2012-02-10, 06:57
OK I have just pushed a new version - v0.0.2 - which adds a Now Playing display with cover art and the next three upcoming tracks.
It looks like not much extra, but I have moved it all over to a proper object oriented structured - I've done a lot of Java but Python is noticeably different in this area (more like Smalltalk IIRC) - so it took me a bit to get my head around it. The groundwork is there to now more quickly and easily flesh things out in such a way as to write a really nice controller, and maybe eventually bolt on a SlimProto handler instead of SqueezeSlave without breaking the controller side of things. That is, the squeeze bit is all an object on it's own that could be re-implemented. (In Java terms, you'd re-implement the interface).
My plan from here is to investigate several paths:
1. See if I can integrate into XBMC's existing Now Playing/Playlist management stuff. XBMC Now Playing is pretty good and that would work nicely with other skins etc, keep the UI consistent. The XBMC playlist management is crap, though, so there'd have to be some sort of custom UI to play with the SB playlists more directly.
2. Write a custom Now Playing/controller pager, and a Playlist manager (as two windows) - and then maybe run the add on into a service that hooks into LMS so these windows can be called directly at all times like other skin pages.
3. Just leave as is, but make the Now Playing way prettier. I might start here while I investigate 1 and 2.
With options 1 and 2, I will need some advice/help from XBMC devs to see what's possible - the documentation isn't awfully great and I would like to get an idea of wat is in theory possible before I spend too much time working on something that might never work. All of this is a hack, really - kind of like using an external video player I guess.
It looks like not much extra, but I have moved it all over to a proper object oriented structured - I've done a lot of Java but Python is noticeably different in this area (more like Smalltalk IIRC) - so it took me a bit to get my head around it. The groundwork is there to now more quickly and easily flesh things out in such a way as to write a really nice controller, and maybe eventually bolt on a SlimProto handler instead of SqueezeSlave without breaking the controller side of things. That is, the squeeze bit is all an object on it's own that could be re-implemented. (In Java terms, you'd re-implement the interface).
My plan from here is to investigate several paths:
1. See if I can integrate into XBMC's existing Now Playing/Playlist management stuff. XBMC Now Playing is pretty good and that would work nicely with other skins etc, keep the UI consistent. The XBMC playlist management is crap, though, so there'd have to be some sort of custom UI to play with the SB playlists more directly.
2. Write a custom Now Playing/controller pager, and a Playlist manager (as two windows) - and then maybe run the add on into a service that hooks into LMS so these windows can be called directly at all times like other skin pages.
3. Just leave as is, but make the Now Playing way prettier. I might start here while I investigate 1 and 2.
With options 1 and 2, I will need some advice/help from XBMC devs to see what's possible - the documentation isn't awfully great and I would like to get an idea of wat is in theory possible before I spend too much time working on something that might never work. All of this is a hack, really - kind of like using an external video player I guess.
