Most of the features found on "real" CD players are available in cda, such as shuffle and repeat, and track programming functions. Multi-disc changers are also supported.

The CDDB(tm) Internet CD database feature is supported by cda, which allows the CD artist/title and track titles, and other information associated with the loaded CD to be displayed. This release of cda supports the enhanced CDDB²(tm) Music Recognition Service(sm) on selected platforms, and offers a much richer content than the "classic" CDDB. Moreover, CDDB²-supplied information is now in UTF-8 data format, providing full localization support. See LOCALIZATION below.

No capability is provided to add, modify or submit CDDB entries in cda. You must use the X-based xmcd(1) utility (or another CDDB-enabled application with the apprpriate features) for that purpose.

On systems with more than one CD-ROM or CD-R drive, multiple invocations of cda can be used to operate each drive independently.

Cda is designed to be easy to use, with particular care taken to make all output easily parsable by other programs.

The internal architecture of cda is designed to be easily portable to many UNIX operating system variants, and adaptable to the myriad of CD-ROM drives available.

-dev device

Specifies the path name to the raw CD-ROM device. If this option is not used, the default device to be used is the first drive set up with the xmcd configuration program (See below).

-batch

Signifies that cda should run in batch mode. This suppresses all interaction with the user (i.e., will not prompt the user to type anything). Batch mode is not meaningful in visual mode.

-cddb, -nocddb

Forces the cda client to enable or disable CDDB access. If this option is not specified, then the default is configured via the cddbDisable parameter in the common.cfg file.

-debug level#

Causes verbose debugging diagnostics to be displayed on stderr. Note that if you are running in visual mode, the stderr output should be redirected to a file, or the debug information will corrupt the screen. The level specifies the type of debugging messages desired:

1       General debugging
2       Device I/O debugging
4       CD information debugging

You may add the values together to enable multiple debugging types (i.e., A value of 3 turns on both General and Device I/O debugging).

on

Start the cda daemon.

off

Terminate the cda daemon.

disc <load | eject | prev | next | disc#>

Load or eject the CD, or change discs on a multi-disc changer.

lock <on | off>

Enable/disable the CD disc lock. When locked, the CD cannot be ejected using the CD-ROM front-panel eject button.

play [track# [mm:ss]]

Start playback. If the track# is used, the playback starts from the specified track. The optional mm:ss argument specifies the minutes and seconds offset into the track from where to start playback.

pause

Pauses the playback. Use cda play to resume playback.

stop

Stop the plaback.

track <prev | next>

Proceed to the previous or the next track. This command is only valid when playback is already in progress.

index <prev | next>

Proceed to the previous or the next index. This command is only valid when playback is already in progress.

program [clear | save | track# ...]

If no argument is specified, this command displays the current program play sequence, if any. The clear argument will cause the current program to be cleared. The save argument will save the current program, so that a future load of the same CD will automatically get the program sequence. To define a new program, specify a list of track numbers separated by spaces. To start program play, use the play command. You cannot define a new program while shuffle mode is enabled.

shuffle <on | off>

Enable/disable shuffle play mode. When shuffle is enabled, cda will play the CD tracks in a random order. You can use this command only when audio playback is not in progress. Also, you must clear any program sequence before enabling shuffle.

repeat <on | off>

Enable/disable the repeat mode.

volume [value#]

If no argument is specified, this command displays the current audio volume setting. If a value is used, then the audio volume level is set to the specified value. The valid range is 0 to 100.

balance [value#]

If no argument is specified, this command displays the current balance control setting. If a value is used, then the balance is set to the specified value. The valid range is 0 to 100, where 0 is full left, 50 is center and 100 is full right.

route [stereo | reverse | mono-l | mono-r | mono | value#]

If no argument is specified, this command displays the current channel routing setting. Otherwise, to set the routing, use one of the appropriate keywords or a value as follows:

0       Normal stereo
1       Reverse stereo
2       Mono-L
3       Mono-R
4       Mono-L+R

status [cont [secs#]]

Display the current disc status, disc number, track number, index number, time, modes, and repeat count. If the cont argument is specified, then the display will run continuously until the user types the interrupt character (typically Delete or Ctrl-C). The optional secs sub-argument is the display update time interval. The default is 1 second.

toc [offsets]

Display the CD Table of Contents. The disc artist/title and track titles associated with the current disc, queried from CDDB, is also shown. If the disc has associated notes or credits, an asterisk (*) is displayed after the genre description. Similarly, if a track has associated notes or credits, an asterisk is displayed after the track title.

If the CDDB server cannot determine an exact match for your CD, but found a list of possible matches, then the user will be prompted to select from that list. If batch mode is active (i.e., the -batch option is used), then no such prompt will occur.

If the offsets argument is used, then the track times are the absolute offsets from the start of the CD. Otherwise, the times shown are the track lengths.

extinfo [track#]

Display extended information associated with the current CD, if available from CDDB. If the CD is currently playing, then extended information associated with the playing track is also displayed. If a track number is used in the argument, then the extended information of the specified track is shown instead.

notes [track#]

Display disc notes information text associated with the current CD, if available from CDDB. If the CD is currently playing, then the track notes information associated with the playing track is also displayed. If a track number is used in the argument, then the track notes information text of the specified track is shown instead.

on-load [autolock | noautolock | none | spindown | autoplay]

Display, enable or disable options when a CD is loaded. The autolock option causes the caddy or disc tray to be automatically locked, The spindown option will cause the CD to stop after loading to conserve the laser and motor. The autoplay option will cause the CD to automatically start playing after loading. The none, spindown and autoplay options are mutually-exclusive. If no argument is used, then the current settings are displayed.

on-exit [none | autostop | autoeject]

Display, enable or disable options when the cda daemon exits. The autostop option will cause cda to stop playback, and the autoeject option will cause cda to eject the CD. Use none to cancel these options. If no argument is used, then te current settings are displayed.

on-done [autoeject | noautoeject | autoexit | noautoexit]

Display, enable or disable options when cda is done with playback. The autoeject option causes the cda daemon to eject the CD. The autoexit option will cause the cda daemon to exit. If no argument is used, then the current settings are displayed.

on-eject [autoexit | noautoexit]

Display, enable or disable options when cda ejects a CD. The autoexit option will cause the cda daemon to exit after ejecting the CD. If no argument is used, then the current settings are displayed.

changer [multiplay | nomultiplay | reverse | noreverse]

Display, enable or disable multi-disc changer options. The multiplay option specifies that cda plays all discs in sequence. The nomultiplay option will cause cda to stop after the current disc is done. The reverse option implies multiplay, except that the disc order is reversed. If no argument is used, then the current settings are displayed.

device

Displays the CD-ROM and device information.

version

Displays the cda version and copyright information.

cddbreg

Invoke dialog to register with CDDB in order to access the CDDB² service. This command can be used to do the initial registration, as well as to change or update user registration information. This function is not available with the "classic" CDDB service.

cddbhint

Ask CDDB to send the password hint via e-mail. This is used in case you forget the CDDB user password. The password and password hint are both initially set via the cddbreg command. This function is not available with the "classic" CDDB service.

debug [level#]

Show, or set the debug level. If set, verbose debugging diagnostics will be printed on stderr of the terminal that the cda daemon is started from. If this is the same terminal that is running cda in visual mode, the debug information will corrupt the screen. See the description of the -debug option above for supported debug levels.

visual

Enter an interactive, screen-oriented visual mode. All other cda commands can also be invoked within this mode.

WARNING: If cda is not correctly configured, you may cause cda to deliver commands that are not supported by your CD-ROM drive. Under some environments this may lead to system hang or crash.

The off command (or the F1 (o) function in visual mode) can be used to terminate the cda daemon and release the CD-ROM drive for use by other software.

A minimum screen size of 80 columns by 24 rows is recommended for the visual mode.

Visual mode uses the curses screen library to control the screen. It is essential that the TERM environment variable reflect the current terminal type, which ideally should have 8 (or more) function keys. Since function key definitions in terminfo descriptions are often unreliable, alphabetic key alternatives are also available.

The screen is divided into two windows: an information window and a status window. According to context, the information window displays a help screen, device and version information, disc information and table of contents, or extended information about the track. This window is scrollable if it overflows its allotted screen area. The status window consists of the last few lines of the screen, enclosed in a box. The first line contains the program list, or track number and offset together with volume, balance and stereo/mono information. The remaining lines contain the function keys (with their alphabetic synonymns) and the functions they invoke. These functions are highlighted when they are on, making it easy to see the current state.

Screen annotation and online help make operation self explanatory, but for reference, a list of commands follows. Alphabetic key alternatives to function keys are given in parenthesis.

?

Display help screen. Dismiss this screen by pressing the space bar.

F1 (o)

On/Off. Start or stop the cda daemon.

F2 (j)

Load or eject the CD.

F3 (p)

Play, pause or unpause.

F4 (s)

Stop.

F5 (k)

Enable/disable the CD caddy lock. When locked, the CD cannot be ejected using the CD-ROM front-panel eject button.

F6 (u)

Shuffle/Program. Pressing this key cycles through three states: normal, shuffle and program. In shuffle mode, the tracks of the CD will be played in random order. On entering program mode, cda will prompt for a space or comma separated list of track numbers, representing a desired playing order. The list should be terminated by carriage return. An empty list returns cda to normal mode. Shuffle and program mode cannot be engaged unless a CD is loaded but not playing or paused.

F7 (e)

Enable/disable repeat mode.

F8 (q)

Terminate the visual mode. If the cda daemon is running, a reminder of the fact is given and it is allowed to continue. The CD-ROM drive will continue operating in the same state. Cda may be invoked again in either visual or line mode when required.

D/d

Change to the previous/next disc on multi-disc changes.

Cursor left/right (C/c)

Previous/next track. This is only valid if playback is already in progress.

</>

Proceed to the previous/next index mark. This is only valid if playback is already in progress.

Cursor up/down (^/v)

Scroll the information portion of the screen up or down. It may be scrolled up only until the last line is on the top line of the screen, and may not be scrolled down beyond the initial position. The initial scroll position is restored when different information is displayed, (e.g., when switching to or from the help information).

+/-

Increase or decrease volume by 5%.

l/r

Move balance 5% to left or right.

Tab

Successive depressions of this key change the mode from stereo to mono, mono right, mono left, reverse stereo, and back to normal stereo.

<n> [mins secs]

Proceed to track n at mins minutes and secs seconds from the start. If mins secs is not given, start at the beginning of track n.

^l/^r

Control-l or control-r repaints the screen. This is useful if the screen has been corrupted (e.g., by operator messages sent by the wall(1M) command).

The CDDB²-supplied data, in UTF-8 data format, is displayed without modification in cda.

If you desire to view data in languages other than English or the ISO-8859 family of European languages, you may need to configure your display terminal to display the appropriate fonts (if the terminal has such capabilities). Terminal font configuration is device-dependent, OS-dependent and beyond the scope of this document. Please see your display terminal's documentation (or in the case of a computer graphics console, the operating system's console font related documentation for information.