.0.0:8080/foobar an acceptable HTTP URL?
     - same for RTSP and other schemes
   * decide whether we want unspecified/zero port values that can mean
     an OS-assigned port instead of being replaced by the default
   * choose between URI, the de facto standard "<host>:<port>"
     representation, separate host and port parameters, something else,
     or a combination thereof
 - convert to this consistent syntax all these parameters throughout the
   vlc code base, without breaking compatibility, adding new parameters
   where needed
 - if applicable, move configuration variables to a central location
   allowing to set defaults

However given the upcoming feature freeze, the length of this plan, the
lack of expressed forethought in the current commits, and the drawbacks
in terms of confusion, ease of use or to put it simply, of breaking
stuff and attracting a storm of reports/complaints from users, I suggest
we postpone this plan for the next release, and revert these changes for
now.

-- 
Pierre Ynard
"Une âme dans un corps, c'est comme un dessin sur une feuille de papier."