CC - Week 6 - Messaging and Routing

Well here we are again. I have done so much debugging and stuff I do not have the time to write it all, just be glad it all works. I'm looking forward to our project now- I've basically created half of it with my Auto Play function. Here is the patch .ZIP 688KB.

Mac Problem 1: The patch txt file has to be in the folder with all the data files, rather that having the data files in their own folder but still in the same folder as the patch. Just look for TheSlider.txt.

Mac problem 2: After trying 4 times to create an archive folder that doesn't freeze up when decompressing, I created one on Windows and it worked first time, every time.



Mac Problem 3: To get the help files to work you may need to add the folder as a search pathway, even though they are in the same folder as the main patch file. I don't need to do this on my laptop but the macs seem to have a little peripheral vision problem when it comes to this. UPDATE: Even adding the folder to the search pathway sometimes doesn't work. When choosing a pathway, remember that the desktop exists in 2 places- in the humemu*** section AND in the Desktop section just above EMU Applications etc. Only the latter works.

Mac Problem 4: When using the Delay or Auto Play functions, if you try to speed it up to a fast number (20ms or less) it might stop playing notes altogether. This occurs after the noteout so I can't debug it, and doesn't occur at all on my computer.

Mac Problem 5: One mouse button? We have five fingers on a hand! It just adds to the stereotype of Macs being computers for the illiterate.





I have decided not to put pictures up of all (15 or so) of my patches, as their associated help files explain them better than I could here. I have also just found some quick debugging notes from when I was making an effort to record everything I did- didn't last long!

Debug List

If I turned on the Auto Play after hitting Refresh [send R] it would still play the last selected Mode, even though none of the Mode toggles are selected. Solved by connecting [bkp.reload]'s directly to the gates inside the Auto Play patch.

When switching Auto Play on and off, the note length changes to whatever you last had it set to when it was on or off respectively. All well and good, but the note length slider doesn't visually move, even though the note length is changing. It seems as though there is no way to just 'set' the slider without outputting anything (Any ouput would create a loop) mainly thanks to my use of a multislider instead of a hslider. I'm not changing back to those grey hsliders, after everything I did with the colours on my multisliders.

A bad bang was occuring on boot and for refresh somewhere but trace helped me follow the signal flow to the midiinfo to midi input line- a problem that I have on my computer because I have no MIDI input devices.

And that's when I gave up writing.


1. Christian Haines "Creative Computing Week 6: Messaging & Routing" Lecture presented at the Electronic Music Unit, University of Adelaide, South Australia, 5th April 2007.