SEP 49: Handler for asset referencing
With SEP 48: Remove assets from notes directory on the road map I still want to preserve the ability to build the site fully locally with asset preview etc.
The way forward I see here is in the use of an asset manifest that tracks all referenced assets. This manifest would be able to specify a local or remote (either or both) source for the asset, give information as to itโs type (eg image/jpeg; document/pdf; text/html), specify creation date, location, title and alt-text, and almost above all, offer a stable UUID for referencing the asset.
JSON seems a sensible format for this manifest. Each object in the manifest would resemble the following:
"c871b94a-1ef0-47d2-9251-cfd7842c03e8": {
"type": "image",
"class": "photograph",
"title": "Title of the photograph",
"alt": "Optional alt text (title used if not present)",
"src": {
"old": "",
"local": "",
"remote":""
}
}
As with transclusion and short referencing this should be strictly enforced, with a build failing when any non-existent or colliding asset is referenced.
See previous proposals involving handlers: SEP 45: Transclusion of documents, SEP 44: Short Reference Syntax, and ๐ SEP 8: Create a shorthand for proposals.
The argument against this proposal
It would not be uncharitable to suggest that this proposal would introduce an added layer of indirection between a reference to an asset and the asset itself. Perhaps this comes at the cost of greater conceptual complexity. For now I believe this complexity is both manageable and warranted.