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321 lines
10 KiB
Text
321 lines
10 KiB
Text
purpose
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-------
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GStreamer has a very flexible mechanism to describe media types using
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mime types and key/value pairs (GstCaps). The definition of media types
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is entirely done by the plugins which can set the media type to one or
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more of the plugins GstPads.
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Pads with the same mime type and 'compatible' properties are allowed to
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connect. It is possible that a pad can accept or produce many different
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media types.
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The purpose of caps negotiation is to provide a framework for plugins so
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that they can agree on a common media type for their pads.
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Capabilities (GstCaps)
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----------------------
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The core component in the caps negotiation system are GstCaps. They consist
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of:
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- a name (ex. "my_audio_capabilities")
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- a mime-type (ex. audio/raw, audio/mp3, ...)
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- a list of key/value pairs (ex. channels=2, rate=44100, ...)
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The list of key/value pairs is maintained by the GstProps object.
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The GstProps object maintains a GList of GstPropsEntries. An entry has
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a key, which is always a string constant (internally converted to a GQuark)
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and a value, which can be one of the following:
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- an integer constant (ex. 5)
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- a float contant (ex. 1.0)
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- a string constant (ex. "int")
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- a boolean constant (ex. FALSE)
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- a fourcc constant (ex. I420)
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* fourcc codes are usually used to describe a video format
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In addition to these constant values, the following variable values are
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supported too:
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- an integer range (ex. 0-200)
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- a float range (ex. 1.0-3.0)
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- a list of values (ex. 1, 2, 5).
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* A List cannot contain another list and the
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entries in the list should all have the
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same type (int, float, string, fourcc). It is
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allowed to mix integers/floats and
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integer/float ranges in a list.
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A capability is usually described as follows:
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GST_CAPS_NEW (
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capability name ---> "my_audio_capabilities",
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mime-type ---------> "audio/raw",
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( "format", GST_PROPS_STRING ("int"),
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GstProps ---------> ( "channels", GST_PROPS_INT_RANGE (1, 2),
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(list of entries) ( "rate", GST_PROPS_INT (44100)
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)
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(-----------) (--------------------------)
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entry key entry value
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Two capabilities can be chained together to form a larger capability:
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( GST_CAPS_NEW (
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( "my_mp3_capability",
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( "audio/mp3",
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one capability ----> ( NULL
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created by chaining ( ),
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two capabilities. ( GST_CAPS_NEW (
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( "my_vorbis_capability",
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( "audio/vorbis",
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( NULL
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( )
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Capabilities always work as constraints, this means that they constrain the
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media type to the given mime-type and properties. By this definition a NULL
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GstCaps or a NULL GstProps means: no constraints.
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Variable capabilities vs. fixed capabilities
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--------------------------------------------
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Definition:
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A GstProps structure is said to be fixed if it doesn't contain lists or
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ranges, otherwise it is a variable GstProps. A variable GstProps, by definitin
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does not constrain the media type to a set of fixed properties.
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A GstCaps is said to be fixed if it is not chained and it doesn't contain
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a variable GstProps component.
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GstCaps compatibility
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---------------------
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<write me>
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GstCaps intersection
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--------------------
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<write me>
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GstCaps usage
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-------------
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GstCaps are used in the following data structures:
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- padtemplates.
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* padtemplates are added to elementfactory to describe the possible
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pads that an element created from said factory can have.
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* padtemplates contain the name, direction and presence of the pads.
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* padtemplates also describe the media types that this element can
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accept/produce using GstCaps.
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* padtemplates can provide fixed or variable GstCaps for the pads.
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* padtemplates can be used by the element to create its pads and is
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highly recommended.
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* the padtemplate GstCaps are saved into the registry so that the
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media types an element can operate on, are known without having to
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bring the element into memory.
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- pad caps
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* pad caps are _fixed_ caps attached to a pad to describe the exact media
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type this pad is handling. A pad with caps is said to be a "tainted" pad.
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- connection filters
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* a connection filter is created when two pads are connected. It describes
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the media type(s) that _can_ flow through this connection.
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- application connection filters
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* When the application connects two pads, it can specify an application
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connection filter that will act as additional constraints on the media types
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that can flow through the connection.
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Connection filters and application filters are cleared when two connected pads
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are disconnected. Pad caps are not cleared. Padtemplates are immutable and
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never cleared.
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The GstPad get_caps function
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----------------------------
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the gst_pad_get_caps function returns the caps of a given pad. The pad caps are
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calculated as:
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- if the pad has pad caps, return those
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- else if the pad has a getcaps function, call the function and return the result
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- else if the pad has a padtemplate, return the padtemplate caps
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- else return NULL
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Purpose of caps negotiation
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---------------------------
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The purpose of the caps negotiation procedure is to set "pad caps" on a pad
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so that it is compatible with the "connection filter". This has to be done
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_before_ any data passing happens through the connection. Data passing between two
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pads is _not_ allowed when the pad caps are not compatible with the connection
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filter or when the pad caps of two pads participating in the connection are not
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equal.
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Real caps negotiation starts as soon as an element is in the READY state or higher.
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This means that the connect functions of the pads are only called when the element
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is at least READY. The intersection between two pads is made at connect time,
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regardless of element state.
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GstPad connection
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-----------------
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When two pads are connected get_caps is called on both pads to get their caps.
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Then the intersection between those caps is made, this will give us all the
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possible media types that can flow trough this pad connection. Optionally the
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application can provide additional caps, the pad intersection is also made with
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the application caps.
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The intersection and the optional application caps are stored in the two pads.
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If the intersection is NULL, the two pads have no common types and the connection
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is refused.
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If the intersection is a fixed caps, this means there is only one possible media type
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that can be used for this connection.
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For all not NULL intersections the pad connect functions are called with the
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intersection. Depending on the result of the connect funtion the connection is
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allowed or refused.
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If the intersection is fixed and the pad connect functions agreed to the caps,
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the caps are set on the pads.
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Note that pad caps are never set for non fixed caps.
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!Example 1:
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!
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! 1. before connecting the pads, they both have a set of possible media types,
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! on the pad, through the getcaps function or on the padtemplate (here
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! represented with capital letters)
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!
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! srcpad sinkpad
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! A B
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! B F
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! C A
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! G
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!
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! 2. when performing the connection, the intersection between the two sets of caps
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! is made.
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!
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! srcpad sinkpad
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! A ) ( B
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! B )--------> A <------( F
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! C ) B ( A
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! ( G
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!
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! 3. In this case the intersection is not a fixed caps (it's a chained caps).
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! the connect function of the two pads are called (if any), the connect
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! function can accept of refuse the caps.
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!
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! 4. if the caps are accepted, the intersection caps are set on both pads.
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!
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! 5. plugins will typically not configure themselves if they get variable caps.
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! It is possible though for a plugin to select one of the caps, fixate
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! some properties and refine the filter to fixed caps (see later)
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!
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!Example 2:
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!
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! 1. we take two pads that intersect to fixed caps (B):
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!
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! srcpad sinkpad
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! A ) ( B
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! B )-------> B <-------( F
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!
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! 2. both pad connect functions are called.
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!
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! 3. assuming the connect functions did not refuse the connection, the caps
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! are set on both pads (because they are fixed).
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!
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! srcpad (B)--------------(B) sinkpad
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! A B
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! B F
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!
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!Example 3:
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!
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! 1. we take two pads, one with pad caps, another one with a padtemplate.
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!
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! srcpad (B) sinkpad
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! ! ( B
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! ------> B <-------( F
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!
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! 2. the pad get_caps function will return the pad caps of the srcpad and
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! the padtemplate caps of the sinkpad. The intersection is made, yielding
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! a fixed caps (B) which is sent to both connect functions (if any)
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!
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! 3. If the connect function(s) didn't refuse the connection the fixed caps
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! are set on both pads. The intersection is also kept in the pad object.
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!
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! srcpad (B)--------------(B) sinkpad
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! B
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! F
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!
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! 4. when fixed caps are received on the sinkpad the plugin will typically
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! configure itself to deal with the format.
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!
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Pad connect functions
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---------------------
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A Pad can be notified when another pad is connected or reconnected to it with
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fixed or variable caps. This notification will be done with the optional
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GstPadConnectFunction callback that an element can provide for a pad.
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Remember that this connection is _always_ called, not only whith fixed caps
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but also with variable caps (if any).
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We will explain some of the common situations with some examples.
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!Example 4:
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!
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! 1. We have a simple mpeg audio decoder connected to a simple audio sink.
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! The mpeg decoder doesn't have a connect function on
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!
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!
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!
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!
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!
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!
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!
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!
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!
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!
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!
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!
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!
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!
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!
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!
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