Subject: Re: [linux-audio-dev] do YOU support LASDPA? (was Re: Linux Audio plugin API's: where arewe ?)
From: David O'Toole (dto_AT_qwsi.net)
Date: Fri Apr 07 2000 - 03:41:57 EEST
Kai Vehmanen wrote:
> I know there a few hundred people reading this. Now I'd really
> like to hear from as many of you as possible: are you interested
> in adding LADSPA hosting to your app and/or write LADSPA plugins?
> If not, please tell us why. If the API is not good enough, what's
> the biggest problem? ...
I'm developing GNU's "OCTAL" project, which has its own plugin API--like
the Buzz API for windows, it's for "high-level" unit generators with
tracker-style interfaces (i.e., not general synth programming.) It is
intentionally similar (though extended in some crucial areas) to the
Buzz API for familiarity reasons. The Buzz API has been enormously
popular on Windows, so I hope to encourage porting in this way (I've
been in touch with a number of plugin developers from that world, in
addition to UNIX people who are interested.)
I have been watching the development of LADSPA for some time now, and my
primary reasons for not using it as the primary API are:
1. Isn't very focused or stable (constantly changing)
2. I would just have to reimplement the specialized tracker features on
top of LADSPA
3. seems very focused on DSP-primitives and interconnections thereof,
which isn't the point of high-level UG environments
However, it might be useful to add additional LADSPA effect support at
some later date--this is an area where LADSPA's goal of "just a wrapper
for a function operating on buffers" might work to some extent within
the OCTAL model.
It's not that it isn't "good enough". IMO we would just end up altering
it to our specific application's needs, and then it would basically be
multiple specialized API's. Since the OCTAL API is fully-functioning and
nearly completed, I'm not sure what real benefit would be derived by
using LADSPA.
-- @@@ david o'toole @@@ dto_AT_gnu.org @@@ www.gnu.org/software/octal
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