Porting MM4 scripts

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crap_inhuman
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Re: Porting MM4 scripts

Post by crap_inhuman »

I think, earning money with the Addons isn't the right way. If i start collecting money, the users demand a update, bug-fix or whatever. "Hey, i payed x € for the addon and it doesn't work, do something". For a few Euro i will get a lot of stress. No, i wouldn't go this way.
This is my opinion.
Metal up your ass !
-----------------------------------------------
I added my first 2 videos on youtube. The language is german.

Discogs Autorisierung: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oryxKKtnEnc
Discogs Tagger Bedienung: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85Wk-5rd-W0
trixmoto
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Re: Porting MM4 scripts

Post by trixmoto »

To be honest, you get hounded even when they're free! At least you can tell them they get what they've paid for though :)
Download my scripts at my own MediaMonkey fansite.
All the code for my website and scripts is safely backed up immediately and for free using Dropbox.
crap_inhuman
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Re: Porting MM4 scripts

Post by crap_inhuman »

trixmoto wrote:To be honest, you get hounded even when they're free! At least you can tell them they get what they've paid for though :)
That's probably true. :D
Metal up your ass !
-----------------------------------------------
I added my first 2 videos on youtube. The language is german.

Discogs Autorisierung: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oryxKKtnEnc
Discogs Tagger Bedienung: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85Wk-5rd-W0
Teknojnky
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Re: Porting MM4 scripts

Post by Teknojnky »

just my 2c on the break from vbs;

I know it would suck for me too, but I am glad of the clean break into a more modern and extensible architecture.

I had many hours into just the few scripts I worked on, and if I had the time and energy, I would not so much try to a direct port, but instead use my knowledge and experience of the old, to do a clean sheet re-implementation to try to maximize the new format/capabilities.

I know that I don't currently have such time or motivation, and no doubt many other scripters who have contributed their work to the forums over the last several years will not either.

I do believe though, that with the move to JS/etc, there will be many new scripters that can move forward and implement/re-implement any highly desired/popular scripts/addons into the new format.

I do not begrudge anyone attempting to make a little money back on their time investment, for either MM addons or in a totally different but similar case developing addons for readynas (and other NAS brands).

But I can only speak for myself, I started scripting for MM mainly for my own personal uses and interest in learning new things, and especially for the love all things MediaMonkey.

I absolutely think that the chrome web store could be a good solution for those who wish to pursue a return on their efforts, however I also think that a core tenant to MM has been an open architecture so that no developers should be able to create a monopoly on a script/featureset.

In summary, if you do it (addon development); do it for the love of doing it. Anything extra that becomes of it, is a bonus.
MMuser2011
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Re: Porting MM4 scripts

Post by MMuser2011 »

Maybe you want to know the use case from an average user with a huge collection?

I use MM4 because of this specific scripts:
a) Magic Nodes
b) Advanced Duplicate Find & Fix
c) RegExp Find & Replace
and
d) iTunesMonkey

Most of the other things that MM offers, I can find elsewhere or I don't need it (like all the synchronisation stuff with 3rd party devices).
You can find faster database import/update tools out there (with MM4 I have to wait nearly 1 hour every time I try to update my complete music collection), more beautiful GUI's (even browser based, without any installation on clients), multi-user capable applications with personal ratings, playlists, skins and last but not least much better track recognition and tag tools.

If script Gurus like 'ZvezdanD' or 'trixmoto' leave the boat, I don't believe MM5 with his actual known feature set can fullfill the high expectations.

There are things that MM4 still doesn't support (Example: Support for ALL id3v2.3 and 2.4 tags - not only a random 'most used' selection).
If you really care about what your paying users need, I would directly ask them. A survey about which features they miss, which existing scripts are crucial, which open issues should be solved first could help you to control your To-Do-List.

I tried to maintain the script "iTunesMonkey + Acoustid" (written by CarlitoGil) with my limited coding skills. Unfortunately, I'm not able to convert/translate/port it to your new environment.
Magic Nodes v4.3.3 (2018-10-03) last free version SQL Viewer v2.4 (2009-10-25)
ExternalTools v1.4 (2011-05-09) iTunesMonkey 1.0 + Acoustid
Calculate Cover Size v1.7 (2012-10-23) RegExp Find & Replace v4.4.9 (2018-10-03) last free version
jiri
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Re: Porting MM4 scripts

Post by jiri »

Thanks for feedback! I understand that you miss some old scripts in MM5, but don't forget that this is the very start of MM5 in public, there wasn't time for it to recruit any new scripters yet. And I hope that at least some MM4 scripters will appreciate the advantages of the new MM5 API and will continue in script development. Also, some more features are planned before MM5 is released, so I suppose that there'll be less need for some scripts. In any case, we'll do our best to help developers to create new scripts and all users to find replacement for anything missing from MM4.

Btw, which features of Magic Nodes are the most important for you?

Thanks,
Jiri
MMuser2011
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Re: Porting MM4 scripts

Post by MMuser2011 »

jiri wrote:Btw, which features of Magic Nodes are the most important for you?
Most important is the 'Duplicate' Node with all its possibilities. Then the Album and Artist-Nodes, then the different Cover Nodes and finally the Multi-Item Node.

And of course the basic functionality in Magic Nodes to create or edit your own Nodes with your own SQL-query for more specific search needs. (The bigger your collections is, the more you need very fast and accurate results).
Magic Nodes v4.3.3 (2018-10-03) last free version SQL Viewer v2.4 (2009-10-25)
ExternalTools v1.4 (2011-05-09) iTunesMonkey 1.0 + Acoustid
Calculate Cover Size v1.7 (2012-10-23) RegExp Find & Replace v4.4.9 (2018-10-03) last free version
jiri
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Re: Porting MM4 scripts

Post by jiri »

Anyone interested in porting MM4 scripts to MM5, please check out our new VBS->JS addon at http://forum.mediamonkey.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=86756.

Thanks!
Jiri
Weatherman
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Re: Porting MM4 scripts

Post by Weatherman »

I am an enthusiastic lover of MM and I have benefitted greatly from the work of addon developers - Playhistory, Magic Nodes, Reg Expression....
I love the new look MM% and I know it is in very early development. I also understand that both developers and users have spent considerable time honing their scripts to fit their needs. It does take some time to get such a wonderful programme as MM to be tailored for individual preferences.
As a consumer (Not a developer) I baulk a little at the thoguht of perhaps more hours of tweaking. It would be great if there was some way script writers could work with the main MM developers to agree to work on porting, developing and unifying all scripts under an "MM" banner, rather than as individuals.
Perhaps - I know nothing about the money involved, so laugh if you wish! - there could be some incentive provided in the form of shares or some ownership or membership of the company?
Another option would be to have various versions of MM5, with the priciest version being for all the scripts, and a cut of that money could go to developers?
I just think it's a shame that there seems to be difficulty in porting these wonderful addons. They were part of what made MM unique, at least for me.
Bottom line is that I would be prepared to pay for a programme that provided me with all of that, or I would be prepared to pay for the scripts individually if they worked with MM5.
Whatever happens, I think MM5 looks to have brilliant potential, but I wouldn't like to see so many good folks like Zvendan and Trixmoto lose all their work.
jiri wrote: Sat Jun 20, 2015 2:07 am Let me start with some clarification. We understand that nobody is happy to rewrite code because of some API changes. After all, we are all developers and we know how annoying it can be. That said, solution using COM objects and VBS clearly isn't sustainable in a long term. I guess that I don't need to go into details, but VBS is pretty much a dead language now, replaced by far more widespread and standardized languages.

Then, another point, the whole step of redeveloping MM5 wasn't only to support more platforms. This new version offers so much more! The whole UI is developed in HTML/JS and this part is open-sourced. So whatever you see in the app can be modified/removed/rewritten in a custom script. Please check out the sample scripts - bitrate shown in different colors based on its value? No problem, it's a trivial script. JS also is so much faster - did you notice that the whole visualization is a pure JS?! And thanks to the crossplatformness, this scripts aren't Win-only, but work in the upcoming Mac build and it doesn't necessarily stop there - Android? Windows Phone? Even this might be possible in the future.

Anyway, back to porting VBS scripts. We certainly don't want to lose you, our dedicated community of scripters. That's also the reason why we started this Preview - to let you know about the upcoming changes a long time before our regular users and to discuss here in the forum, what could be done in order to perform this transition smoothly. Namely:

- Undertaking the VBS->JS conversion (@ZvezdanD): I wonder whether using something like the http://slingfive.com/pages/code/scriptconverter/ would help? This way the basics of the conversion could be done automatically and only details could be tweaked. Since the source is available, maybe it could even be tweaked to perform some MM specific modifications. Thoughts?

- COM objects (@Melloware): I don't think that supporting the whole COM model in MM5 is possible, but maybe it'd make sense to support at least some basic objects. Which objects are needed for MonkeyTunes operation?

- IE coupling (@trixmoto): Not sure what exactly you need, but web browser usage is possible in MM5, it's just embedded Chromium in MM5, which I suppose should be fine?

Let me know your thoughts please!

Jiri
crap_inhuman
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Re: Porting MM4 scripts

Post by crap_inhuman »

Weatherman wrote: Tue Apr 23, 2019 6:10 am I am an enthusiastic lover of MM and I have benefitted greatly from the work of addon developers - Playhistory, Magic Nodes, Reg Expression....

I just think it's a shame that there seems to be difficulty in porting these wonderful addons. They were part of what made MM unique, at least for me.
100% Full Ack
Metal up your ass !
-----------------------------------------------
I added my first 2 videos on youtube. The language is german.

Discogs Autorisierung: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oryxKKtnEnc
Discogs Tagger Bedienung: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85Wk-5rd-W0
jiri
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Re: Porting MM4 scripts

Post by jiri »

I'd also like to see more MM4 scripts ported to MM5. Unfortunately, not all the authors of the scripts are available to port them, I guess that we'll need to find new script developers in many cases, since the original ones don't have spare time to do this job. Please let us know all your favorite ones that you miss most in MM5, and we'll see what can be done about it.

Thanks,
Jiri
Snofru
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Re: Porting MM4 scripts

Post by Snofru »

These are the MM4 addons I regularly use and definitely would miss in MM5:

Advanced Duplicate Find & Fix (If this is not ported to MM5 I will stay with MM4)
Custom Report 3.2
Backup 6.0
MMW Version 5.1.0.2827 Portable
Samsung Galaxy S23+, S9 and Sony NW-A105 with MMA Beta 2.0.0.1156
Peke
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Re: Porting MM4 scripts

Post by Peke »

Hi,
1. what exactly you are missing/using in dvanced Duplicate Find & Fix?
2. Plugin Custom Report 3.2 needs complete rewrite for MM5 as MM5 even support extended tags
3. in MM5 Backup 6.0 is obsolete as there is native backup function
Best regards,
Peke
MediaMonkey Team lead QA/Tech Support guru
Admin of Free MediaMonkey addon Site HappyMonkeying
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Snofru
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Re: Porting MM4 scripts

Post by Snofru »

Thanks for the information, Pavle, good to know that Backup 6.0 is obsolete with MM5!

Advanced Duplicate Find & Fix is important for me to copy tag information as well as play count from older music files to newer ones. Reason for this is that I slowly optimize the audio quality of my big music collection. So far many of my songs consist of mp3 with a relatively low bitrate. As time permits I replace these files with FLACs I create from my own CD collection, a process that will probably take some more years. I also buy CDs (or lend them) or buy songs with a high mp3 bitrate or better directly as FLACs (very seldom) which can replace the old mp3s. In all these cases I copy all the tags including the play count from my old low quality mp3s to the new high quality audio and then delete the former. This is extremely time saving if it can be done with Advanced Duplicate Find & Fix. I wouldn´t even know how to copy play count information without it (ok, never saw the need to find it out).

Concerning custom report: Is there a way in MM5 to get my music database into an Excel (or LibreOffice) spreadsheet, including selectable tags and playlists?
MMW Version 5.1.0.2827 Portable
Samsung Galaxy S23+, S9 and Sony NW-A105 with MMA Beta 2.0.0.1156
Peke
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Re: Porting MM4 scripts

Post by Peke »

Hi,
Glad I could help, I always love constructive talk, even it is criticism.

Backup is handled in File -> Manage Database option.

Office/Libre office: This will be more interested when MM5 gets into final stages. I am telning that in both cases either app needs to be installed so that MM5 can access ActiveX components (Libreoffice have that disabled by default install). This is looked by dev. time bit unfair as two scripts needs to be maintained. The best approach from my stand point would be simple UI that can export CSV compatible file that almost any spreadsheet app can import, but that approach require basic knowledge of spreadsheet app in order to import file. I am pointing to this is because time to develop two separate plugins for specific application can be for example be used to create export script to make SQL standardized output making MMW Library easily exportable to most any DB orientated app or for example make JSON/XML type of document backed with small API so that any web developer can easily import and show. This is my personal opinion as I am thinking that limiting app to specific set of apps (no matter how popular they are. I Personally use LibreOffice for 8+ years and I and do not miss MS Office at all. In some cases LibreOffice works better than MS Office) is not improving overall app quality (except maybe in short term) where opening to third party devs and help them expand functionality works better. MMW evolution is pure example of that.

Ok, if I got you correctly about Advanced Duplicate Find & Fix basic thing you miss is:
a) That you can scan new upgraded FLAC and then in duplicates have context merge old Tags, statistics, playlists to new files and remove delete old files as duplicates eg. Select multiple duplicate files -> Merge -> Select file to retain and what data will be merged from others -> delete duplicates or correct metadata so that they are classified as duplicates
b) Assign new physical file to old metadata retaining metadata but assigned new file eg. in Track properties Replace MP3 with Upgraded FLAC version eg. Browse for new file that will replace old one, but retain all track properties from old one
c) On re-scan MM5 list/scan for duplicates and present them to user for correction
d) Combination of above
e) None of above
Best regards,
Peke
MediaMonkey Team lead QA/Tech Support guru
Admin of Free MediaMonkey addon Site HappyMonkeying
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