Logging Variables: Item Type?

English General
1

Is there a logging variable which returns the Type (Music, Jingle, etc.) of the item being logged?
That would be very helpful.

Also, has anyone else noticed that %g in a logging Format string returns a GUID? I don’t know if it’s a ‘freshly created’ GUID or if it’s a GUID related in some way to the item being logged.

BFN
CAD

2

There’s no variable for the item type yet, but I can add one. Which letter do you propose?

The GUID you get with %g is a “unique identifier” for this particular playout event. Each time you start an item, a new GUID is generated. When you stop the player again, the same GUID is passed to the stop logging. The internal mAirListDB logging uses the GUID in stop logging in order to identify the start logging entry and update it with the actual playback duration. (Remember that the same file/item can play twice at the same time, so the DB needs to know which one was stopped.)

3

I think %I would be the best choice for item type, given the letters which are already in use.

Thanks!

BFN
CAD

4

Will be added to the next build.

May I assume that it’s favorable to use the internal item type IDs (usually the same text as the one displayed in the combo boxes, but without any spaces - e.g. “StationID” vs. “Station ID”)? Because they are always in English, no matter what language the GUI is set to.

5

My personal preference would be to have the same text that appears in the combo boxes, but it’s no big deal either way.

PS: I found a typo in another text string. :slight_smile: “Not a valid DigAS Show file. Ivalid start tag %s” should read Invalid. Obscure, I know, but … !

BFN
CAD

6

I have added both %I (item type as ID) and %J (item type as text, as in the dropdown) now.

I haven’t had the time to correct the typo yet.

7

I have added another variable, %C for comment, in Build 905.

8

The GUID would be really useful for some improvements I’m looking to make to our log script / database, particularly for working out the duration in this way.

Do you have an example of a GUID? I’m just wondering if the length is always the same, or if it is more like an incrementing number?

Many thanks.

9

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globally_unique_identifier

In the context of logging, expect %g to contain a random string of random length. Currently, GUIDs are used because they provide a reasonable way to generate such random strings. But that could change anytime without further notice.