[Flac-dev] Support for CAF in flac command-line?

Brian Willoughby
Mon, 13 Oct 2008 06:37:38 -0000

I will quote from the CAF spec:

"This document is intended for anyone who needs to understand the
structure of CAF files. You can use the information in this document,
for example, to write a CAF parser or to extend the types of data
stored in CAF files. Because CAF files offer many advantages over
other audio file formats, anyone writing an application for Mac OS X
that reads or writes audio files should read at least the overview
chapter to gain an understanding of the features of CAF files. In
addition, you need the information in this document if you want to use
CAF files on other platforms.
End users of professional audio software may be interested in this
document in order to learn more about the capabilities of software
that supports CAF."

IANAL, but I sure hope Apple wouldn't sue someone who "write[s] a CAF
parser" or "want[s] to use CAF files on other platforms."
Hopefully,
the existence of libsndfile support for CAF shows that the format is
open.

Brian Willoughby
Sound Consulting


On Oct 12, 2008, at 22:27, Michael Crawford wrote:
> My hunch is that Apple does not want to encumber
> the format, but I'll let their public documents speak for them.  In
> any event, it's a very good issue to be aware of from the start.

I'm afraid AAC (MPEG-4 audio) has many, many patents. Unlike MP3, one
cannot even distribute the binary of an Open Source player.  AAC
stands for Apple Audio Codec - it's their lossy codec.