Trolltech, the company behind the Qt widget toolkit used in KDE, released today several new Phonon backends that facilitate cross-platform multimedia support. Phonon is media engine abstraction layer that was originally developed for KDE 4. Phonon simplifies multimedia application development and makes it possible to swap seamlessly between various underlying media libraries without having to reimplement application code.
Xine was previously the only supported engine, but now Trolltech's new backends add support for GStreamer, DirectShow 9 on Windows, and QuickTime 7 on Mac OS X. Although Trolltech implemented these new backends to bring cross-platform media support to the upcoming Qt 4.4 release, the code is being contributed directly to the KDE source code repository under the LGPL license so that it can be maintained and developed by the KDE community alongside Phonon. This move by Trolltech is very positive for both the company and the KDE community, it is likely to be enthusiastically welcomed.
"By developing Phonon components within the globally accessible public KDE source repository, Phonon developers are able to watch and participate in the development of Trolltech's Phonon back-end code and library code contributions," Trolltech said in a statement. "This also allows the community to evaluate and provide input into the work being done by Trolltech's internal development team. KDE, in turn, benefits by having Trolltech's employed developers contribute to the ongoing development and maintenance of Phonon, freeing KDE developers to work on other aspects of the desktop."
KDE developer Aaron Seigo has responded to the announcement, noting that it reflects the value of the KDE community as a vehicle for collaboration. "[T]his is a significant step forward in what has been an ongoing process of improving the community interaction at Trolltech," says Seigo. "[I]t also demonstrates how the KDE umbrella provides common working ground for a wide variety of participants by providing equitable ways for everyone to work hand-in-hand as partners."
The inclusion of Trolltech's Windows and Mac OS X Phonon backends in KDE 4 will vastly simplify the process of porting KDE multimedia applications like Amarok to other platforms. Amarok contributors have already been working on adding experimental Windows support, but the availability of a new DirectShow-based Phonon backend will significantly simplify and accelerate porting efforts.
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