Tom;
> I came to use pd/max/csound blah blah after many years spent patching real
> cables and messing with desks, fx pedals,microphones and midi cables.
> I think the analogy to physical patching in systems like pd/max really
> helps for people who come from this more physical setup?
>
> maybe the same reason I actually like 'desktops' in OSs too..
>
I find the analogy works in some places and not in others. I patched
graphically/physically for quite a while before getting into coding and
found it works very well for sound design and less so for logical
structures. A graphical layout is great for expressing relations and
structures and less so for expressing calculation order, which can be very
important in sequencing. I think ChucK picks a interesting middle ground
there, using code with visual analogies to express signal flow.
Considder;
//this is basically a diagram that is also code
SawOsc my_signal => LPF my_filter => ADSR my_envelope => dac;
Note that this "diagram", like any other line of code, will construct a
patch at a moment depending on where it occurs in the code, creating both a
visual analogy for the signal flow as well as the chance to express
calculation order precisely. Also note we may use "modules" of a type that
depends on conditions, something not easily expressed in pure diagrams.
Yours,
Kas.
Received on Mon Oct 05 2009 - 16:37:11 BST