Allow absolute URLs for assets

[eteubert]

@douglaskastle I'm considering reverting #1211 because the current implementation has side effects and conceptual flaws.

In short:

This only works as expected if only one asset is defined, the mp3 default asset. If you add any other asset (image, audio, anything), they all return the same URL.

More thoughts:

The above is unacceptable as it breaks the asset system. It would only be ok as an explicit "easy mode" that only allows the default mp3 asset and hides the asset screen. It's unclear how the podcast would transition from "easy mode" to "normal mode" when needed.

To make this more generic, there needs to be a user interface to add an absolute URL per asset instead of reusing the singular slug field. The URL might be stored in the podlove_mediafile table in a new dedicated column.

Since this needs a new UI anyway, the following "media file UI" should be scrapped and redone to allow for URL input and ideally an integration with the WordPress media picker.

[douglaskastle]

By all means revert, I have to say the frame work you have is quite massive and it is a bit hard for a newbie to understand the full dependency of a request like that. I obviously would still like to see it go in, I wouldn't mind, if it is only available as a expert mode setting, but the default is the original, does that makes sense?

Since I originally thought of the idea, it was mainly to allow me to sunset old episodes in one hosting location which being able to post newer episodes is a higher level hosting provider. The podcast namespace talk is looking at some similar bits and maybe an enhancement work would dovetail with the alternateEnclosure tag:

Podcastindex-org/podcast-namespace#174 (comment)

I am unsure if that is a tag you are interested in implementing (just because they list it doesn't mean you have to implement it of course), but I viewed this being implemented, almost like the way contributors are done, one by default and then a + to add more. Maybe it is a different issue, or maybe it should be folded into this discussion.

I really would like to help make this happen, but I have to admit my free time and my php skills are not great right now. Trying to add the location tag to the episodes page is showing me what I don't know. I'd get it done, but it could be 2024 or 2025 the rate I am going right now!

[eteubert]

I have to say the frame work you have is quite massive and it is a bit hard for a newbie to understand the full dependency of a request like that.

I totally understand. Some areas are easier to work on than others but this is one that goes straight through the core and when you pull a thread, the whole thing starts shifting.

Still, I appreciate your effort and I believe we learned something through trial and error here. I do not suggest for you to try and implement what I suggested above as it is indeed a massive undertaking that touches a lot of code that has been there since the first version of the plugin.

I'll keep thinking about the idea of the "simple mode" however I worry it creates another layer of complexity (ironically).

If you're still motivated, the geolocation feature should me much more standalone and therefore easier to develop than this.