PyObjC AVKit Framework

Warnings

• breaking PyObjC 12.0 dropped support for Python 3.9. Ensure your Python version is 3.10 or newer.
  Fix: Upgrade to Python 3.10 or later, or use PyObjC <12.0.
• breaking PyObjC 11.0 dropped support for Python 3.8. Ensure your Python version is 3.9 or newer.
  Fix: Upgrade to Python 3.9 or later, or use PyObjC <11.0.
• gotcha PyObjC 11.1 aligned initializer method behavior with `clang`'s documentation for automatic reference counting. Methods in the 'init' family now correctly steal a reference to `self` and return a new reference, which might change behavior for custom initializers or subclasses.
  Fix: Review custom Objective-C initializers and Python subclasses that override `init` methods to ensure correct reference handling based on ARC rules.
• gotcha When subclassing Objective-C classes in Python and implementing both `__new__` and `__init__`, PyObjC 10.3 initially broke the ability to use `__init__`. While partially re-enabled in 10.3.1 for user-defined `__new__`, code relying on PyObjC's provided `__new__` still cannot use `__init__`.
  Fix: Avoid using `__init__` in conjunction with PyObjC-provided `__new__` for Objective-C subclasses. For user-defined `__new__`, verify `__init__` behavior with 10.3.1+.
• gotcha PyObjC is a macOS-specific library and will not run on other operating systems.
  Fix: Ensure development and deployment environment is macOS.
• gotcha Objective-C method names containing colons (`:`) are translated to Python with underscores (`_`) replacing colons, and an additional trailing underscore for each argument. E.g., `method:arg1 withOtherArgs:arg2` becomes `method_withOtherArgs_(arg1, arg2)`.
  Fix: Consult Objective-C documentation and apply the colon-to-underscore translation when calling methods from Python.

Install

• pip install pyobjc-framework-avkit Install specific AVKit wrapper
• pip install pyobjc Install all PyObjC frameworks (including AVKit)

Imports

• AVPlayer

  from AVKit import AVPlayer

• AVPlayerViewController

  from AVKit import AVPlayerViewController

• NSApplication

  from AppKit import NSApplication

  Commonly used for application lifecycle management alongside AVKit.
• NSURL

  from Foundation import NSURL

  Commonly used for specifying media URLs, part of the Foundation framework.

Quickstart

This example demonstrates how to create a basic macOS application using PyObjC that displays and plays a video using AVKit. It sets up an `NSApplication` with an `NSWindow` and embeds an `AVPlayerViewController` to play a video from a URL. Remember that Objective-C method calls are translated to Python by replacing colons with underscores and appending an underscore for each argument.

import objc
from Foundation import NSURL
from AppKit import NSApplication, NSWindow, NSView, NSNotificationCenter, NSApplicationDidFinishLaunchingNotification, NSObject, NSRect
from AVKit import AVPlayer, AVPlayerViewController

class AppDelegate(NSObject):
    def applicationDidFinishLaunching_(self, notification):
        print("Application finished launching.")
        self.mainWindow = NSWindow.alloc().initWithContentRect_styleMask_backing_defer_(
            NSRect(100, 100, 640, 480),
            4|8|16|1, # Titled | Closable | Miniaturizable | Resizable
            2, # Backing store buffered
            False # Not deferred
        )
        self.mainWindow.setTitle_("PyObjC AVKit Demo")

        # Create an AVPlayer with a sample video URL
        video_url = NSURL.URLWithString_("https://www.learningcontainer.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/sample-mp4-file.mp4")
        self.player = AVPlayer.playerWithURL_(video_url)

        # Create an AVPlayerViewController
        self.playerViewController = AVPlayerViewController.alloc().init()
        self.playerViewController.setPlayer_(self.player)

        # Add the player view controller's view to the window's content view
        playerView = self.playerViewController.view()
        playerView.setFrame_(self.mainWindow.contentView().bounds())
        playerView.setAutoresizingMask_(NSView.ViewWidthSizable | NSView.ViewHeightSizable)
        self.mainWindow.contentView().addSubview_(playerView)

        self.mainWindow.makeKeyAndOrderFront_(self)
        self.player.play()

def main():
    app = NSApplication.sharedApplication()
    delegate = AppDelegate.alloc().init()
    app.setDelegate_(delegate)
    NSApplication.sharedApplication().run()

if __name__ == '__main__':
    main()