Apple warning DJs to stick with macOS Mojave for now
The ability to export a XML playlist in real time to other applications is gone from the Music app on macOS Catalina, breaking cross-application compatibility.
In iTunes in macOS Sierra, High Sierra, and Mojave, users could grant permission for other applications to look at the iTunes database. Other applications like Traktor can use that information stored in the iTunes database, which is in essence an XML file, providing users easy playlist and track location in the midst of what can be tens of thousands of music files lurking on a hard drive.
Catalina has done away with the ability to Share iTunes Library XML with other applications in its entirety. The Music app still has the ability to export a static XML file in a one-time affair invoked by the user, but it is not in real-time.
Windows users who use iTunes are not impacted by the removal. Apple has done nothing other than security updates to iTunes for Windows.
Sources inside Apple not authorized to speak on behalf of the company have said that the Music app on the Mac is brand new with a modern library format. If developers followed the tools that Apple has provided, there is still direct access to playlists and stored music through iTunes APIs, but direct access to the iTunes library using XML is no longer available.
Additionally, the same Apple sources say that the company is working closely with app developers to make sure their software is updated and compatible with Catalina.
Traktor developers Native Instruments say that they are working on a workaround for Catalina. Atomix, developers of Virtual DJ, told DJ Tech Tools that "VirtualDJ will support and work with Apple Music app, we are currently stress-testing it a bit, and should be out in Public Version real soon."
In iTunes in macOS Sierra, High Sierra, and Mojave, users could grant permission for other applications to look at the iTunes database. Other applications like Traktor can use that information stored in the iTunes database, which is in essence an XML file, providing users easy playlist and track location in the midst of what can be tens of thousands of music files lurking on a hard drive.
Catalina has done away with the ability to Share iTunes Library XML with other applications in its entirety. The Music app still has the ability to export a static XML file in a one-time affair invoked by the user, but it is not in real-time.
Windows users who use iTunes are not impacted by the removal. Apple has done nothing other than security updates to iTunes for Windows.
Sources inside Apple not authorized to speak on behalf of the company have said that the Music app on the Mac is brand new with a modern library format. If developers followed the tools that Apple has provided, there is still direct access to playlists and stored music through iTunes APIs, but direct access to the iTunes library using XML is no longer available.
Additionally, the same Apple sources say that the company is working closely with app developers to make sure their software is updated and compatible with Catalina.
Traktor developers Native Instruments say that they are working on a workaround for Catalina. Atomix, developers of Virtual DJ, told DJ Tech Tools that "VirtualDJ will support and work with Apple Music app, we are currently stress-testing it a bit, and should be out in Public Version real soon."
Comments
So rather than Apple changing how the information is accessed, they're actually providing a standard way to access the data that won't break every time they make changes to the library format.
It also means that developers won't need to write and maintain custom code to rifle through the database, instead the API will just handle that on their behalf.
So yeah, on one hand it sucks that all the apps need to have an update to keep working with the latest version, but arguably they would always be playing cat and mouse with the library format anyway, meaning this change will reduce their workload in the future.
So there should never be any improvements to software unless something is broken? “Yyyyeaaaahh...”
I'm not going to even start about people who call Microsoft's SQL Server product "Sequel."
SQL as acronym: "an SQL"
SQL as initialism: "a SQL"
However, I was referring to "XML" in the first sentence. Neither the pronounced "X", nor the word for which it stands, "extensible", begin with a consonant sound. Your use of "a" there is awkward at best.