What’s up with WWWinamp?
15 August 2007I thought I’d take some time and post the latest on where I’m at with WWWinamp.
The next version (v4.1) will be released within the next month. This version brings with it several small and several large changes.
Some of the smaller changes are:
- Minor UI changes to the application
- Increased Library size and search speed
- Increased Playlist handling speed
Some of the major changes are:
- Added WCF endpoint into WWWinamp for remote control via SOAP
- Now also requires Microsoft .NET 3.0 runtime to be installed
- Configuration now uses built in .NET app.config file instead of custom XML loader
I’ll take a minute to talk about the decision to add WCF support into WWWinamp.
Over the last few months I have become frustrated by the limitations imposed by the scripting language I’ve implemented within WWWinamp. These limitations are with reason though. The first and foremost was that I didn’t want to recreate the wheel and try and implement my own custom language where another commonly used language such as C# or VB.NET could be used.
I investigated the best method in which I’d be able to add this support to WWWinamp and decided that implementing WCF would be the best long term solution. Now using WCF, you can write your own WWWinamp interface using ASP.NET with C# or VB.NET, or even JAVA and JSP. All the commands you send to WWWinamp (such as control commands, library search, etc., etc.) can now be made using SOAP. This allows your WWWinamp front end to be independent of WWWinamp and hosted within the Application Server of your choosing, be it IIS or Apache.
So now, basically, the sky is the limit.
I’ll be releasing the details of the WWWinamp WCF Service along with an ASP.NET/C# example which interfaces with the service. My long term goal is to create a WPF browser application which replicates the Winamp interface and functionality flawlessly.
Here is a screen shot of the new UI:
I’m curious to get user feedback and I look forward to your questions and comments.
Cheers!
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