[linux-audio-user] CLI vs. GUI and other Linux sound issues, was FOLKS, PAY ATTENTION TO NOTEEDIT

[Dave Phillips]

I. I. Ooisen wrote:

>>However, I recognize that I am not like most musicians.  Since no
>>one else here is either, I felt someone needed to stick up for
>>them.  So many people seem to wonder why more musicians aren't
>>using Linux.... the "use the command line, it's better"
>>mentality is one of them.  Most musicians and many recording
>>engineers are going to think something's gone horribly wrong if
>>they see a command line.
>>    
>>
>right. "command line", the way we see it now, is a primitive way to put 
>a computer to work.
>  
>
No, it's a very powerful way of working with a computer. As Emiliano 
noted, there are certain tasks that are best suited to a GUI and others 
that are best served from the command prompt. I will agree that many 
(most?) musical tasks are best served by the GUI approach. However, as a 
professional writer I wouldn't give up vi, sed, and awk for any POS word 
processor.

However, the "command-line is better" argument is not one that gets made 
so often anymore when it comes to Linux sound and music applications. 
With the exceptions of the ALSA utilities, ecasound, and SoX, I'm not 
sure what CLI soundapps are in common use. Every notable Linux soundapp 
is a full-bore GUI-laden application these days. GUI front-ends are 
available even for ecasound and SoX.

I believe the primary reasons more musicians don't use Linux have to do 
with at least these conditions:

  1. The perpetuation of outmoded perceptions re: usability and interfaces.
  2. The lack of wide hardware manufacturer support.
  3. The reticence of the major music journals to cover the growing 
Linux audio scene.
  4. The lack of serious attention given Linux audio from within the 
larger Linux community itself.
  5. No-one has released a hit created with Linux audio tools.

Point 4 is particularly irritating. See the email traffic on the LAD 
list regarding the WINE team's misperception of JACK and subsequent 
no-starter attitude towards integrating better JACK support. I believe 
that developers of browsers and other commonly used software have a 
tendency to ignore audio issues wrt their programs. Overall, there's too 
little cooperation and shared understanding between the audio community 
and other development domains (video, browser sound support, emulation 
systems, etc.)

The second point is certainly a show-stopper for folks arriving from 
Win/Mac systems who discover their hardware is not now supported and 
likely never will be supported under Linux. They won't care that the 
situation is due to the manufacturers, they'll just turn away from 
having to make an apparently needless investment. Alas, I've seen very 
little indication that the situation is going to change soon.

>what we need, though, is much higher level full-featured and specialized 
>languages (music, 3d, graphics), integrated in a friendly visual (gui) 
>environment. not just microsoft/mac-style... "yes/no check-boxes".
>  
>
Perhaps you should look into the latest development in Csound5, Common 
Music, and Pd ?

Best,

dp