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copy last.fm top tags to beaTunes truncating tags in comments

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strickce

10 Feb, 2012 05:52 PM

I set the count of tags to 20, to see what the last.fm plugin would return, and found out why the limiter is there.
However, I got a lot of data and found what I think is a bug. The comments field is being limited to, I think, 256 bytes, and the tags are just truncated at that point. I don't think the size of the comments field in the ID3V2 tags is limited, except to the size of a frame. Please correct me if I am wrong. (I didn't count the number of bytes in the comments field, but it was close to 256.)

I have set up my development environment and have successfully modified the key plugin as a test, and am ready to make a few changes/ additions. Is the source for the last.fm plugin available? I would like to fix the truncation problem, and then make some personal changes of my own for my library. I would give the fixed code back to you, of course.
Thanks.

1. 1 Posted by strickce on 10 Feb, 2012 08:17 PM

   

   A related question:
   Using a count of 20 populated the tag cloud with a bunch of tags I will never use. Is there a way to get rid of the unwanted tags in the cloud?

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2. Support Staff 2 Posted by Hendrik Schreib... on 11 Feb, 2012 09:13 AM

   

   Hi,

   beaTunes uses a database to store stuff in, so that it does not always have to check the individual files. The comment field in that database is limited to 255 or so chars. That's why you see the truncation.

   This limitation should not happen in iTunes or in the id3 tag itself. There you should see the full number of tags. Also, beaTunes keeps track of the tags as tags (not only as comments) - there you should also always see all tags.

   Regarding the cloud - I guess that refers to the comments field. You could run the plugin again, with fewer tags.

   Regarding the source code - the last published version of the source can be found at http://blog.beatunes.com/2010/02/brace-yourself.html

   However, that was changed slightly to reflect changes in the beaTunes 3 API.

   Also - Last.FM requires an API key. That was never included in the source. If you want to roll your own, you'd have to also get your own key (which shouldn't be a problem).

   Anyhow - the fact that the current source isn't available is an oversight on my part - I will remedy that situation later today or tomorrow.

   Cheers,

   -hendrik

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3. 3 Posted by strickce on 11 Feb, 2012 01:56 PM

   

   Thanks again for your quick response.
   I understand the 256 byte limit in your database. That should be big enough for anything I want to do. I only found the limit because I allowed so many tags when I ran the test on a file.

   The other question about the cloud actually was about removing items from the tag cloud itself - not from the song's tags.
   When I ran my test, all those garbage tags ended up in the tag cloud. I removed the tags from the song, but they are still in the tag cloud, in case I want to use them again. If I decide that there is a tag in the tag cloud that I will never use, it would be nice to eliminate that tag from the tag cloud, so I don't have to deal with it again.

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4. Support Staff 4 Posted by Hendrik Schreib... on 11 Feb, 2012 02:48 PM

   

   Oh that cloud! :-)
   I had thought you meant the iCloud.

   Anyway. Initializing the tag cloud can take a long time. That's why it caches possible tags. The cache will be cleared on application restart. So if you have deleted the tags from all files and restart beaTunes, the garbage tags should be gone, too.

   Am 11.02.2012 um 14:56 schrieb "Charlie Stricklin" <[email blocked]>:

   >

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5. 5 Posted by strickce on 11 Feb, 2012 02:56 PM

   

   Thanks Hendrik,
   That works perfectly. Now I don't have anything to fix. darn!

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6. Support Staff 6 Posted by Hendrik Schreib... on 12 Feb, 2012 09:57 AM

   

   You know - that makes me glad :-)
   Does that mean you don't need the source code anymore?

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7. 7 Posted by strickce on 13 Feb, 2012 11:48 AM

   

   I don't think so. I am going to be busy for a while trying to put meaningful tags on all the songs in my library (>6000 songs). Thanks for being so helpful.

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8. Support Staff 8 Posted by Hendrik Schreib... on 16 Feb, 2012 10:58 AM

   

   No problem - glad to be of help.

   -hendrik

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9. Hendrik Schreiber closed this discussion on 16 Feb, 2012 10:58 AM.