Metadata use ideas collecting... :)

Hello!

There has been at least one big thread two years ago on the topic of
metadata on this list. It hasn't produced a lot if I didn't miss
anything. Thomas Zander showed up with a first script based
implemantation of storing of Extended attributes on filesystem with no
support for but it seems to have died the other day.

Now I still don't have a real clue what kind and structure of metadata
are usefull at all. So I would like to collect some ideas. 

What need do you have for metadatas? Post your ideas on this list, we
should collect them and build a concept so some of the coders hanging
around might get the taste and really get on implementing.

To show up with the good example I will start and take my specific need:

I would like free defineable attributs that are bound either to specific
mimetypes or all files. Some are with default values, some not, so they
don't need to be set explicitly on a file. There may be attributes with
a fixed set of values, like

attribut "type" for kword-files has to have a value out of (with
[default]): 
letter, report, chapter, simple, [unknown]

attribut "working state" for all files can have a value out of:
created, work in progress, needs review, almost finished, done

I would like this metadata to be changed by those who have write access
to the file and being the same for all, even those with only read
access.

So I could do hopefully one day in kde (here in commandline style):
find ~/girls -name *loveyou*.kwd -attr "type=letter" -mtime +0 -exec rm
{}\;
or the like ;)

Interchangeability with other systems could be a problem but there will
soon be some standards with a reasonable set I expect. Friends will
adjust their attribute sets.

If you work in a project group you simply have to agree on a common set
of attributes. I don't think this is a great problem. You choose what
you need. No restrictions. 


And what do you expect from metadata?

Friedrich