2011-09-12, 01:01
I realize XBMC has something close to this (even if it isn't realized), but I think a full-fledged XBMC Taxonomy would help core programmers, add-on developers and end users all.
For anyone who doesn't know, a taxonomy is a hierarchy of classifications/definitions. For instance, the animal kingdom is a taxonomy.
One place where I really see a taxonomy helping is with media types. Out of the box, XBMC supports video, picture and music files. Add-ons have helped expand the number of media types XBMC can support, such as games and Internet services.
Let's suppose XBMC has an out of the box taxonomy that defines pictures, movies and music. Each media type would have a Scraper, File Formats, Sub-Categories (like TV Shows, Movies), and a base path. As a developer, I want to add Gaming to the list of media types that XBMC can handle. I can easily go in and list the scraper, the file formats, and what emulators handle each type of format:
-Media Type: Games
----Scraper: videogamescraper.com
----Systems:
--------NES:
----------File Format: .nes
----------Emulator: C:\Emulators\Nesticle.exe
Now, as an end user with this plug-in, I want to use a different emulator, or even a different scraper. I would go into the XBMC Taxonomy and easily go down the hierarchy until I change what I need. That simple, and the plug-in would use the Emulator path as a reference, instead of a hard-coded value. Also, it keeps it in one nice simple place instead of the end-user having to go through plug-in configuration options nor does the developer need to create their own custom system of classification.
Or how about a user wants to use an obscure file format that isn't supported out of the box in XBMC? It could be as simple as setting it up as this:
Media Type: Video
---File Format: .xyz
-------Website: http://xyz-videoformat.com
-------Codec: C:\Program Files\XYZ\codec.ext
In what could have been something as difficult as needing to wait til the next release to hardcode in compatibility.
I really think there could be value to setting up a Taxonomy, especially in ways I'm not aware of.
For anyone who doesn't know, a taxonomy is a hierarchy of classifications/definitions. For instance, the animal kingdom is a taxonomy.
One place where I really see a taxonomy helping is with media types. Out of the box, XBMC supports video, picture and music files. Add-ons have helped expand the number of media types XBMC can support, such as games and Internet services.
Let's suppose XBMC has an out of the box taxonomy that defines pictures, movies and music. Each media type would have a Scraper, File Formats, Sub-Categories (like TV Shows, Movies), and a base path. As a developer, I want to add Gaming to the list of media types that XBMC can handle. I can easily go in and list the scraper, the file formats, and what emulators handle each type of format:
-Media Type: Games
----Scraper: videogamescraper.com
----Systems:
--------NES:
----------File Format: .nes
----------Emulator: C:\Emulators\Nesticle.exe
Now, as an end user with this plug-in, I want to use a different emulator, or even a different scraper. I would go into the XBMC Taxonomy and easily go down the hierarchy until I change what I need. That simple, and the plug-in would use the Emulator path as a reference, instead of a hard-coded value. Also, it keeps it in one nice simple place instead of the end-user having to go through plug-in configuration options nor does the developer need to create their own custom system of classification.
Or how about a user wants to use an obscure file format that isn't supported out of the box in XBMC? It could be as simple as setting it up as this:
Media Type: Video
---File Format: .xyz
-------Website: http://xyz-videoformat.com
-------Codec: C:\Program Files\XYZ\codec.ext
In what could have been something as difficult as needing to wait til the next release to hardcode in compatibility.
I really think there could be value to setting up a Taxonomy, especially in ways I'm not aware of.
