[vlc-devel] What should we do about recursive preparsing?

[Filip Roséen]

Hello,

After [3.0 regression: directory parser recursives
infinitely](https://trac.videolan.org/vlc/ticket/18236) got fixed, we
have users complaining that VLC no longer does full recursive parsing
of directories added to the playlist:

  - [Opening folders doesn't add files into playlist from sub-folders
    recursively](https://trac.videolan.org/vlc/ticket/21211)

  - [Problems with recursive adding in the
    playlist](https://trac.videolan.org/vlc/ticket/21158)

The 2nd ticket states *"In 3.0.4, we changed it. People complain"*,
which is both accurate and inaccurate. What actually happened was that
we fixed a regression that, because of a bug, caused the default
behavior, `--recursive=collapse`, to have the same behavior as
`--recursive=expand`.

Given that the bug was present for such a long time, it seems many
users have started to rely on (and like) the broken behavior present
in versions prior to `3.0.4` (which should only have been enabled on
`--recursive=expand`).

I stated that the broken behavior could already be relied upon, but I
failed to see just how wide-spread this actually was. Below is a link
to the relevant patch where I mention it.

 - https://mailman.videolan.org/pipermail/vlc-devel/2018-July/120454.html

So, now we need to decide how we handle this. From what I can tell
there are two viable paths to walk, either we;

  1. leave the behavior as it currently is, and do our best to educate
  users that they can change the recursive behavior (and get back to
  the one in `3.0.3`) by using `--recursive=expand`, or;

  2. change the default value of `--recursive` to `expand` instead of
     `collapse`.

I have no idea how many silent complaints we have, nor is it easy to
see how many users that actually appreciated the regression-fix. Given
the activity on *trac*, it seems to imply that most users actually
want to do full recursion by default (though it is as with most things
a mere guess).

What do you think?

Best Regards,\
Filip
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