[gpodder-devel] Planning: gpodder.conf + database in download folder?

  • From: thp at gpodder.org (Thomas Perl)
  • Date: Sun, 19 Dec 2010 14:20:43 +0100

Hi users and developers of gPodder!

I've been thinking about moving the gPodder database into the download
folder, thereby only having one single folder that contains both the
downloads and the subscription/episode metadata and configuration. We
already do a similar thing (downloads + config/db below the app folder)
for the Windows version of gPodder.

Some pros:

 * Backing up the download folder backs up the config + database as well
 * Download folder could be placed on a MP3 player, thereby removing the
   need for any "syncing" - the database also sits on the MP3 player, so
   new podcasts can be downloaded from any machine with gPodder
   installed
 * On devices where gPodder runs on (i.e. N900, N8x0, ...), both the
   downloads and the database are exposed over USB mass storage when
   connected to a PC - the Desktop version of gPodder can be used then
   to download new episodes and view downloaded podcasts while the
   device is connected (the on-device version can be used on the go)
 * Synchronizing (via rsync/unison) is easier - you just need to sync
   the folder, and the database will also be kept in sync (but conflicts
   cannot be merged :/)
 * Multiple different "profiles" / "databases" are possible (i.e. you
   can have one download folder that only has video podcasts and a
   different one that only has audio podcasts - with separate databases
   and configurations)

Some cons:

 * Users might accidentally delete the database, not knowing what it is?
 * Configuration data should not be placed in the download folder?
 * Previous versions of gPodder won't be able to find the database, but
   this can be worked around

The implementation isn't really difficult, and I think there would be
some nice advantages to getting this going. I'd like to hear some
feedback on this thought and if it's a good idea or a bad idea, and if
it would improve your use cases of gPodder (or more generally: how it
would influence your use cases).


Thanks,
Thomas


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