Subject: Re: [linux-audio-dev] Plugin APIs (again)
From: Tim Hockin (thockin_AT_hockin.org)
Date: Wed Dec 04 2002 - 19:19:50 EET
> In modular synth systems there are good reasons why you want to know
> whether things are connected (and good reasons why they wouldn't be), but
> this spec so far is not useful to a modular synth, so in this case I
> agree.
Can you expound, if only for curiosity? Both reasons why it's useful for
modular synths and why this API is not?
> Interleaved data is more trouble that its worth IMNSHO. I think
I agree with that.
> multichannel outputs are extra complexity with no benefit.
I'm coming round
> I'm not sure what peoples opinions on numbers of outputs are, obviously the
> number needs to be variable per instrument at development time, but I dont
> think it should be variable at instantiation time, that doesn't sound
> useful, and it would be hell to optimise.
I'd agree with this, but for a few exceptions:
* Mixer plugin. I really do want it to have a variable number of inputs. I
don't want to say 48-channels or 128-channels.
> It seems like you need two sets, per instrument and per voice, they should
> share the same interface, and the per voice ones definatly should not be
> limited to modulation,chorus,whatever.
what if each control has an int per_voice; field. If the field is 0, that
param is not modulatable per-voice. If it is > 0, it is an instrument-unique
ID which can be used by the host to modify that param:
plug->voice_change(plug, voice_id, param_id, value);
(or whatever it will look like if we go the way of all events).
Can we assume that all voices have a standard control mapped to velocity? Or
should the per-voice controls actually be another set of controls, and each
instrument needs to specify velocity,pitchbend (and others)?
As a similar: should instrument plugins be providing hints as to their
MIDI-equivalent functionality? CC-equivalent numbers per control, perhaps?
> My feeling is that just float+"arbitrary opaque binary data" is enough.
> The float can be augmented with hints, enumerations, whatever.
String is needed if we want to deal with filenames without a custom GUI.
Opaque binary data has no meaning to the host, and the host is what
manipulates controls. Where does it get that data?
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