Discuss playlist API

[defagos]

As a team we should discuss which kind of helpful APIs could be provided around playlists.

Hints

Some examples from video.js:

• shuffle
• reverse
• repeat
• ...

Repeat might also have modes (all, one, etc.).

We could also discuss helpers (e.g. view model to sync model objects with player playlist).

Acceptance criteria

• APIs have been discussed and proposals have been written down.

Tasks

• Discuss and document.
• Create dedicated issues.

[defagos]

Differences

• The web API has a repeat API for the whole playlist (repeat all). Calling next wraps around the playlist in repeat mode, but calling previous in repeat mode still stops on the first item. Android has repeat all and repeat one behaviors.
• The web has no pre-buffering of the upcoming item. Android and Apple have.
• Android and the web have currentIndex and currentItem properties. Apple only has current index at the moment (and maybe current item has little interest since player items are not really useful per se).
• The web provides a standard UI component (which can be customized as usual). Android and Apple do not yet but some developers have requested a component to drive the playlist UI on Apple platforms (view model currently in the demo).
• Apple and Android have smart and non-smart navigation APIs. Smart navigation returns to the beginning of the current item if not within the first 3 seconds of the content. The web does not.
• Apple has no built-in shuffle API unlike Android and the web. Shuffling is made on the model side and applied when synchronizing the playlist items. This API would rather make sense in a playlist UI view model on Apple platforms.
• On Android the shuffle API changes the next and previous indices but not the playlist itself.
• The next API on Android returns to the live edge is the item is a livestream with DVR.

Remark

All platforms support auto-advance or pause at the end of an item.

Remaining work

• Repeat on Apple platforms (repeat one and repeat all). Have next item APIs move back to the playlist start when repeat mode is enabled.
• Repeat one on the web.
• Playlist view model on Apple platforms. Not really useful on Android apparently.
• Make smart navigation interval configurable on Apple platforms (with default set to 3 seconds).

Question

• Index or item-based (or both, or mixed) on Apple platforms? But likely the current API is ergonomic enough.

API reference

• Web
• Android
• Apple

[defagos]

Issues already created for the web:

• [playlist-plugin] Add smart navigation pillarbox-web-suite#17
• [playlist-plugin] Add sorting pillarbox-web-suite#18
• [playlist-plugin] Add "Repeat One" mode pillarbox-web-suite#19

[defagos]

Issues created for Apple:

• Repeat modes pillarbox-apple#899
• Configurable smart navigation interval pillarbox-apple#900
• Playlist UI component pillarbox-apple#901

Issues created for the web:

• [playlist-plugin] Add smart navigation pillarbox-web-suite#17
• [playlist-plugin] Add sorting pillarbox-web-suite#18
• [playlist-plugin] Add "Repeat One" mode pillarbox-web-suite#19

Issues created for Android:

• Repeat modes pillarbox-android#557