Original Post
This is going to be a bit lengthy, I always tend to give too much information. But what I want is very specific, however what I want may be wrong. Skip down to the "Questions" portion if you don't care about the why.
Purpose:
Create a program that will handle current criteria with minimal impact to existing network structure, which poor at best. Learn more about programming and thinking abstractly when being forced to use systems already in place rather than inventing a new one. Also to document the process in case anyone having a situation similar to mine will be able to easily identify the steps and solve their issue quicker.
Problem:The issue I am currently attempting to solve is that I have multiple files, on multiple HDDs, on multiple computers(rudimentary home network), all of which I want to access through one Virtual drive. I want to access it through virtual drive so that I can just share that one drive and have all computers access just those files. To narrow it down even further, the intended purpose is to share that virtual drive with a PS3 Media server and the computer that hooks up to the TV for movie viewing.
I have found out that the PS3 recognizes Directory Junctions made with the cmd prompt, I am relatively certain it will recognize hard links with the command 'mklink' as well. CMD is a bit limited in what I'd like to create that will handle this whole process for me. Rather than just download a program that will do this, I want to learn more about programming by doing this task.
Intended Solution:
Create a program in C# or C++(both of which I have rudimentary knowledge of) that will scan selected directories and/or drives for files of type " \\...\*.avi/mp4/mp3/mkv etc..." make a symlink in a target directory of my choosing, in a sub-directory based on criteria(genre/year/alphabetically) that is provided manually or automatically through a script I may write later to learn Python, that can either grab a name automatically or allow me to edit the name.
Add a .bat file to startup that will
I intend to have an actual GUI, and when I select run it will scan the selected directories, compared the results from the scan and compare with an index file to determine if the movie has already had a link created with it. I don't intend to have the original file renamed at any point negating a large portion of the negative aspects of using an index file that holds all the files that have already had a symlink created on their behalf.
Unless there is a better solution I intend to have copies of the Symlink in each folder that the movie falls under. E.G. - Unstoppable would have a Symlink's created in:
With this I hope to have it as close to a service like Netflix making it an easy to use file structure that can be used on a multitude of platforms(360/PS3/PC/Phone) that connect to my home network wirelessly.
Questions:
[s]-Is there a way I can search by a type of all video/audio formats rather than making a list of all formats and searching that way?[/s]
[s]-Is using C#(preferred language) possible to create a system like this?[/s]
[s]-Would I be better off just learning and making a Python script to accomplish the goals?[/s]
[s]-Is there a better solution than using Symlinks to have a directory storing all files I want pointed there, without that directory taking up the space on the HDD with the junctions?[/s]
-I have looked, but found very limited information on this topic. In regards to Symlinks, is there a good source that you know of that I may look at, read and solve the problem with lots of critical thought?
-Any advice you have, I will gladly take.
-More questions to come as my progress moves forward
Progress:
-Create GUI that has functionality - Current Task
-Create Symlinks Automatically based off of criteria input in the GUI
-Scan directories and create Symlinks based off of criteria input in the GYI
-Create directories and sub-directories containing Symlinks
-Bug Fixes
*Note*
Will post source code as I go, if you feel like critiquing it I will probably love you forever.
Purpose:
Create a program that will handle current criteria with minimal impact to existing network structure, which poor at best. Learn more about programming and thinking abstractly when being forced to use systems already in place rather than inventing a new one. Also to document the process in case anyone having a situation similar to mine will be able to easily identify the steps and solve their issue quicker.
Problem:The issue I am currently attempting to solve is that I have multiple files, on multiple HDDs, on multiple computers(rudimentary home network), all of which I want to access through one Virtual drive. I want to access it through virtual drive so that I can just share that one drive and have all computers access just those files. To narrow it down even further, the intended purpose is to share that virtual drive with a PS3 Media server and the computer that hooks up to the TV for movie viewing.
I have found out that the PS3 recognizes Directory Junctions made with the cmd prompt, I am relatively certain it will recognize hard links with the command 'mklink' as well. CMD is a bit limited in what I'd like to create that will handle this whole process for me. Rather than just download a program that will do this, I want to learn more about programming by doing this task.
Intended Solution:
Create a program in C# or C++(both of which I have rudimentary knowledge of) that will scan selected directories and/or drives for files of type " \\...\*.avi/mp4/mp3/mkv etc..." make a symlink in a target directory of my choosing, in a sub-directory based on criteria(genre/year/alphabetically) that is provided manually or automatically through a script I may write later to learn Python, that can either grab a name automatically or allow me to edit the name.
Add a .bat file to startup that will
subst x: D:\Junction and all of the symlinks will be created in a directory structure similar to:
D:\Junction\All\...
D:\Junction\Action\...
D:\Junction\Anime\...
etc...I intend to have an actual GUI, and when I select run it will scan the selected directories, compared the results from the scan and compare with an index file to determine if the movie has already had a link created with it. I don't intend to have the original file renamed at any point negating a large portion of the negative aspects of using an index file that holds all the files that have already had a symlink created on their behalf.
Unless there is a better solution I intend to have copies of the Symlink in each folder that the movie falls under. E.G. - Unstoppable would have a Symlink's created in:
\\...\All
\\...\Suspense
\\...\Drama
With this I hope to have it as close to a service like Netflix making it an easy to use file structure that can be used on a multitude of platforms(360/PS3/PC/Phone) that connect to my home network wirelessly.
Questions:
[s]-Is there a way I can search by a type of all video/audio formats rather than making a list of all formats and searching that way?[/s]
[s]-Is using C#(preferred language) possible to create a system like this?[/s]
[s]-Would I be better off just learning and making a Python script to accomplish the goals?[/s]
[s]-Is there a better solution than using Symlinks to have a directory storing all files I want pointed there, without that directory taking up the space on the HDD with the junctions?[/s]
-I have looked, but found very limited information on this topic. In regards to Symlinks, is there a good source that you know of that I may look at, read and solve the problem with lots of critical thought?
-Any advice you have, I will gladly take.
-More questions to come as my progress moves forward
Progress:
-Create GUI that has functionality - Current Task
-Create Symlinks Automatically based off of criteria input in the GUI
-Scan directories and create Symlinks based off of criteria input in the GYI
-Create directories and sub-directories containing Symlinks
-Bug Fixes
*Note*
Will post source code as I go, if you feel like critiquing it I will probably love you forever.