[linux-audio-user] jack-rack wish-list]

[MarC]

>>First off, I think jack-rack is awesome app and I have been
>>using it quite regularly.
>>    
>>
>
>Seconded. It made me unpack my acoustic guitar which I haven't 
>played for years. Great fun, except for my neighbours :) .
>  
>
I totally agree. I think that one of the candidates to start the 
real-life Linux Audio Revolution for non-computer-geek-musicians are the 
acoustic guitar + realtime LADSPA effects and of course the outstanding 
zynaddsubfx patches for the keyboard players. (For the electric guitar 
disto, I have finally assumed that analog rules.)
But yes I think that before we should try to solve some problems of 
usability for live-use... now there's too much mouse-work.

>  
>
>>As a result, I've come up with a 
>>small suggestion/wish-list for this wonderful app:
>>
>>1) it would be awesome if jack-rack, once it gets bounced
>>by jackd (for whatever reason), would have an option to
>>restart with the same, already open settings file, while
>>recreating existing connections.
>>    
>>
>
>Seconded again. This would not only be useful for jack-rack 
>but for many other applications as well.
>  
>
yes, again, I agree. I suggested that for the qjackctl.
http://sourceforge.net/tracker/index.php?func=detail&aid=1181768&group_id=86211&atid=578829
there's a partial implementation of the idea with patchbay (the 
automatic connection of some applications) but maybe with your feedback 
we could explain to the developpers what we are missing. I'm not a 
native english speaker and i've got some problems to be really precise...

>  
>
>>I am simply saying this as 
>>it has been quite stressful to have to close the app,
>>reopen it, open the settings file, and then re-hook
>>everything in jack right before the performance (and nearly
>>impossible during one) when the clock is ticking and
>>audience getting restless. :-)
>>    
>>
>
>The situation is getting worse if you use more than one app 
>and you have to restart JACK itself. Then you have to reload 
>a lot of files into all applications and to redo a lot of 
>MIDI and JACK connections. If each particular application 
>could (maybe optionally) remember
>
>* the last loaded file
>* the last used MIDI connections
>* the last used JACK connections
>
>this could simplify the usage a lot.
>
>Because applications can even crash, the settings mentioned 
>above could be written to the configuration file immediately 
>when changing them ("crash saveness" as Ardour provides).
>  
>
we're all waiting for the ardour 1.0 which is slowly becoming a reality 
and will fix all this...

>Furthermore, from a users POV I wonder if it would be possible 
>to redesign the JACK-thread of an application so it doesn't 
>need to be restarted as soon the JACK connection gets lost. 
>Wouldn't it be possible to make an application automatically 
>reconnecting to JACK as soon as it got kicked, and as soon as 
>JACK gets stopped or restarted to display an alert box "It 
>seems that JACK has been stopped. Waiting for JACK to 
>reappear.".
>
>It may sound like nitpicking, but for users, especially new 
>users, the points above could really be one little more step 
>to improve linux audio usage.
>  
>
I think that this is not a problem of jack but a problem of the 
applications which use it. Actually ardour already has a mechanism to 
reconnect to jack when it loses its connection. Now it doesn't work 
(beta29) ;( but it seems that in the future will do so.
I don't know... Any jack expert could help to see what should be done to 
fix this?

regards,
MarC