We now have some confirmed WWDC sessions and labs for Final Cut Server. There is a specific one on Final Cut Server integration, with the description being:
"Final Cut Server provides powerful media asset management and workflow automation tools that you can easily integrate with other applications in your environment. Real-world examples form the basis of this session, including integration with Ruby on Rails to make a web-based Review and Approval site, and workflow customizations to streamline content delivery to Podcast Producer. Find out how to apply the techniques and expertise used in these examples to improve your system's features and functionality."
So we'll be showing how you can integrate with web applications etc. And one of the lab sessions will be for asking integration questions.
We'll have more specific supporting material available in that time frame, but for a quick answer to your questions:
1. There is an 'Run an external script or command' response in Final Cut Server. This allows you to run ANY executable on the machine running Final Cut Server server (as opposed to the Java client). So, this could be a shell or ruby script, or even a complied C program. If using Applescript, it is best called from 'osascript'.
The response has a field for 'Command Parameters', where you can put whatever the executable requires. In this field you can also substitute the contents of any metadata field (eg, keywords, description, status). This substitution mechanism works the same as described for email responses in the Admin Manual.
The responses can be triggered by a number of different mechanisms - eg: a metadata field changing; a user logging in; at a specific time; from a 'watch' folder.
2. Final Cut Server has a Read XML response and a Write XML response. The Write XML response can be called to write all metadata fields for a production or asset to an XML file. The Read XML response can be used to modify metadata for a given entity, based on it's unique Asset ID or Production ID.
So by using a combination of these responses and the subscription architecture available in Final Cut Server, there is alot of potential for integration with external applications and round tripping. This and more will be covered in the WWDC talks.
Hope this helps,
Matt