Replace F-Spot with Solang?

[Danny Piccirillo]

2010/5/15 Marco Laverdière <marco.laverdiere at gmail.com>:
>
>> Also, there were specific reasons as to why Shotwell isn't ready, but
>> for Solang it was just, yeah this isn't ready either. What
>> specifically would you like to see in Solang for it to be considered
>> ready?
>
>
>  For me, wheher it is Solang (hypothetically) or Shotwell (as announced), a
> decent replacement for F-Spot should provide the following:
>
> - continuity for the regular Ubuntu/F-Spot user, i.e. ability to import
> F-Spot tags easily, whether from F-Spot database or from pictures XMP
> embedded metadata (ideally, F-Spot tag hierarchy should also be preserved,
> i.e. for people, place, event. etc.);

This would be ideal, but i don't see this happning in time for
Maverick. If people see this as a requirement it might be better to
hold off until Maverick +1

> -beign able to embed tags in file, preferably in XMP or otherwise, in IPTC;

I believe this is possible, but someone should verify

> - same (or almost) set of basic editing functions than F-Spot;

F-Spot needed editing capabilities added if i remember correctly,
while this has been part of the solang vision from the beginning.

> - same level of integration with other graphics/imaging  Ubuntu/Gnome apps,
> like with Gimp and Eye of GNOME (F-Spot allows the user to switch nicely to
> Gimp for advanced editing; EOG allows the user to open the viewed picture
> with F-Spot, etc.).

For starters, Solang uses Tracker. From amano on
https://blueprints.edge.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+spec/desktop-maverick-desktop-application-selection

"Solang is a C++ photo editor that does't use a complicated Database
for importing and exporting and should be more intuitive for new
users. I might try to create a discspace vs. RAM usage vs. feature vs.
usability overview by the weekend. I hate the tendency of F-Spot to
duplicate pictures on your harddisk (original location, ~/Photo folder
and inside the database as well). If there are thousands of pictures
to be imported, you might easily run out of disk space. And database
corruptions/confusions are not impossible as well.

For now I can offer this video review of the Vala based Shotwell:
http://linuxfilesystem.com/uncategorized/shotwell-photo-manager-for-gnome-linux-mint-8.
It is database driven and doesn't recognize if you added new files to
one of your photo folders (same for F-Spot). Thus new photos have to
imported manually which can be tiresome. The C++ based Solang uses
Tracker 0.8 to check the photo folders and SPARQL is used to gain
access to the meta information about the photos. This approach looks
perfectly sane but with its current version 0.4.1 it lacks the option
to crop and resize files
(http://git.gnome.org/browse/solang/tree/TODO?id=SOLANG_0_4_1) which
is rather a "must have" since the removal of the GIMP (given that the
simple-image-management blueprint doesn't bring to life a 'simple
scan' for image editing). On the other hand it is developed at a rapid
pace and those options might be included by the maverick feature
freeze. To get a sensible decision in favor of Solang the authors
should be contaced first. Shotwell on the other hand is not too
different from F-Spot but is developed faster and performs better than
the current default."

> In other words, let's avoid a regression here...

Agreed. I say we should hold off the change until Maverick +1 and plan
on working to make Solang a good fit.

-- 
.danny

☮♥Ⓐ - http://www.google.com/profiles/danny.piccirillo
Every (in)decision matters.