[linux-audio-dev] XAP: a polemic

[David Olofson]

On Saturday 14 December 2002 19.41, Tim Goetze wrote:
> this is not meant to intimidate, rather to be a wake-up call.

[...many good points elided...]

Well, considering that we seem to have virtually *no* input from 
people with solid experience with software sequencers or traditional 
music theory based processing, I suggest we either decide to build a 
prototype base on what we *know*, or put XAP on hold until we manage 
to get input from people with real experience in more fields.

We do not seem to have sufficient information to answer the following 
questions:

	* Is an explicitly scale related pitch control type needed?

	* Is there a good reason to make event system timestamps
	  relate to musical time rather than audio time?

	* Should plugins be able to ask the sequencer about *any*
	  event, for the full length of the timeline?

	* Is there a need for supporting multiple timelines?


And the most fundamental, and most important question:

	* Is it at all possible, or reasonable, to support
	  sequencers, audio editors and real time synths with
	  one, single plugin API?


If we *had* sufficient information to answer these questions, there 
wouldn't be much of an argument after everyone understood the 
problem. The details would just have been a matter of taste.

Now, we seem to have lots of ideas, but few facts, so there's not 
much point in further discussion. We need to test our ideas in real 
applications, and learn from the experience.


I guess I'm hunting for *real* problems. Please post any ideas you 
might have - I'll try to either explain the solution, implement it, 
or admit that a different design is needed.


//David Olofson - Programmer, Composer, Open Source Advocate

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