[LAU] OSC - where to start?

[Arnold Krille]

On Wednesday 26 January 2011 17:51:41 James Morris wrote:
> Quite a lot of different replies. But which would be the best place to
> start for someone who doesn't know any of python, supercollider,
> csound, chuck, algoscore, etc etc?
> 
> Why is OSC support not more widespread?

It is relatively wide spread. However due to its nature, it neither defines a 
standard way of detecting "remote" apps with osc interface, nor does it 
provide a standard way to introspect. So for example a pair of apps that do 
gui->backend split will work because both written by the same author(s) know 
how to detect and talk to each other. For apps written by different authors, it 
gets difficult. And its basically impossible to write any "generic osc sender 
tool"...

> For instance, could/should there be an OSC tab in QjackCTL?

If osc was a protocol that has a centralized distribution like jack does for 
audio and midi and alsa-midi does for midi. But most osc usage happens over 
udp, that is network. That is fine to have gui and backend on different machines 
but completely incompatible with qjackctl providing a "central patchbay" (not 
that this concept would make any sense for osc).

In general it would be possible to send osc over jack-ports. Jack supports 
generic port types and osc isn't actually fixed on using udp. But the problem 
is: when app A sends osc across a jack-osc-connection, who guarantees that app 
B can actually do something useful with it? osc just defines a way messages are 
sent. It doesn't care about specific messages, it doesn't care about answers, 
it doesn't care about the transport...

BTW: For entry into osc, python and its liblo-interface should give you a good 
start.

Have fun,

Arnold
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