Codec
From http://gstreamer.freedesktop.org/documentation/splitup.html:
THE GOOD
Such ingratitude. After all the times I've saved your life.
A collection of plug-ins you'd want to have right next to you on the battlefield. Shooting sharp and making no mistakes, these plug-ins have it all: good looks, good code, and good licensing. Documented and dressed up in tests. If you're looking for a role model to base your own plug-in on, here it is.
If you find a plot hole or a badly lip-synced line of code in them, let us know - it is a matter of honour for us to ensure Blondie doesn't look like he's been walking 100 miles through the desert without water.
THE UGLY
When you have to shoot, shoot. Don't talk.
There are times when the world needs a color between black and white. Quality code to match the good's, but two-timing, backstabbing and ready to sell your freedom down the river. These plug-ins might have a patent noose around their neck, or a lock-up license, or any other problem that makes you think twice about shipping them.
We don't call them ugly because we like them less. Does a mother love her son less because he's not as pretty as the other ones ? No - she commends him on his great personality. These plug-ins are the life of the party. And we'll still step in and set them straight if you report any unacceptable behaviour - because there are two kinds of people in the world, my friend: those with a rope around their neck and the people who do the cutting.
THE BAD
That an accusation?
No perfectly groomed moustache or any amount of fine clothing is going to cover up the truth - these plug-ins are Bad with a capital B. They look fine on the outside, and might even appear to get the job done, but at the end of the day they're a black sheep. Without a golden-haired angel to watch over them, they'll probably land in an unmarked grave at the final showdown.
Don't bug us about their quality - exercise your Free Software rights, patch up the offender and send us the patch on the fastest steed you can steal from the Confederates. Because you see, in this world, there's two kinds of people, my friend: those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig.
gst-plugins-good a set of plug-ins that we consider to have good quality code, correct functionality, our preferred license (LGPL for the plug-in code, LGPL or LGPL-compatible for the supporting library).
- We believe distributors can safely ship these plug-ins
- People writing elements should base their code on these elements
gst-plugins-ugly a set of plug-ins that have good quality and correct functionality, but distributing them might pose problems. The license on either the plug-ins or the supporting libraries might not be how we'd like. The code might be widely known to present patent problems.
- Distributors should check if they want/can ship these plug-ins
- People writing elements should base their code on these elements
gst-plugins-bad a set of plug-ins that aren't up to par compared to the rest. They might be close to being good quality, but they're missing something - be it a good code review, some documentation, a set of tests, a real live maintainer, or some actual wide use. If the blanks are filled in they might be upgraded to become part of either gst-plugins-good or gst-plugins-ugly, depending on the other factors.
- If the plug-ins break, you can't complain - instead, you can fix the problem and send us a patch, or bribe someone into fixing them for you
- New contributors can start here for things to work on