Re: Comments on draft MIDI API

Yes, the properties on the MIDIDevice relate to the interface device, not
(necessarily) the synthesizers, etc. that are plugged in.  (Note that it is
sometimes possible to query if specific devices are plugged in, though not
in a manufacturer-independent way - but since MIDI is unidirectional, I may
not have the output of my rack-mount synth plugged back in to an input at
all.)

I'm somewhat ambivalent about changing the name; though I would point out
that 1) Windows, at least, used this kind of "device" terminology, and 2)
you can't consistently identify and enumerate "devices" in the other sense,
and finally 3) in many cases, the set of MIDI interfaces MAY be identical
to the set of "devices" in the synth/keyboard sense - if those devices are
plugged in through USB, where each device typically creates its own
interface.  I'd tend to leave the name as it is.

On Thu, Jun 28, 2012 at 12:38 AM, Dominique Hazael-Massieux <dom@w3.org>wrote:

> Le mercredi 27 juin 2012 à 09:22 -0700, Chris Wilson a écrit :
> > Sorry, I/O has been taking all my attention lately - but I do want to
> > underscore that there is a confusing difference between a "MIDIDevice"
> > and a MIDI device (e.g. a rack-mount synthesizer unit).  MIDIDevice
> > represents a MIDI interface - so the enumeration, for example, is
> > enumerating the MIDI interfaces available, NOT polling the MIDI
> > devices plugged into those interfaces.
>
> Does that suggest that MIDIDevice should be renamed MIDIInterface? Also,
> the spec doesn't make the distinction you're making; does that also mean
> that the manufacturer/name/version info properties on the MIDIDevice
> interface actually relate to the MIDI interface rather than to the
> plugged devices?
>
> Dom
>
>
>