On Thu, 18 Apr 2002, Rob Leslie wrote:
On Thursday, April 18, 2002, at 12:58 AM, Joshua Haberman wrote:
Wow, is this intentionally being withheld by Xiph so they can sell their fixed-point decoder without competition, or is a specification forthcoming?
I doubt the specification is being intentionally withheld, but the situation does beg the question.
From the FAQ, it reads like Vorbis is a perpetual "work in progress", and
that they intend to codify it at certain "stable points" (that is, of course, my -reading- of the FAQ; your interpretation may vary :) ). In particular, this question and its answer lead me to that conclusion:
Why a forward adaptive format?
For maximum flexibility. Vorbis is meant to be actively researched and improved, so the engine, specification and algorithms are generalized to an unusual level. Although forward adaptive algorithms are probably slightly anachronistic today, their flexibility can't be beat.