[Gstreamer-bugs] [Bug 105488] Changed - missing plugins should be automatically downloaded/installed

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http://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=105488

Changed by omega at temple-baptist.com.

--- shadow/105488	Fri Feb  7 08:26:58 2003
+++ shadow/105488.tmp.11956	Mon Feb 10 02:23:22 2003
@@ -1,23 +1,39 @@
 Bug#: 105488
 Product: GStreamer
 Version: 0.6.0
 OS: Linux
 OS Details: 
-Status: NEW   
+Status: ASSIGNED   
 Resolution: 
 Severity: enhancement
-Priority: Normal
+Priority: Low
 Component: don't know
 AssignedTo: gstreamer-maint at bugzilla.gnome.org                            
 ReportedBy: julo at altern.org               
 QAContact: gstreamer-maint at bugzilla.gnome.org
-TargetMilestone: 0.6.x
+TargetMilestone: 0.7.x
 URL: 
 Summary: missing plugins should be automatically downloaded/installed
 
 When you try to open a file and gstreamer misses the plugin to load it, it
 should warn the user about the missing plugin(s) and ask whether he wants
 to download/install them automatically. This would make it easier to play
 DivX and MP3 files on systems like RedHat which don't provide those plugins
 for legal reasons. It would also help people read videos without having to
 install zillions of plugins themselves.
+
+------- Additional Comments From omega at temple-baptist.com  2003-02-10 02:23 -------
+In order to do this, we have to decide how to provide these plugins. 
+Auto-downloading installable packages is almost certainly impossible,
+due to both lack of any kind of shared API to which we can connect
+(ahem, anyone?), and the ability to build for all the various distros.
+ I have thought about providing per-user downloads (i.e. downloads
+into $HOME/.gst/plugins), if we can deal with issues such as
+dependencies.  Things like DivX will be a major hassle because the
+libs ATM are highly unstable and very *very* distro-specific.
+
+Also, this isn't the job of the GStreamer core at all, this must be
+done by an external application/library.  Any smarts as to dealing
+with particular distros should be located there.  On a Debian system
+it could su and apt-get install the relevant plugins and libraries
+where possible.  Other distros would be harder.