The ZPL (Zoom Player Playlist) Format

Introduction

Many applications prefer XML for their playlist file formats, but Zoom Player takes a different approach. XML, while widely used, comes with significant overhead. It's inherently complex and slow to parse, making it less efficient for tasks that require quick and seamless performance. Playlists, in particular, don't need the extensive capabilities that XML offers. They require a straightforward and efficient format that prioritizes speed and simplicity. By avoiding XML, Zoom Player ensures that users experience fast loading times even when working with massive playlists.

The Format

Zoom Player's ZPL Playlist format is very simple. It consist of text tags, each on its own line (to make parsing faster). Each file entry ends with a special break tag. Zoom Player's playlists are unicode text files in order to support NON-English and even emoji file names.

Example

I hope this blog post has helped you learn more about the ZPL format. If you have any questions or feedback, please share them on Zoom Player's sub-reddit.