[LAD] Finding ALSA sequencer client/port numbers

[Lieven Moors]

On Fri, Apr 22, 2011 at 10:30:55PM +0000, Fons Adriaensen wrote:
> On Fri, Apr 22, 2011 at 06:06:54PM -0400, David Robillard wrote:
>  
> > Alsa sequencer names aren't unique or intended for use as identifiers,
> > you probably don't want to do this if it's at all possible to avoid...
> 
> If that's true, what purpose do they have at all ?
> 
> In this concrete case, I have Python class which acts as 
> an interface to the Novation Launchpad. I want its ports
> to connect to the launchpad, as any other connection
> wouldn't make any sense at all. I know the names of
> the required ports, but not the numbers.
> 
> Ciao,
> 
> -- 
> FA

I find this very strange as well.

I had a similar problem in my studio when I wanted to restore 
connections with multiple ZynaddsubFX instances. All the port names
were the same, so I had no way of knowing which was which.
And the client ID is not much help either, because it completely
depends on the order in which you start the applications.
In the end, the only thing I could do was patch ZynaddsubFX so
it would make unique port names. It was very hard to code such
a simple thing, because like you, I couldn't find a way to get
an id from a name...

What's the use of having a name if it is not unique?

greetings,

lieven