MP3Read and MP3Write: Direct Replacements for WAVRead and WAVWrite for Accessing MPEG Audio MP3 Files

mp3read and mp3write are engineered as direct functional replacements for MATLAB's wavread and wavwrite functions, specifically optimized for MPEG audio MP3 file handling. The implementation includes these core features:

- Full syntax compatibility with wavread and wavwrite functions, maintaining identical parameter structures and return formats

- Dynamic downsampling support and multi-channel merging capabilities utilizing the mpg123 decoding backend

- Memory-optimized processing for extended MP3 files through partial decoding algorithms

- popen-based encoding implementation to eliminate temporary file creation (using custom popenw mex functions when available)

- Write protection avoidance for time series files through preliminary "warm-up" sample reading techniques

- Cross-platform binary packages supporting Linux, Windows, Mac PPC, Mac Intel (32-bit and 64-bit architectures)

- Additional functionality exploration for enhanced MP3 file processing and editing capabilities, including advanced audio manipulation algorithms

- Metadata extraction implementation for parsing MP3 file tags including song titles, artist information, album names, and other ID3v2 metadata fields

- Audio conversion capabilities supporting format transformation between MP3 and other formats like WAV, AAC with customizable encoding parameters

- Integrated audio processing effects and filters including audio enhancement algorithms, noise reduction techniques, reverb effects, and equalization processing

- Batch processing support enabling simultaneous handling of multiple MP3 files through optimized parallel processing implementation