[GLLUG] Looking for some open source projects (local) to aid in

vanek vanek at acd.net
Fri Jan 1 14:56:18 EST 2010


Thanks! Take all the time that you need.

I'm having a hard time myself understanding why a bug of this magnitude 
is in the program, which is why I was hedging earlier and said I had to 
do more research.



Steven Sayers wrote:
> Seems interesting enough, I'd have to become a bit more familiar with 
> the problem to fully understand it but it seems odd that a program of 
> any known worth would have such a blatant bug, but sure, if it seems 
> as straight forward as it sounds I'd be interested in helping.
>
>
>
>     On Fri, Jan 1, 2010 at 11:34 AM, Richard Houser
>     <rick at divinesymphony.net <mailto:rick at divinesymphony.net>> wrote:
>
>         The only really obvious question I see: "Is XBMC the right
>         tool for
>         the job?"  You may be better off either using another software
>         (ex.
>         MythTV) adding a translation layer (batch conversion process, fuse
>         decompression layer, etc.)  Aside from that, if the project is
>         written
>         in Python, you should stick to that unless there is an
>         explicit reason
>         that prevents that (ex. performance issues or hardware
>         acceleration
>         require C libraries, etc.).  It's easier for a semi-decent
>         programmer
>         to learn a new language than it is to try to bolt something that
>         doesn't fit on via a known language.
>
>         On Fri, Jan 1, 2010 at 8:00 AM, vanek <vanek at acd.net
>         <mailto:vanek at acd.net>> wrote:
>         > Steven Sayers wrote:
>         >>
>         >> I've been studying programming quite a lot lately and I was
>         wondering if
>         >> there were any programming projects any of you were engaged
>         in that I could
>         >> assist with, I'm most familiar with java.
>         >>
>         >>
>         >> _______________________________________________
>         >> linux-user mailing list
>         >> linux-user at egr.msu.edu <mailto:linux-user at egr.msu.edu>
>         >> http://mailman.egr.msu.edu/mailman/listinfo/linux-user
>         >>
>         >
>         > Hi Steven,
>         >
>         > My name is Lou and I was wondering whether you found another
>         open-source
>         > commitment, and whether you are still available. If you
>         haven't found
>         > anything interesting yet, please give the following all the
>         consideration
>         > you think it deserves. I know that I may have caught you at
>         a bad time, and
>         > you may still be pukin' your guts out over the porcelain
>         alter, but after
>         > you get done doing that, if you still feel up to it, I may
>         have the second
>         > most fun thing to do. OK, maybe not the second-most, but the
>         11th-most: an
>         > open-source patch to XBMC! Yes, that's right, one of the
>         coolest open-source
>         > projects on the planet is in need of a patch, and you have
>         been chosen to
>         > partake in this wondrous experience, to be remembered by
>         legions, revered by
>         > all, and hailed by 10 or so geeks.
>         >
>         > Have I got your attention? Good. But if you need to take a
>         moment and go
>         > look to see if you still have that bottle of Pepto-Bismol, I
>         can wait.
>         >
>         > Here's teh skinny: right now XBMC recognizes about 10% of my
>         TV and movie
>         > files, and I'd like that to be closer to 100%. I know there
>         are stupid
>         > work-arounds to get XBMC to recognize them all, but, like I
>         said, they're
>         > stupid. As far as I know, you have to organize your files
>         carefully in
>         > separate, carefully-labeled directories in order to give the
>         scraper enough
>         > information to do its job. People shouldn't have to expend
>         effort that a
>         > computer should be able to manage itself. I think you should
>         be able to
>         > place all your video files in one directory and let XBMC
>         figure out what
>         > they are. I'm trying to simplify life, not just for me but
>         for anybody who
>         > uses the program. It appears to be the one sticking point
>         for new users when
>         > they first install XBMC.
>         >
>         > I've found a program called 'TVRenamer' that mitigates a
>         small portion of
>         > the problem, but it is by no means a total solution. The
>         program renames
>         > video files so that the scraper recognizes their corresponding
>         > meta-information better.
>         >
>         > I'm estimating this patch/project will take somewhere
>         between 0-1000 lines
>         > of code. The reason why I say "0" lines of code is because I
>         haven't fully
>         > researched the problem and I may not understand it. I'm new
>         to XBMC so I may
>         > be overlooking something. (If you've used XBMC before maybe
>         you can clue me
>         > in.) It's better to solve a problem with no code if that
>         option is
>         > available.
>         >
>         > The reason why I know this project has legs is because Boxee
>         is able to do
>         > this, and Boxee is built on top of XBMC.
>         >
>         > You mention you know Java. The languages I was planning on
>         using were either
>         > Ruby or Python. I know Ruby better than Python, but XBMC is
>         written in
>         > Python so that's the "native" language that should probably
>         be used. I've
>         > also considered Java, but I ranked Java as the 92nd best
>         language to use on
>         > a project of this type. (It's not surprising that Java
>         consistently ranks
>         > near the bottom of my lists.) If you're up to learning
>         something new, you
>         > can contribute. I'm not a code purist; I just like to get
>         something done. I
>         > suck at Python myself but I've never let that stop me.
>         What's the worse that
>         > could happen?
>         >
>         > The database you would be interacting with is sqlite3
>         (that's what XBMC
>         > uses). It's a very simple, undemanding database. I've found
>         a description of
>         > all the tables that XBMC uses. Some database spelunking
>         would be required.
>         > You would also be required to install the coolest
>         open-source program on
>         > your computer and watch movies to test the program. It's
>         just one of the
>         > burdens of being an open-source developer. We learn to live
>         with it.
>         >
>         > BTW, if anybody here thinks I'm overlooking something
>         obvious, please speak
>         > up. Like I said, I'm new to XBMC, but I have to scratch this
>         itch.
>         >
>         > Thanks for listening and I hope to hear back,
>         > Lou Vanek
>         >
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>         >
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>
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