Upcoming moOde 7 series

[the_bertrum]

So what is the difference betrween add next and play next?  They sound like they would both achieve the same result to me.

Logic would dictate that Add Next would add a track to be played after the currently playing track whilst Play Next would cancel the currently playing track and play the newly selected track.  ??

If so, I'd propose "play next" should actually be "play now" perhaps?  What with next not being now, logically

[DRONE7]

I thought it was shorthand for "Play the Next track" (so would be Play that track Now ) perhaps Tim could expand on our assumptions in due course
http://moodeaudio.org/forum/showthread.p...5#pid24275
Not sure which way around these are meant...;-)

[TookaFace]

My guess:
Add - Add to end of queue
Play - Add to end of queue and play first song added
Add next - Add after current title
Play next - Add after current title and play first song added
Clear/Play - Clear queue, add and play.

[the_bertrum]

As someone who does not use playlists much I find I have a cognitive block when it comes to understanding their management. I tend to have a simplistic view of "Play this now/Play this after the current track/Play this when the current list is finished" MPD seems to rely on the concept of a playlist for all sorts of things that to my mind are odd. A playlist of radio stations for example, why? A station feed never ends so you never advance to the next item - it baffles me.

I can understand the interpretation that @TookaFace gave though.

[Tim Curtis]

"Play next" will first add the item or album immediately after the currently playing or last played item then it will start playing it.

Example:

Song1
Song2 (currently playing)
Song3

"Add next" (Song X)

Song1
Song2 (currently playing)
Song X
Song3

"Play next" (Song X)

Song1
Song2 (was currently playing)
Song X  (currently playing)
Song3

[Tim Curtis]

As someone who does not use playlists much I find I have a cognitive block when it comes to understanding their management.  I tend to have a simplistic view of "Play this now/Play this after the current track/Play this when the current list is finished" MPD seems to rely on the concept of a playlist for all sorts of things that to my mind are odd.  A playlist of radio stations for example, why? A station feed never ends so you never advance to the next item - it baffles me.

I can understand the interpretation that @TookaFace gave though.

MPD's use of the term "Playlist" to denote both stored Playlists and it's own internal play queue is a part of its distant past when its protocol was first designed. 

The maintainer has begun to introduce the term Queue in the MPD documentation whenever referring to its internal play queue but unfortunately its command protocol uses the term "playlist" for commands that manipulate both the Queue and stored playlists. https://www.musicpd.org/doc/html/protoco...#the-queue

The term "play queue" or just Queue is also being introduced in the moOde documentation.

[the_bertrum]

"Play next" will first add the item or album immediately after the currently playing or last played item then it will start playing it.

Example:

Song1
Song2 (currently playing)
Song3

"Add next" (Song X)

Song1
Song2 (currently playing)
Song X
Song3

"Play next" (Song X)

Song1
Song2 (was currently playing)
Song X  (currently playing)
Song3

So, in my own personal way of looking at things I'll read moOde "Add Next" as Bertrum "Play Next" and moOde "Play Next" as Bertrum "Play Now"
Cool funtion though what ever nomenclature it uses.

[Tim Curtis]

We can use any terminology. iTunes for example has Play, Play next, Play later (whatever that is).

What do other players call these same operations?

[the_bertrum]

I think as long as the terminology is consistent within the application it doesn't matter too much what it is.  My favourite implementation of queue management options is in BubbleUPNP which has these:
Play = Start a new queue with the selection on it and start playing.
Play next = add the selection to the queue after the current item and start playing it if nothing is currently playing.
Shuffle Play = as per play but in shuffle mode, only appears when the selection has sub items (eg an album).
Play all from here = As per Play, but only queues the items after the selection point in the list, only appears when the current list is a list of tracks.
Enqueue = add to the end of the queue
Enqueue all from here = As per Enqueue, but only queues the items after the selection point in the list, only appears when the current list is a list of tracks.
Enqueue and play = add to the end of the queue and start playing the selection regardless of what is already playing.

Now in moOde, we have three basic commands: Play, Add and Clear.  This proposal adds Next to that selection.  Working on the menus in the Library and Tag views, these commands work like this:
Play = Add the selection to the queue and start playing it.
Add = Add the seelection to the queue.
Clear = Modifies play to clear the queue first.

Next would act like a modifier in the manner of Clear with the result of inserting the selection after the current position in the queue, it will modify both Add and Play.

This is internally consistent and is logical and describes the system Tim has described.  It also allows for all the BubbleUPNP operations to me present bar the "all from here" ones.  All from here could also be added to moOde as a modifier like Clear and Next is desired.
Where this falls down though is on the instant play actions which are lablelled "Add/Play" and "Clear/Play".  Based on the way the library menus work, "Add/Play" is simply "Play" and if it were labelled this way we would have the beginnings of an internally consistent nomenclature that could be extended and improved without needing any relearning for existing users.

For example adding "Next" as a modifier as we are discussing here or adding an "All from here modifier" as I have just introdiuced here, or even a "when queue is empty" modifier to act as "play now unless something is already playing in which case add it to the list" action.  The Instant Play action can then get access to a raft of options, by calling it a "one touch" action, any of the queue manipulation commands and modifiers could be offered as potential actions.  We'd have the most flexible options for play commands of any player I've seen then.

[added in edit]  Shuffle Play is nonesense.  Shuffle is a play mode like repeat and moOde rightly treats it as such.

[bitlab]

Results of some players:

Google Youtube music:

• Play - add after current playing song and play it
  
• Play Next   - add after current playing song and play after current it completed
  
• Add to playlist - add it at the end of the playlist
  

Google Play Music:

• Play - not clear, it is always the first and some times erases the current playlist
  
• Play Next   - add after current playing song and play after current it completed
  
• Add to playlist - add it at the end of the playlist
  

Bubble UPNP:

• play - play the song and erase current playlist
  
• play next   - add after current playing song and play after current it completed
  
• Enqueue     - add it at the end of the playlist
  

Synology DS Audio

• Play - play the song and erase current playlist
  
• Add next to current - add after current playing song and play after current it completed
  
• Add to queue - add it at the end of the playlist
  

Personally I prefer:

• Play - add after current playing song and play it
  
• Play Next   - add after current playing song and play after current it completed
  
• Add to playlist - add it at the end of the playlist
  

Feels the most natural to me, without risk of accidental deletion of the playlist.