Add properties to AudioFormat, and AudioFileFormat


This RFE proposes the following methods to be added:

Methods:
Map<String,Object> AudioFileFormat.properties()
Object AudioFileFormat.getProperty(String key)


The current AudioFileFormat class makes it impossible to account for meta data included in audio files, e.g. the ID3 tag in mp3 files or the LIST chunk in WAVE files. So, as an example, an mp3 file's AudioFileFormat might include these properties:
key="auhor", value="Florian Bomers"
key="title", value="My Life"
etc.
It is up to the implementor to properly document the keys and their values.

The same applies to MidiFileFormat.

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N/A

 xxxxx@xxxxx  2002-04-25
	These 3 methods will enable a lot of new possibilities with the Java Sound API, i.e. much easier and nicer support for plugins that extract audio data (ripping), multi-channel audio, mp3 playback and encoding. It is also enabling a platform-independent implementation of Digital Rights Management systems, and quality of service for media players.


 xxxxx@xxxxx  2003-01-27
	Should be discussed if the setProperty() is a good idea, since AudioFormat and AudioFileFormat are immutable otherwise. 2 solutions for keeping them immutable:
1) make setProperty() a protected method
2) add a new constructor with an additional properties parameter



 xxxxx@xxxxx  2003-09-20
	Split this RFE up: this RFE handles AudioFileFormat and MidiFileFormat (for meta data-type of properties). RFE 4925767: "Add Properties to AudioFormat" handles the properties for AudioFormat (format-qualifying properties).

Very good idea. The API looks easy to understand and easy to
implement. My doubts are how collections of information
(e.g. a list of loop points) can be easily expressed with
this approach.