Some thoughts on streamlining commands and options

[dzuelke]

There are now several commands (-scan, -inspect, -convert, -batch) that share some options, but not others, and I think generally might be streamlined into one.

If you think about it...:

• -batch isn't all that different from -convert, except that it auto-finds files and recurses sub-directories;
• -convert and -batch also do what -scan does;
• -inspect isn't much different from -scan, except that it does "deeper" analysis on a single file only.

IMO, there are just two modes in the end:

1. finding candidates, with different levels of "precision";
2. converting files.

I wonder if there should be only two commands for basically all operations.

There's also the issue of the commands and their options both using a single -, which I think will eventually make both the code and the UX a little messy.

What it could look like

Let's say the commands were "simple words", options with arguments used single letters and single dashes, and flags used double dashes, like most UNIX programs do it. FFmpeg isn't a good example to follow since their options are basically a processing language and operations happen in sequence. That's also why e.g. the UNIX find command is so "weird" with its single dash commands - it can perform steps in order.

Conversion

Convert multiple files:
dovi_convert convert *.mkv

Convert multiple files, and ask for confirmation for Simple FELs:
dovi_convert convert --include-simple *.mkv

Convert multiple files, and force all simple FELs to be converted without confirmation:
dovi_convert convert --include-simple --force *.mkv

Convert multiple files, and auto-include all simple FELs where the verdict was "safe to convert" after inspection:
dovi_convert convert --include-simple --inspect-simple *.mkv

Convert everything recursively (like -batch does right now), with a confirmation prompt before starting (because directories were given where it searched for .mkv files):
dovi_convert convert -r Dir1/ Dir2/

Convert everything in Downloads/ recursively, and move even non-candidates that are already P8 to the MyLibrary/ output directory:
dovi_convert convert --move-all -r Downloads/ -o MyLibrary/
(this would be enough to allow #24 to be implemented by the user with a simple watchexec setup)

Scanning/Inspection

Scan the current folder and output each file's result:
dovi_convert scan .

List only candidates among the given files:
dovi_convert scan *.mkv --candidates-only

Scan the given folders, and inspect Simple FELs that are encountered:
dovi_convert scan --inspect-simple Dir1/ Dir2/

List only candidates among the given files, with Simple FEL inspection verdicts:
dovi_convert scan *.mkv --inspect-simple --candidates-only

[dzuelke]

Kind of related: #24 (comment)

[cryptochrome]

Fantastic writeup, thank you! 👍

I responded to #25 that I am considering to merge -batch and -convert into a single, unified command, so your ideas come at the right time. I also like your approach of using "simple word" commands with --options.

Just not sure about merging -scan and -inspect, as they are actually quite different in their approach. -inspect is not just meant for Simple FEL verdict verification, but also to rule out false positive for Complex FEL (I am currently thinking about storing inspection verdicts for simple scans to pick up, which will become relevant with the web UI). But I get it, from a UX perspective, the user shouldn't have to worry about this.

Anyways, your ideas give me lots to think about. Let me ponder on this over the weekend with fresh brain cells :)

Appreciate the effort!

[dzuelke]

Sounds good. Let me know if I can help with brainstorming.

[cryptochrome]

Will do, thank you :)

[cryptochrome]

Alright, I have thought a lot about this, and I like it very much. I will prioritize this before anything else. Already have a full documentation in my Linear. What I will do:

• Complete refactor of the command parser function (modularizing it)
• Overhaul the command syntax like you suggested, so it follows Unix conventions better
  • main commands will become single words without any leading hyphens
  • flags will be in the --flag format and also get shorter single dash aliases (like -o for --output)

What I am considering for the same release, or ship in a later point release:

• Merge convert and batch into one command

What I won't do right now:

• Merging scanning and deep inspection. I need to think more about this.

The only thing I am not sure about yet if I should keep the old stuff around for backwards compatibility for a while (with deprecation warnings when old commands are used). Would be trivial to do, but a nightmare to maintain when I add new features. Given how young the project is and that there are only few users, I am leaning towards doing a hard cut.

Either way, this will be the 8.0 release.

Looking forward to start working on it :)

[cryptochrome]

Most of this is now live in v8.0.0. Let me know what you think :)