Litepodder
From NMTWiki
Medium difficulty requiring some technical skills, or some parts require more than basic knowledge.
| Name: | Litepodder |
|---|---|
| Type: | Podcatching utility |
| Current Version: | n/a |
| Website: | [NMT forum thread] |
| Screenshot: |  |
Litepodder is a podcatching application that runs on the Networked Media Tank. It retrieves and downloads regularly and automatically podcast items from podcasts you syndicated/subscribed to. You manage your podcast syndications (podcasts list), your general settings and your scheduling with a simple text file for each.
Litepodder has no user interface because as an engine it does the essential. Doing a user interface application to parameter and control Litepodder is another project. A user interface application to browse easily and have more info on already downloaded podcast items as well.
It is developed by user philofred, as posted on the official NMT forum.
Contents |
Features
- Podcasts syndications: manage your podcasts list
- Specify the target directory for each podcast (spaces and special characters are supported)
- Specify the RSS file URL
- Specify the podcast download option: none meaning deactivated, get all new items, get the last n items or update the download database without getting them
- Scheduling: manage the time-scheduling to download the podcasts items
- Every possibilities supported by crontab [1]
- Every n minutes, every n hours, every n days...
- Every hour at n minutes, every day at an hour/minutes, every week at an hour/minutes, every specific day of the week...
- Specify multiple entries (trigger), e.g. every Tuesday at 17:00 + every Sunday at 04:00 + every hour each Monday
- Every possibilities supported by crontab [1]
- Settings: parameter the triggers and downloads options
- Logs and verbosity
- Downloading options (bitrate limiter, temp directory)
- Additinal smart ones
- Podcast directories are created if needed when a download happens
- Download database management to avoid useless download
- Check if podcast item exists to avoid useless download
- All actions are logged to know exactly what happens and feedback to the user: Litepodder service and triggers
- Download/trigger interruption is handled cleanly when service is stopped/restarted/uninstalled or NMT rebooted, no continue option for now
Installation
NMT Community Software Installer
To install (or uninstall) Litepodder easily, use the application NMT Community Software Installer. Go to http://www.nmtinstaller.com/ and follows the instructions to install it. When launched, go to the Applications tab (or in the New tab), you should find Litepodder in the list of applications. Click on the button Next to launch the installation, follow the steps and that is all.
Litepodder
Litepodder has been normally installed in the /share/Apps/ directory in your hard drive. If they were not, it has also created directories in /share/Apps/Litepodder to store user settings, databases and logs files related to its execution. When the Litepodder application is updated, the user files are not deleted. But be careful, they are deleted when the Litepodder application is uninstalled (copy the podcasts syndications file if you want to keep it).
Usage
Service
Litepodder is launched/triggered regularly and automatically to check for new podcast items/episodes by cron (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cron), a NMT service that launches time-scheduled jobs or tasks. Three text files are used to parameter the podcast retrieving and another text file is used to store downloaded podcast items (the downloaded database). When a trigger is on going (it could happen when the download is slow or big), nothing is done to not perturb of the session on going.
User files
Litepodder uses or generates user text files: - setting files to input what to do - database files to output what has been done - log files to output what happened
Settings
User settings files are stored in the directory /share/Apps/Litepodder/settings/. Change/edit them to fit your needs.
Podcasts syndications
The text file podcasts.txt specifies the podcasts syndications. Each entry is composed of the destination directory where to store the downloaded files, the podcast URL (RSS file) and the download option. Follow the format specified in the file. The file is loaded at every trigger so your changes are taken into account at each trigger. Podcasts items can be moved to a new directory without problem if you change also the specified directory to the new in the file.
Scheduling
The text file scheduling.txt specifies the time scheduling to trigger and check for new podcast items. The format follows crontab file syntax and is specified in the file. When the schedule setting is done (file saved), to register it you must use the NMT Community Software Installer to restart the service, it will update the crontab so your scheduling as well.
General settings
The text file general.txt specifies the general settings applied to Litepodder. See the file for more info. The file is loaded at every trigger so your changes are taken into account at the next trigger.
Databases
User databases files are stored in the directory /share/Apps/Litepodder/databases/. No more info for the moment.
Logs
User logs files are stored in the directory /share/Apps/Litepodder/logs/. No more info for the moment.
Uninstallation
Litepodder
- Execution/downloading
I advice to avoid stopping or uninstalling during a trigger or a download. To check there is no trigger/download on going see if the file "running" exists in the directory /share/Apps/Litepodder/.
- User files
The user files are stored in directories in /share/Apps/Litepodder with the application files. They are deleted when the application is uninstalled but not when it is updated. Anyway if the user wants to keep his settings, it should be copied elsewhere before uninstalling Litepodder.
NMT Community Software Installer
As with installation, to uninstall Litepodder easily, use the application NMT Community Software Installer. When launched, go to Installed tab, you should find Litepodder in the list of applications. Click on the button Uninstall to launch the uninstallation, wait and that is all. Even if there was a trigger or a download on going, Litepodder has been shutdown cleanly. Litepodder has been normally removed from the /share/Apps/ directory in your hard drive.
