I would like to suggest the adoption of a Roon Developer Program if no such thing exists currently. If there is such a thing, how can I join? Currently there is a lot of info in the forums and that’s great. What I would like to avoid are things like Roon changing the port range as it did in the most recent update and that breaking some extensions that assumed port 9100. Communicating upcoming changes that may have some impact on use of the API or other areas extension developers are using would avoid many of these pitfalls. Yes, we should not have been assuming port 9100, our bad. Live and learn.
I worked in a developer program for many years at a Unix firm here in Santa Cruz. The 3rd party developers who participated in that program really appreciated our collaboration and we benefited significantly from not only improved 3rd party development and stability but significantly increased developer enthusiasm and capability. It’s a win-win.
Collaboration between vendors and developers is a two way street. A vendor can inform the developer community of planned changes and the developer community can provide not only feedback but assist in design and direction of improvements at all stages of development.
A robust developer program does not come without cost though. It really needs a dedicated staff with strong communication skills and proper channels of communication with the developer community. There may need to be some form of registration, etc. Workshops, guides, early access, validation and testing, conferences, where does it all end? A simple start with early access to alpha/beta rollouts for testing and a roadmap would be a good start. We can wait for the big Roon Developer Conference for later.
It’s just a suggestion. Please consider.
