Microformats Wiki - User contributions [en]

audio-info-issues

2007-10-14T21:15:35Z

SenorPantalones: /* Feedback */

= Audio info issues =

This page defines the current issues with the hAudio draft specification. Any issues that have not yet been resolved are marked with an {{OpenIssue}} tag.

== Contributors ==

In order of contribution:

* [[User:Brian|Brian Suda]]
* [[User:ManuSporny|ManuSporny]] - Digital Bazaar, Inc. (Bitmunk)
* [[User:WebOrganics|Martin McEvoy]] - WebOrganics
* Michael Smethurst

= Problem: Redundant Property Names =

The audio info proposal has invented several new properties. These should be condensed, removed and/or discussed further.

== audio-title Property ==
hAudio ISSUE #2: {{OpenIssue}}

[[audio-info-proposal#Audio Title|audio-title]] - There is an on going debate where this should be something else such as FN or SUMMARY, or RECORDING.

===Possible Solutions===

# Use FN instead
# Use SUMMARY instead
# Use RECORDING instead for singular audio recordings (songs, movements, chapters) and ALBUM/RELEASE for collections of audio recordings.

===Feedback===

* +1 : use RECORDING and ALBUM [[User:ManuSporny|ManuSporny]] 18:20, 27 Sep 2007 (PDT)
* -1 : don't change audio-title [[User:WebOrganics|Martin McEvoy]] 15:48, 14 Aug 2007 (GMT)
* +1 for using FN, no clear difference between two so why invent another [[User:DavidJanes|David Janes]] 14 August 2007

== album-title Property==
hAudio ISSUE #9: {{OpenIssue}}

It has been proposed that something else should be used instead of '''album-title'''.

===Possible Solutions===

# Use ALBUM instead of ALBUM-TITLE
# Use RELEASE instead of ALBUM-TITLE
# Keep ALBUM-TITLE

=== Feedback ===

* +1 for using ALBUM [[User:ManuSporny|ManuSporny]] 09:31, 12 Sep 2007 (PDT)
* +1 for using RELEASE [http://microformats.org/discuss/mail/microformats-new/2007-September/000832.html Michael Smethurst], 12 Sep 2007

== Collection Names==
hAudio ISSUE #10: {{OpenIssue}}

The following have been proposed for collection names if hAlbum is going to be integrated into hAudio.

===Possible Solutions===

* ALBUM-TITLE, ALBUM, or RELEASE - used for vinyl albums, CD singles, Ringles (haha), EPs, and CDs.
* PODCAST - used for podcasts.
* TOPLIST, CHART - used for top 10, top 40 and lists of audio recordings. Can be re-used for television, short film and video recordings in the future.
* PLAYLIST - used to contain a grouped list of audio recordings and video recordings. Could be re-used for television episodes, short films, and video recordings in the future.
* TRACK - used for each item in the audio-recording collection above.

=== Feedback ===

* +1 for using ALBUM [[User:ManuSporny|ManuSporny]] 09:31, 12 Sep 2007 (PDT)
* +1 for using PODCAST [[User:ManuSporny|ManuSporny]] 09:54, 12 Sep 2007 (PDT)
* +1 for using TRACK [[User:ManuSporny|ManuSporny]] 09:54, 12 Sep 2007 (PDT)
* +1 for using TRACK [[User:ChrisNewell|Chris Newell]] 12:21, 25 Sep 2007 (GMT+1)
* +1 for using CHART [[User:ChrisNewell|Chris Newell]] 12:21, 25 Sep 2007 (GMT+1)
* +1 for using PLAYLIST [[User:ChrisNewell|Chris Newell]] 12:21, 25 Sep 2007 (GMT+1)
* +1 for using RELEASE [http://microformats.org/discuss/mail/microformats-new/2007-September/000832.html Michael Smethurst], 12 Sep 2007

=Problem: Display properties of rel-patterns=
hAudio ISSUE #4: {{OpenIssue}}

In order to solve the [[audio-info-issues#Historical:_Graphic_buttons_in_rel-patterns|graphic-only buttons in rel-patterns problem]], it was identified that part of the problem dealt with attempting to create relationship quadruples, or incorrect relationship triples.

If there is no text to display, then how does one place the item into a menu/display for Operator/Firefox? Grabbing the image and placing it in a UI is a difficult argument to make - there are a variety of image sizes that might not do well in the Operator UI (or Firefox 3 UI).

Typically, rel-patterns are created by doing something like the following:

<a rel="RELATIONSHIP" href="URL">TARGET</a>

The final triple that is created can be read thusly: URL is related to TARGET via RELATIONSHIP.

<a rel="brother" href="/people/john_f_kennedy.html">Robert Kennedy</a>

The URL above would be read like so: The URL <code>http://www.people.org/john_f_kennedy.html</code> is related to <code>Robert Kennedy</code> via a relationship of type <code>brother</code>. In other words, John F. Kennedy is Robert Kennedy's brother.

Using rel-pattern as such:

<a rel="brother" href="/people/john_f_kennedy.html" title="Robert Kennedy">
<img src="/images/robert_kennedy.gif" alt="Robert Kennedy" />
</a>

It isn't defined if the displayable value of the relationship "Robert Kennedy" should be used from

* the @alt attribute on the IMG element
* the @title attribute on the anchor (A element)
* or, not at all.

This is because the rel attribute is only concerned with the relationship between the current page and the href. The TITLE of the link is not defined by rel.

It is quite often that a site uses an image instead of a text link to present actions. For example: Instead of using the text "Download", they will use a graphic image with a downward-facing arrow.

How do we present this option to a human being in a non-web-page UI?

===Possible Solutions===

====Do nothing====

The decision should be left up to uF implementors. The market should decide how the information is displayed. This is something that does not need to be explicit in the spec, but can be left flexible to developers to implement as they see best and to adapt to their applications and future developments. Forcing someone to use the @alt or @title prevents them from reusing the actual image or using their own graphics because the spec mandated the "correct" use.

====Not Specified but Publish hAudio Best Practices Section====

This is a slight variation on the "Do nothing" approach. Implementation is still left up to the uF/application implementors, but we recommend the following in a "Best Practices" section for hAudio:

* Use TITLE on rel-patterns, which is backed up by the following from [[rel-payment#RelPayment]]:

Authors should use the "title" attribute to provide a human readable
description of the type of support pointed to by the hyperlink.
Aggregators may use the contents of the "title" attribute to provide
additional information about the support link to their users.
E.g. <a href="[url]" rel="payment" title="Donate Money Via PayPal">.

* If TITLE is not used, the link text that is displayed in a text-only web browser should be used.

====Use the TITLE Attribute====

Using @title was proposed in the following post to the mailing list:

http://microformats.org/discuss/mail/microformats-new/2007-July/000590.html

=====Benefits=====

# It POSH-ifies the website.
# It works well with Operator, Firefox 3 and other uF parsers/UIs.
# It adds the accessibility/screen reader problem.

=====Drawbacks=====

# There are arguments stating that the @alt attribute would be a better choice: http://microformats.org/discuss/mail/microformats-new/2007-July/000593.html
# there are arguments that this is not part of how the rel attribute was designed and it is layering semantics onto the attribute that don't exist in the HTML spec.

====New Label Property====

Create a specific new property that defines the label title, or other <code>displayable</code> Microformat class that should specify the text value to be used.

===Feedback===

* +1 for not specifying, but providing best practices section [[User:ManuSporny|ManuSporny]] 06:54, 14 Aug 2007 (PDT)
* +1 for Do Nothing recommend proper use of @alt [[User:WebOrganics|Martin McEvoy]] 16:03, 14 Aug 2007 (GMT)

=Problem: Peeking into child elements=
hAudio ISSUE #5: {{OpenIssue}}

It has been proposed that peeking into child elements that are not labeled with microformatted class names goes against the established publishing practices of microformats. In other words, if there isn't a microformatted class name on the element, we shouldn't be reading/interpreting the contents of the element.

There have been several proposed solutions, one of which automatically peeks at certain sub-elements, such as @alt in IMG:

<a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/">
<img src="/images/deed/by.png" alt="Creative Commons Attribution 3.0" />
</a>

A microformat parser would take the HTML above and automatically parse out the contents of the @alt attribute on all child elements.

Another approach would parse out display-able elements based on a pre-defined microformatted relationship such as <code>displayble</code>, like so:

<a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/">
<img rel="displayable" src="/images/deed/by.png" alt="Creative Commons Attribution 3.0" />
</a>

===Possible Solutions===

# Microformats should never peek into child elements when displaying information.
# The community should decide on a set of attributes and elements that are peek-able (for example: any element that contains an @alt attribute should be peek-able)
# Only elements that are marked with a class of a specified type, such as <code>displayable</code>, should be used to display the text.
# Display what common text-only browser displays (in the case of Lynx, the value in @alt).

====Benefits====

# Valid HTML requires that the ALT tag is specified anyway, thus we're helping people write proper HTML.
# Because of the item above, this is in-line with what most text-based browsers and screen readers expect.
# There is no danger of @title and @alt both being specified and read by a screen reader.
## ?? what about @title on the 'a' and an @alt on the image?

====Drawbacks====
# The point was raised that ALT tags are not used properly on the web: http://microformats.org/discuss/mail/microformats-new/2007-July/000598.html and http://microformats.org/wiki/hcard-faq#Why_is_IMG_alt_not_being_picked_up

===Feedback===

* +1 for displaying what a common text-only browser or screen reader would display [[User:ManuSporny|ManuSporny]] 06:46, 14 Aug 2007 (PDT)
* +1 Display what common text-only browser displays [[User:WebOrganics|Martin McEvoy]] 15:58, 14 Aug 2007 (GMT)

=Problem: Container property naming=
hAudio ISSUE #13: {{OpenIssue}}

We need some sort of "container" to hold track/song information in an hAudio album. The contents of this "container" will be another hAudio chunk or text (which will be the FN of an hAudio object).

There are two proposals that are on the table right now. The end result and semantics for hAudio are the same, the only thing that we are discussing is the name of that "container". The current proposals are for:

TRACK or ITEM

===Proposal for TRACK===

Using TRACK means creating a new Microformat property that, while specific, is not re-using ITEM. There is also contention over whether this accurately describes a part of an album or part of a recording (in the case of a speech).

====Benefits====

* TRACK is semantically accurate when describing albums, which is the only example use-case that we are attempting to solve with hAudio.
* No other changes to other Microformats or definitions are required.

====Drawbacks====

* TRACK has multiple meanings.
* TRACK is not accurate when describing parts of a speech, orchestral movement, or other non-album collection of audio.
* It is a new property that we must create.

===Proposal for ITEM===

Using ITEM as the container element means that we will be changing the current definition of ITEM.

We don't want to break backwards compatability, so we have to work with
the current definitions of item for hReview and hListing by defining
ITEM as the following, which can be used across all Microformats:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ITEM - A generic method that Microformats use for unordered containment
of other Microformat properties or objects. This property MUST have, at
a minimum, the name of the item. The name of the item can be specified
using either:

# plain-text, if the property contains only the name of the item.
# "fn", if the property contains multiple Microformat properties.

ITEM MAY contain other properties/Microformats, but anything other than
FN must be defined by the Microformat that is using ITEM.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

The above definition doesn't require hReview or hListing to change at
all. It also means that we can use it like so in hAudio:

Single track, with known album (same as putting text in the ‘album’
field of an ID3 tag):
<pre>

Nagasaki Nightmare
Best Before 1984
Crass

</pre>

Single track, album unknown:
<pre>

Nagasaki Nightmare
Crass

</pre>

Album:
<pre>

Best Before 1984
Crass

</pre>

Album with a couple of tracks, simple example:
<pre>

Best Before 1984
Crass
Nagasaki Nightmare
Hokkaido Dream
Tokyo Groove

</pre>

Album with a couple of tracks, more detailed:
<pre>

Best Before 1984
Crass
Nagasaki Nightmare
– <abbr class="duration" title="P268S">4:46</abbr>
Hokkaido Dream
– <abbr class="duration" title="P268S">4:46</abbr>
Tokyo Groove
– <abbr class="duration" title="P268S">4:46</abbr>

</pre>

====Benefits====

* ITEM is a new bag/set/container item that can be re-used across all Microformats is created.
* The new definition of ITEM is backwards-compatible.

====Drawbacks====

* ITEM is being re-defined, which is somewhat against the Microformat principles.
* ITEM is not semantically accurate unless it is paired with an hAudio element.

===Feedback===

* +1 for TRACK [[User:ManuSporny|ManuSporny]] 13:56, 14 Oct 2007 (PDT)
* +1 for ITEM [[User:SenorPantalones|JustinMaxwell]] 14:14, 14 Oct 2007 (PDT)

=Problem: TRACK does not work in tables=
hAudio ISSUE #11: {{OpenIssue}}

Julian Stahnke noted that [http://microformats.org/discuss/mail/microformats-new/2007-October/000940.html the new track proposal doesn't work with tables ]. The previous examples required one to mark up track information using haudio, thus the publisher would have to do the following to mark up a track:

<pre>
1.

...


</pre>

The nested approach above doesn't work when working with HTML tables because TR is usually the containing element of a track in the audio examples and nothing but a TD element is allowed inside of it. In other words, HAUDIO cannot be nested inside of TRACK in a table.

== Possible Solutions ==

One approach lets HAUDIO to co-exist with TRACK. Here is an example of valid markup using this approach:

<pre>
<div class="haudio">
...
<table>
<tr><th>#</th><th>Track</th><th>Length</th></tr>
<tr class="track haudio">
<td>1.</td>
<td class="recording">Sanity</td>
<td><abbr class="duration" title="P348S">5:48</abbr></td>
</tr>
<tr class="haudio track">
<td>2.</td>
<td class="recording">Highway To Hell</td>
<td><abbr class="duration" title="P219S">3:39</abbr></td>
</tr>
</table>
...
</div>
</pre>

Note that in the above example, order doesn't matter since we are stating that a TRACK *is* HAUDIO.

* Allow HAUDIO to co-exist with TRACK

===Feedback===

* +1 for allowing HAUDIO to co-exist with TRACK [[User:ManuSporny|ManuSporny]] 19:52, 4 Oct 2007 (PDT)

=Resolved Issues=

== image-summary Property==
hAudio ISSUE #1: {{ResolvedIssue}}

[[audio-info-proposal#Image Summary|image-summary]] - This is a small graphic image that summarizes the audio piece. It should NOT be a MUST to use the <img> element, (it shouldn't be a MUST anyway) ~BrianSuda. There are several other formats that already use the PHOTO property, including [[hcard|hCard]] and [[hreview|hReview]]. This has potential to collapse and remove image-summary.

===Possible Solutions===

# Use PHOTO instead.

=== Feedback ===

* +1 for using PHOTO [[User:ManuSporny|ManuSporny]] 06:40, 14 Aug 2007 (PDT)
* +1 for using PHOTO [[User:WebOrganics|Martin McEvoy]] 15:49, 14 Aug 2007 (GMT)

=== Resolution ===

PHOTO has been used to replace IMAGE-SUMMARY in the latest proposal, reusing a previous Microformat property, which is a Good Thing(tm).

== published-date Property ==
hAudio ISSUE #3: {{ResolvedIssue}}

[[audio-info-proposal#Published Date|published-date]] is a duplicate of the PUBLISHED property found-in [[hatom|hAtom]]. This can be collapsed to a single property name

Alternatively, we could use <code>dtstart</code>, from hCalendar (shouldn't the published date be an hCalendar event?) [[User:AndyMabbett|Andy Mabbett]]

===Possible Solutions===

# Use PUBLISHED instead
# Use DTSTART instead

===Feedback===

* +1 for using PUBLISHED instead of PUBLISHED-DATE [[User:ManuSporny|ManuSporny]] 06:41, 14 Aug 2007 (PDT)
* +1 for using PUBLISHED instead of PUBLISHED-DATE [[User:WebOrganics|Martin McEvoy]] 15:51, 14 Aug 2007 (GMT)

=== Resolution ===

PUBLISHED has been used to replace PUBLISHED-DATE in the latest proposal, reusing a previous Microformat property, which is a Good Thing (tm).

== Problem: Summary Property is Missing ==
hAudio ISSUE #6: {{ResolvedIssue}}

Martin McEvoy did another analysis run of the [[audio-info-examples]] data and [[audio-info-examples#Further_Analysis_Regarding_Summaries|found that audio descriptions existed]] for many of the examples. It has been proposed that audio descriptions should be added to the hAudio Microformat.

=== Possible Solutions ===

* Add audio descriptions to the hAudio specification using SUMMARY
* Add audio descriptions to the hAudio specification using DESCRIPTION

====Feedback====

* +1 for using DESCRIPTION [[User:ManuSporny|ManuSporny]] 06:45, 14 Aug 2007 (PDT)
* +1 for using DESCRIPTION [[User:WebOrganics|Martin McEvoy]] 15:46, 14 Aug 2007 (GMT)

==== Resolution ====

DESCRIPTION has been added to the latest proposal.

== Problem: Track Number is Missing ==
hAudio ISSUE #7: {{ResolvedIssue}}

We assumed that the track number was going to be encapsulated by XOXO in the beginning, but it seems as if this is not the case. Unfortunately, we didn't analyze the number of sites that had tracks in them. We should do this and report our findings to the mailing list. It is also important to note that most of the audio formats support track numbers.

=== Possible Solutions ===

* Gather examples and add track-number to hAudio if there is enough evidence to support it.

=== Resolution ===

It was [http://microformats.org/discuss/mail/microformats-new/2007-October/000972.html announced] that a re-analysis of the track-number in the audio-info-examples showed widespread support for a positional element. POSITION has been added to the hAudio proposal and was supported by [http://microformats.org/discuss/mail/microformats-new/2007-October/000972.html Manu Sporny], [http://microformats.org/discuss/mail/microformats-new/2007-October/000973.html Julian Stanhke], and [http://microformats.org/discuss/mail/microformats-new/2007-October/000974.html Martin McEvoy] with no opposition.

== Problem: hAlbum is redundant ==

hAudio ISSUE #8: {{ResolvedIssue}}

Most of hAlbum's properties overlap with hAudio. In fact, the only two properties that do not overlap with hAudio are 'album-title' and 'track'.

=== Possible Solutions ===

It has been proposed that we merge these two properties into hAudio to provide a cleaner, more unified way of describing audio songs and albums. Examples of how this would work are below:

You can specify an hAudio album instead of an hAudio song by specifying the 'album-title' property and not including the 'audio-title' property:

<pre>
<div class="haudio">
Underdog World Strike by
<div class="collaborator">
<div class="vcard">
Gogol Bordello
</div>
</div>
</div>
</pre>

You can specify an audio song that belongs to an audio album by specifying both 'album-title' and 'audio-title':

<pre>
<div class="haudio">
Start Wearing Purple
is a song off of the album
Underdog World Strike by
<div class="collaborator">
<div class="vcard">
Gogol Bordello
</div>
</div>
</div>
</pre>

You can specify each track in an album by including one or more 'track' properties and specifying the 'album-title':

<pre>
<div class="haudio">
<img class="photo" src="images/live_phish_vol_15.jpg"/>
Live Phish, Volume 15


Phish


 
Released on:
<abbr class="published" title="20023110">October 31, 2002<abbr>
 
Acquire:
<a rel="sample" href="/samples/live_phish_vol_15_sample.mp3">Sample</a>,
<a rel="enclosure" href="/live/phish_live_phish_vol_15.mp3">Live Recording</a>,
<a rel="payment" href="/buy/phish_live_phish_vol_15">Buy High Quality Track</a>
Category: live
Duration: <abbr class="duration" title="P8727S">145 minutes, 27 seconds</abbr>
Price: 
<abbr class="currency" title="USD">$</abbr>
14.99

Tracks:
1.

Sanity
(<abbr class="duration" title="P348S">5:48</abbr>)



2.

Highway To Hell
(<abbr class="duration" title="P219S">3:39</abbr>)



</div>
</pre>

Parsing rules would have to be changed slightly:

* If only 'album-title' is specified, then the hAudio is an album.
* If only 'audio-title' is specified, then the hAudio is a song/speech or other singular work.
* If both 'album-title' and 'audio-title' is specified, then the hAudio is a song that is part of an album.
* If 'album-title' and one or more 'track's are specified, the hAudio is an album containing tracks. Each track is a hAudio. None of the track properties should implicitly be added to the hAudio. In other words, the parser shouldn't parse the contents of the 'track' hAudio into the non-track hAudio object.

This also allows us to easily extend hAudio into the realm of podcasts, toplists, and other types of audio collections by adding a "*-title" property. For example, we could extend hAudio to support podcasts and podcast sections by adding a single property to hAudio: 'podcast-title'. 'track' would be used for each podcast section, in that use case.

===Feedback===

* +1 for merging 'album-title' and 'track' into hAudio from hAlbum. [[User:ManuSporny|ManuSporny]] 12:57, 8 Sep 2007 (PDT)
* +1 also for merging album-title and track into hAudio [[User:WebOrganics|Martin McEvoy]] 21:48, 8 Sep 2007 (GMT+1)
* +1 also for merging album-title and track into hAudio [[User:ChrisNewell|Chris Newell]] 12:11, 25 Sep 2007 (GMT+1)

==== Resolution ====

We now have the ALBUM-TITLE and TRACK elements in hAudio, there is no longer a need for hAlbum.

==Problem: CONTRIBUTOR and TRACK are not publisher friendly==
hAudio ISSUE #12: {{ResolvedIssue}}

In order to specify a CONTRIBUTOR or TRACK, a publisher must use VCARD or HAUDIO mark up. This is annoying if the only piece of information being marked up is that of the artist name or the track name, which is usually what happens in most blog postings. We should provide a mechanism to make it easier for a publisher to blog about an album with a contributor or a track.

=== Possible Solutions ===

We could enable this behavior by allowing the following short-form for TRACK, in addition to the HAUDIO long-form:

<pre>
<div class="haudio">
...
Album Title
...
Song Name
...
</div>
</pre>

and the following short-form for CONTRIBUTOR, in addition to the VCARD long-form:

<pre>
Phish
</pre>

* Make CONTRIBUTOR and TRACK accept short-forms that do not require VCARD or HAUDIO markup.

====Feedback====

* +1 for making CONTRIBUTOR and TRACK easier to specify by allowing the short-form representation [[User:ManuSporny|ManuSporny]] 20:03, 4 Oct 2007 (PDT)
* +1 [[User:JulianStahnke|Julian Stahnke]] 11 October 2007

==== Resolution ====

Short forms for CONTRIBUTOR and TRACK are proposed in the newest proposal and doesn't seem to cause any parsing problems or compatibility issues with other Microformats.

=Historical: Graphic buttons in rel-patterns=
==Affected Parties==

Any site that uses images for links. 'rel-sample', 'rel-enclosure', and 'rel-payment' and wants an additional property to display something besides a URL are affected. Most of the [[audio-info-examples|examples]] also contain images instead of text for samples, downloads and purchase links. This is a demonstrable, widespread problem.

This problem has been split into two parts, per Brian Suda's request. The problems are listed above and refer to this problem statement, namely:

[[audio-info-issues#Problem:_Display_properties_of_rel-patterns|Display properties of rel-patterns]] and [[audio-info-issues#Problem:_Peeking_into_child_elements_to_display_rel-patterns|Peeking into child elements]]

====History====

# ALT was proposed on the mailing list: http://microformats.org/discuss/mail/microformats-new/2007-July/000593.html
# The point was raised that ALT tags are not used properly on the web: http://microformats.org/discuss/mail/microformats-new/2007-July/000598.html
# Research was started on ALT tag usage on the web: http://microformats.org/discuss/mail/microformats-new/2007-July/000614.html and http://microformats.org/discuss/mail/microformats-new/2007-July/000596.html
# Analysis on ALT tag usage on the web was reported: http://microformats.org/discuss/mail/microformats-new/2007-July/000624.html and http://microformats.org/discuss/mail/microformats-new/2007-July/000627.html
# A very long argument started on the use/mis-use of ALT: http://microformats.org/discuss/mail/microformats-new/2007-July/000603.html
# More research was performed and presented to the list asserting that ALT is not being mis-used on the web: http://microformats.org/discuss/mail/microformats-new/2007-July/000629.html
# It was asserted that the research completed was not acceptable: http://microformats.org/discuss/mail/microformats-new/2007-July/000635.html
# Things got nasty: http://microformats.org/discuss/mail/microformats-new/2007-July/000637.html
# Posting stopped due to an End of Thread request: http://microformats.org/discuss/mail/microformats-new/2007-July/000644.html
# The issue and discussion was documented on the wiki.

== Related Pages ==
{{haudio-related-pages}}

audio-album-proposal

2007-08-30T17:07:10Z

SenorPantalones: Added myself to contributors list

<h1>hAlbum 0.1</h1>

[[halbum|hAlbum]] is a simple, open, distributed format, suitable for embedding information about audio albums in (X)HTML, Atom, RSS, and arbitrary XML. hAlbum is one of several [[microformats]] open standards.

== hAlbum Microformat Draft Specification ==

; Editor: [[User:ManuSporny | Manu Sporny]], [http://www.bitmunk.com/ Bitmunk] - [http://blog.digitalbazaar.com Digital Bazaar], Inc.
; Contributors: [[User:ManuSporny | Manu Sporny]], [http://www.bitmunk.com/ Bitmunk] - [http://blog.digitalbazaar.com Digital Bazaar], Inc.
: [[ user:WebOrganics | Martin McEvoy ]]
: [[ User:AlexandreVandeSande | Alexandre Van De Sande ]] Releases all his contribution as public domain(see user page)
: Michael Johnson
: Dave Longley
: Brian Suda
: Scott Reynen
: Andy Mabbett
: Rudy Desjardins
: Joe Andrieu
: [[ user:SenorPantalones | Justin Maxwell ]]

Microformats [[#Copyright]] and [[#Patents]] statements apply.

__TOC__

== Introduction ==

It is difficult for a browser to extract semantic information about an audio album described on a web page. Metadata such as musician, publisher, label, title of the work, release date, acquisition link, related image artwork and tags provide relevant context for the audio album.

Having such information marked up can provide a number of benefits to the viewer. If a web browser understands that a particular web page contains an album performed by an artist, it can produce richer interactions. For example, specific searches may be performed for artists and songs via general search services such as Google and Wikipedia. Specific search services may also be queried such as MusicBrainz, The Internet Archive, FreeDB, or Bitmunk. Additionally, classification by crawlers can become more accurate. If there are 4 albums found on a page done by the same artist, and that content consumes a significant portion of the page, it can be assumed that the page is not only about music, but also about a particular artist.

In order to enable and encourage the sharing, distribution, syndication, and aggregation of audio albums, the authors propose the hAlbum microformat, an open standard for distributed audio album metadata. The authors have researched both numerous [[audio-info-examples]] in the wild and earlier attempts at [[audio-info-formats]], and have designed hAlbum around a simple minimal schema for audio content. Feedback is encouraged on the [[audio-album-feedback|hAlbum feedback]] page.

=== Inspiration and Acknowledgments ===

Many thanks to the various individuals that did research and proposed ideas and discussion related to media info and audio info in general. Among the many participants are [[RodBegbie]], Dean Hudson, [http://tantek.com/log/ Tantek Çelik], [http://napsterization.org/stories/ Mary Hodder], [http://joshkinberg.com/blog/ Joshua Kinberg], ChrisMessina, and [http://onlisareinsradar.com/ Lisa Rein].

=== Scope ===

Audio content consistently share several common fields. Where possible hAlbum has been based on this minimal common subset, heavily re-using properties discovered in the [[audio-info-proposal|hAlbum Microformat]].

==== Out of scope ====

Fields that are type-specific have been omitted from hAlbum. It is important that hAlbum be kept simple and minimal from the start. Additional features can be added as deemed necessary by practical implementation experience.

The concept of a universal audio identifier, that is, how to identify the same audio album across different music and audio sites, though something very useful to have, is outside the scope of this format.

== Semantic XHTML Design Principles ==

{{semantic-xhtml-design-principles}}

== Format ==

=== In General ===
The hAlbum format is based on a set of fields common to numerous audio content sites and formats in use today on the web. Where possible field names have been re-used from hCard, hReview, hAtom, and hAlbum.

=== Schema ===

The hAlbum schema consists of the following:

* hAlbum ('''<code>halbum</code>''')
** '''album-title''' required. text.
** '''contributor'''. optional. using [[hCard]]. Re-used from [[hAudio]].
** '''published'''. optional. using [[datetime-design-pattern]]. Re-used from [[hAtom]]
** '''rel-sample'''. optional. sample file/stream using [[rel-design-pattern]] with <code>sample</code> as the <code>mf-rel-value</code>. Re-used from [[hAudio]].
** '''rel-enclosure'''. optional. full download of file using [[rel-enclosure]]. Re-used from [[hAudio]].
** '''rel-payment'''. optional. link to purchase process using [[rel-payment]]. Re-used from [[hAudio]].
** '''photo'''. optional. using HTML and XHTML tag <code>img</code>. Re-used from [[hReview]].
** '''category'''. optional. text.
** '''duration'''. optional. ISO-8601 time duration using [[abbr-design-pattern]] (re-used from [[hcalendar]]).
** '''price'''. optional. using [[currency-proposal]]. Re-used from [[hAudio]].
** '''track'''. optional. using [[hAudio]].

=== Field details ===

The fields of the hAlbum schema represent the following:

==== hAlbum ====

An hAlbum is used to identify and describe metadata associated with a collection of audio albums.

* an hAlbum element is identified by class name <code>halbum</code>

==== Album Title ====

The album title of an audio album is a short textual description used to identify the work among interested parties. This is usually the title of the album.

* The element is identified by the class name <code>album-title</code>.
* hAlbum MUST have an album title.

==== Contributor ====

A Contributor is any entity that takes part in the creation and distribution of an audio album. Examples include: artist, publisher, guitarist, vocalist, violinist, lead singer, backup singer, bassist, drummer, manager, and roadie.

* The element is identified by the class name <code>contributor</code>.
* hAlbum MAY include one or more contributors.
* The contents of the element must include a valid [[hCard]] Microformat.
* The <code>role</code> field should be used to specify the Contributor's responsibility related to the audio album.
* If multiple Contributors are specified without <code>role</code> specifications, it may be assumed that the first role mentioned is the artist.

==== Published Date ====

The Published Date specifies the date that the audio album was made available to the public. Examples include: The airing date of a radio broadcast, the day a speech was given, or the day a music album was made available for sale.

* The element is identified by the class name <code>published-date</code>.
* hAlbum MAY include one or more <code>published-date</code>s.
* The contents of the element must include a date format compliant with the [[datetime-design-pattern]].

==== Sample ====

A Sample URL specifies from where an excerpt of the audio album may be retrieved.

* The element is identified by a URL fitting the [[rel-design-pattern]], the rel content being <code>sample</code>.
* hAlbum MAY include one or more URL <code>sample</code>s.
* The URL SHOULD point to a directly accessible stream or file.
* The type of the sample MAY be specified by using the <code>type</code> specifier for a URL.

==== Full Download (Enclosure) ====

An Full Download URL specifies from where the full version of an audio album may be retrieved. The URL MUST point to a direct link to a file.

* The element is identified by a URL fitting the [[rel-design-pattern]], the rel content being <code>enclosure</code>.
* hAlbum MAY include one or more <code>enclosure</code> URLs.
* The type of the file MAY be specified by using the <code>type</code> specifier for a URL.

==== Purchase (Payment) ====

An Purchase URL specifies from where the full version of an audio album may be purchased. The URL MUST point to a page that contains a purchase process.

* The element is identified by a URL fitting the [[rel-design-pattern]], the rel content being <code>payment</code>.
* hAlbum MAY include one or more <code>payment</code> URLs.
* The type of the file MAY be specified by using the <code>type</code> specifier for a URL.

==== Photo ====

A Photo specifies an image that should be used to summarize the audio album. Examples include: an audio album cover image, or a picture from a concert.

* The element is identified by the class name <code>photo</code>.
* hAlbum MAY include one or more <code>photo</code> images.
* The element must be an <img> element.

==== Category ====

The Category specifies the genre or style used to classify the audio album. Examples include: blues, rock, motivational, spoken word, or sound effect.

* The element is identified by the class name <code>category</code>.
* hAlbum MAY include one or more <code>category</code> elements.

==== Duration ====

The Duration specifies the length in time of the audio album in seconds. Examples include: 104 seconds, 3:23, and 4 minutes.

* The element is identified by the class name <code>duration</code>.
* hAlbum MAY include one <code>duration</code> element.
* The contents of the element SHOULD use the [[abbr-design-pattern]] whose title attribute contains an ISO-8601 formatted duration, specifically in seconds. This allows us to expand into specifying time slices and other time markup in the future, but keep parsing simple for now. An example of 3:23 (203 seconds) would be "P203S" in ISO 8601 format. Currently, all abbr attributes specifying duration SHOULD be in seconds.

==== Price ====

The Price specifies the amount of currency that must be exchanged for acquisition of a full specimen of the audio album. Examples include: One Dollar, $2, and £4.

* The element is identified by the class name <code>price</code>.
* hAlbum MAY include one or more <code>price</code> elements.
* The contents of the element SHOULD use the [[currency-proposal]].

==== Track ====

The Track specifies details for a specific track that can be found on the album. hAudio should be used to describe the track.

* The element is identified by the class name <code>track</code>.
* hAlbum MAY include one or more <code>track</code> elements.
* The contents of the element SHOULD use the [[hAudio]] Microformat.

=== More Semantic Equivalents ===

For some properties there is a more semantic equivalent, and therefore they get special treatment, e.g.:

* For any "url", use <code><a class="url" href="...">...</a></code> inside the element with the class name 'halbum' in hAlbum.
* And for "image-summary", use <code><img class="image-summary" src="..." alt="Photo of ..." /></code>

==== Language ====

* To explicitly convey the natural language that an hAlbum is written in, use the standard (X)HTML 'lang' attribute on the element with class="halbum", e.g. <code><div class="halbum" lang="en"> ... </div></code> If portions of an hAlbum (e.g. the item name) are in a different language, use the 'lang' attribute on those portions.
* hAlbum processors which need to handle the language of reviews MUST process the standard (X)HTML 'lang' attribute as specified.

=== Human vs. Machine Readable ===
If an <code><abbr></code> element is used for a property, then its '<code>title</code>' attribute is used for the value of the property, instead of the contents of the element, which can then be used to provide a user-friendly alternate presentation of the value.

Similarly, if an <code><img /></code> element is used for one or more properties, it MUST be treated as follows:

# For the "image-summary" property and any other property that takes a URL as its value, the <code>src="..."</code> attribute provides the property value.
# For other properties, the <code><img /></code> element's '<code>alt</code>' attribute is the value of the property.

=== Notes ===

This section is informative.

* By marking up audio content with the hAlbum microformat, the expectation is communicated that information about the content MAY be indexed. This has no impact on the copyright of the content itself which the publisher may explicitly specify using [[rel-license]] as specified above.
* The enumerated list of item types is under development and may be extended.
* Each type may have custom hAlbum fields that follow the common set.
* Additional details about a particular item should be specified with the rest of the item's info at the URL provided for the item.

== XMDP Profile ==

<pre>
<dl class="profile">
<dt>class</dt>
<dd>
<a rel="help" href="http://www.w3.org/TR/html401/struct/global.html#adef-class">
HTML4 definition of the 'class' attribute.</a>
This meta data profile defines some 'class' attribute values (class names)
and their meanings as suggested by a
<a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/WD-htmllink-970328#profile">
draft of "Hypertext Links in HTML"</a>.
<dl>
<dt>halbum</dt>
<dd>
Used to identify and describe metadata associated with an individual audio album.
</dd>
<dt>album-title</dt>
<dd>
A short textual description used to identify an audio album among interested parties.
</dd>
<dt>collaborator</dt>
<dd>
An entity that takes part in the creation and distribution of an audio album.
</dd>
<dt>published</dt>
<dd>
The date that the audio album was made available to the public.
</dd>
<dt>photo</dt>
<dd>
An image that should be used to summarize the audio album.
</dd>
<dt>category</dt>
<dd>
The genre or style used to classify the audio album.
</dd>
<dt>duration</dt>
<dd>
The length of the audio album.
</dd>
<dt>price</dt>
<dd>
The amount of currency that must be exchanged for acquisition of a full specimen of the audio album.
</dd>
</dd>
</dl>
</pre>

== Examples ==
Here are a few examples of audio content from current web sites, and how they could be easily enhanced to support the hAlbum metadata microformat.

Want to write valid [[halbum|hAlbum]]? Use the [http://microformats.org/code/halbum/creator hAlbum creator] (not implemented yet) to write about audio content and publish it on your blog.

=== Simple Album Example ===

Display:

Underdog World Strike by Gogol Bordello

Microformatted XHTML:

<pre>
<div class="halbum">
Underdog World Strike by
<div class="collaborator">
<div class="vcard">
Gogol Bordello
</div>
</div>
</div>
</pre>

=== More Complex Album Example ===

Display:

Start Wearing Purple found on Underdog World Strike by Gogol Bordello

Microformatted XHTML:

<pre>
<div class="halbum">


Start Wearing Purple


found on
Underdog World Strike by
<div class="collaborator">
<div class="vcard">
Gogol Bordello
</div>
</div>
</div>
</pre>

=== Complete Example ===

An example that uses every element of halbum:

[Image] Live Phish, Volume 15 by Phish 
Released: October 31, 2002 
Acquire: Sample, Live Recording, Buy High Quality Track 
Category: Live 
Duration: 145 minutes, 27 seconds 
Price: $14.99 
 
Tracks: 
1. Sanity (5:48) 
2. Highway To Hell (3:39)

Here is the hAlbum Microformat markup:

<pre>
<div class="halbum">
<img class="photo" src="images/live_phish_vol_15.jpg"/>
Live Phish, Volume 15


Phish


 
Released on:
<abbr class="published" title="20023110">October 31, 2002<abbr>
 
Acquire:
<a rel="sample" href="/samples/live_phish_vol_15_sample.mp3">Sample</a>,
<a rel="enclosure" href="/live/phish_live_phish_vol_15.mp3">Live Recording</a>,
<a rel="payment" href="/buy/phish_live_phish_vol_15">Buy High Quality Track</a>
Category: live
Duration: <abbr class="duration" title="8727">145 minutes, 27 seconds</abbr>
Price: 
<abbr class="currency" title="USD">$</abbr>
14.99

Tracks:
1.

Sanity
(<abbr class="duration" title="348">5:48</abbr>)



2.

Highway To Hell
(<abbr class="duration" title="219">3:39</abbr>)



</div>
</pre>

=== Various Artists Album Example ===

An example of an album with Various Artists (torture test):

[IMAGE]
Artist: Various Artists
Album: Imagine Records
Year: 1994
Price: $1.99

Tracks
# [IMAGE] New Hope Eagle Dance by Bernhardt $0.99
# [IMAGE] Happy Days by Davidson $0.99
# [IMAGE] Secrets of Mine by Roberts $0.99

Here is the hAlbum Microformat markup:

<pre>
<div class="halbum">
<img class="photo" src="images/imagine_records.jpg"/>
Imagine Records


Various Artists


 
Year:
<abbr class="published" title="19940101">1994<abbr>
 
Price:

<abbr class="currency" title="USD">$</abbr>
1.99

 
Tracks:
1.

<img class="photo" src="images/new_hope_eagle_dance.jpg"/>
New Hope Eagle Dance


Bernhardt



<abbr class="currency" title="USD">$</abbr>
0.99



2.

<img class="photo" src="images/happy_days.jpg"/>
Happy Days


Davidson



<abbr class="currency" title="USD">$</abbr>
0.99



3.

<img class="photo" src="images/secrets_of_mine.jpg"/>
Secrets of Mine


Roberts



<abbr class="currency" title="USD">$</abbr>
0.99



</div>
</pre>

== Examples in the wild ==

This section is '''informative'''.

== Implementations ==
This section is '''informative'''.

See [[halbum-implementations|hAlbum Implementations]].

== References ==
=== Normative References ===
* [http://www.w3.org/TR/2002/REC-xhtml1-20020801/ XHTML 1.0 SE]
* [http://gmpg.org/xmdp/ XMDP]
* [[hcard|hCard]]

=== Informative References ===
* [http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-CSS1 CSS1]
* ISO.8601.1988
** International Organization for Standardization, "Data elements and interchange formats - Information interchange - Representation of dates and times", ISO Standard 8601, June 1988.
* [http://www.w3.org/TR/1998/NOTE-datetime-19980827 W3C NOTE-datetime-19980827]
* [http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Patent-Policy-20040205/ W3C Patent Policy]
* Other audio metadata efforts. See [[audio-info-formats]].

==== Similar Work ====
* [[media-info-examples]]
* [[media-info-formats]]
* [[grouping-examples]]
* [[grouping-brainstorming]]

=== Copyright ===

This document and specification was placed into the public domain on August 5th, 2007.

=== Patents ===

The authors of this Microformat have not and will not apply for patents covering any invention covering this Microformat in part or as a whole. There are no claims to any patent in this document. Each author is required to report any known patent issues immediately under this section.

This document and specification is distributed under a royalty free patent policy, e.g. per the W3C Patent Policy (http://www.w3.org/Consortium/Patent-Policy-20040205/), and IETF RFC3667 (http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc3667.txt) & RFC3668 (http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc3668.txt).

== Work in progress ==
This specification is a work in progress. As additional aspects are discussed, understood, and written, they will be added.

== Further Reading ==

=== Mailing List Discussion ===

* Renewed interest in audio-info Microformat
** http://microformats.org/discuss/mail/microformats-new/2007-March/000028.html
** http://microformats.org/discuss/mail/microformats-new/2007-April/000096.html
* Proposed solution to split media-info into audio, video and images
** http://microformats.org/discuss/mail/microformats-new/2007-April/000143.html
* Failed proposal to re-use hReview/hAtom
** http://microformats.org/discuss/mail/microformats-new/2007-April/000138.html
* Requirement to define collections for audio-info
** http://microformats.org/discuss/mail/microformats-new/2007-April/000183.html
* First attempt at hAudio proposal
** http://microformats.org/discuss/mail/microformats-new/2007-May/000252.html
* First attempt at hAudio proposal (continued)
** http://microformats.org/discuss/mail/microformats-new/2007-May/000305.html
* hAtom is not a silver bullet
** http://microformats.org/discuss/mail/microformats-new/2007-May/000316.html
* Second attempt at hAudio
** http://microformats.org/discuss/mail/microformats-new/2007-May/000329.html
* hAudio 'acquire' re-naming
** http://microformats.org/discuss/mail/microformats-new/2007-May/000338.html
* An argument against 'fn' in hAudio
** http://microformats.org/discuss/mail/microformats-new/2007-May/000342.html
* hAudio Test
** http://microformats.org/discuss/mail/microformats-new/2007-May/000377.html
* hAudio - audio-album and audio-podcast
** http://microformats.org/discuss/mail/microformats-new/2007-May/000442.html
* hAudio: relevant UIDs
** http://microformats.org/discuss/mail/microformats-new/2007-June/000491.html
* Sound optimization for hAudio
** http://microformats.org/discuss/mail/microformats-new/2007-June/000450.html
* XOXO + Playlist problem
** http://microformats.org/discuss/mail/microformats-new/2007-June/000482.html
* Reusing class names in multiple formats
** http://microformats.org/discuss/mail/microformats-new/2007-June/000525.html
* audio-title proposal for hAudio
** http://microformats.org/discuss/mail/microformats-new/2007-June/000549.html

=== Specification Development Statistics ===

* Number of examples reviewed: 185
* Total examples analyzed: 105
* Days of development from concept to first draft: 129
* Estimated hours of work by primary investigator on hAlbum: 420
* Estimated combined work hours by mailing list: 270
* Total estimated hours of work to produce halbum draft: 690
* Estimated cost to develop based on $65,000/year salary: $25,600

== Related Pages ==
{{halbum-related-pages}}