[LAD] Summercode 2008: LASH, pt. 2

[Krzysztof Foltman]

Dave Robillard wrote:

> I'm not sure if this is what Juuso meant, but Jack definitely needs
> something like a simple key/value metadata system for ports.

I second that. Especially if some of the metadata could be user-assigned 
  (via configuration or otherwise).

Example use - to mark the MIDI ports as primary/secondary keyboard, drum 
pads, control surface etc. And, possibly, device models and/or MIDI 
specification they conform to (GM, XG, GS, GM2, non-GM-based etc).

Or to mark audio inputs as coming from a MIDI device that is connected 
to a selected (computer's) MIDI output.

Then, for example, I could configure JACK to recognize that on my 
machine, system:midi_playback_4 is connected to MIDI In of an instrument 
that has its audio output connected to system:capture_3 and 
system:capture_4. This information might then be used by sequencer 
applications to be able to create bounce audio tracks automatically when 
creating MIDI tracks.

The goal is to let the user configure everything once and have all 
applications behaving reasonably by default. I think we've already been 
discussing that, and you had some sort of system like this in mind.

Just my usual tangential crap :) While it has nothing to do with LASH, I 
thought it might be an additional argument for adding metadata support 
to JACK in foreseeable future.

Krzysztof