[gst-devel] RFC: dynamic ranks

[Benjamin Otte]

Just an idea I had recently:

Do you think it would be useful to add a function to the element class
like this:

guint (* get_dynamic_rank) (void);

Looks unspectacular, but would allow every element class to provide a
dynamic rank additional to the current static ranks we provide on
gst_element_register.

What would that be useful for?
Element classes could adjust their rank based on stuff that is only
available on runtime. Or more specific: It eases autoselecting
output/input plugins.

examples:
esdsink would return GST_RANK_NONE if esd wasn't running. Xvideosink would
return GST_RANK_NONE if the X server had no xv support. v4l would return
GST_RANK_NONE if the kernel didn't have v4l compiled in or there was no
video capture card.

Does that make sense?
Or is it too general as quite some plugins don't need it and an interface
would be nicer?


Benjamin