15 Nov
2008
15 Nov
'08
6:23 a.m.
Hallo,
maex(a)firstfloor.org hat gesagt: // maex(a)firstfloor.org wrote:
thanks for the answer, so in a way it is a rational
construction
to save cpu time. exactly this i figured out for instance with the snapshot conversion
and a fast metro, and i thought it might be better to have just one
stream of data instead of converting the different streams back and forth, but
this thinking was wrong. i am amused that this still is a issue at these times.
I don't think it has to be seen as an amusing limitation, as in music
you just have both: sporadic events and flows. Maybe it's the way, the
human mind (was trained to) work(s).
Think of a light switch: Although there constantly is power applied to
it (a flow) it's quite handy to switch between on and off. You're not
thinking "I'd like to multiply the electric power by a very small value
now" but you think: "It should be dark now." Same for keyboards: A
keyboard is just a bunch of switches.
Also when programming (and using Pd *is* programming) it often is
crucial to specify an execution order in your actions which can be
easier with sporadic events than with signal flows, as you can order
events easily, even when they happen at the same time, but one after
another.
So in general the control/signal thing is not only there for CPU
performance reasons, it's also there because it's a useful device for
the brain - which is amusing, now that I think of it. ;)
Ciao
--
Frank