23 Jan
2003
23 Jan
'03
8:53 a.m.
Hi,
Mike Rawes schrieb:
Module wiring: The biggest improvement is to implement
sub-patches [yes,
I know there are plans for this in SSM :] - that way you can hide a lot
of detail in a single module.
Definetly. IMO subpatches in a modular synth are as important as "Undo" in
a text editor. They not only can hide things, they make modular and object
oriented development with lots of re-use possible. In this regard it also
is crucial, that subpatches accept arguments like functions in most
programming languages (C, Python,...).
For example, a four oscillator synth with a filter,
lfo and a couple of
EGs makes for a lot of modules, especially if you include math modules to
scale stuff. All of these could be wrapped up in a single patch with half
a dozen open inputs/outputs.
At the GUI end of things - most modular synths seem to assume one-gui-per
module, which again makes up for a lot of screen space used. In the
four-osc synth example above, there'd be a lot of redundant knobs/sliders
for ports that are actually driven by connections.
The newer versions of Pd (>0.35) have this nice invention of "graph on
parent" subpatches. This means, that GUI elements (sliders, knobs...) in
subpatches - but no cords - are shown in the surrounding, parent patch,
like a see-through patch. With this, one can build one-gui-per-module
GUIs, but it isn't enforced. Or, what I did in my sequencer abstractions
for Pd, one can build pure-GUI objects that don't actually have a lot of
module action inside.
(screenshots at http://footils.org/cgi-bin/cms/?show_article=14 and
http://footils.org/cgi-bin/cms/?show_article=13)
ciao
--
Frank Barknecht