makeconnection - establish a control connection to an external device or process

makeconnection - establish a control connection to an external device or process

pfield = makeconnection("connection_type"[, arg1, arg2, ...])

Parameters inside the [brackets] are optional.

makeconnection is a utility command used to associate data coming from "outside" RTcmix with a pfield-handle variable. This variable can then be used to deliver values to an Instrument during scorefile execution. This is very similar to the mechanism used by the maketable scorefile command to deliver table data to Instruments through table-handle variables. Indeed, table-handles and pfield-handles are nearly identical in terms of scorefile use and behavior. The main difference is that table-handle variables are accessing values from a previously-created table, while pfield-handle variables are funneling (in real-time) data from some external process of device into RTcmix.

This is almost the inverse of how the 'imbedded' RTcmix object works. The RTcmix object can be used inside another application, with all interface tasks mediated through the "wrapping" application. RTcmix is a subsidiary object in this case. makeconnection allows an interface application to be developed within RTcmix, with the interface code existing as a PField class object. Interfaces can then be "connected" to control different Instrument/note parameters through a pfield-handle.

Because device and interface characteristics can vary widely, the syntax of a makeconnection command will also be relatively unique for particular interfaces. At present, three different connection_type interfaces are included in RTcmix.

Many of the arguments for makeconnection may themselves also be pfield-handles.

ARGUMENTS

"connection_type": This string value (i.e. enclosed in "double quotes" in the scorefile) determines the device or interface that will be associated with the pfield-handle returned by makeconnection. Currently three different connection_types are included in the RTcmix distribution, "mouse", "midi", "datafile", and "inlet" (in the Max/MSP rtcmix~ object distribution). Each connection_type used loads a library containing the interface code. These libraries should be in the RTcmix/shlib/ directory or some other directory on the RTcmix dynamic-loading search path. The default RTcmix installation procedure should set this up properly.
arg1, arg2, ...: Any number of arguments that are needed to set up the interface/device connection. These depend on the connection type. See documentation for each type below.

Connection Types

mouse

This establishes a PField variable that will draw data from the mouse screen position. The syntax is:

pfield = makeconnection("mouse", "axis", min, max, default, lag[, "prefix"[, "units"], precision])

This will cause a window to be displayed, and movement of the mouse relative to that window will be tracked. An executing note using the pfield variable as an Instrument parameter will draw data from the position of the mouse to provide the values for that parameter. More than one parameter or Instrument may be controlled simultaneously, depending on how the connections are specified in the scorefile. The other arguments determine how the mouse data will be set and interpreted:

"axis" -- this string argument can be either "x" or "y" and sets which axis will be read for data from the mouse.
min -- the value when the mouse x or y position is at 0 on the display.
max -- the maximum value reached as the mouse is moved to the maximum set position on the display.
Note that if min and max are inverted, the mouse will deliver values 'backwards'.
default -- the initial value used for the pfield-handle.
lag -- amount of smoothing for value stream [percent: 0-100]. This applies a simple filter to the incoming data to prevent values from jumping abruptly, potentially causing discontinuity glitches in executing notes.
"prefix" -- an optional string value that will be used to label reporting in the window used by the mouse.
"units" -- an optional string value that will be displayed in the mouse window to report mouse location data.
precision -- this optional number determines how many digits after the decimal point will be displayed in the mouse window to report mouse location data.

midi

This establishes a PField variable that will accept data from an attached MIDI interface. The syntax is:

pfield = makeconnection("midi", min, max, default, lag, chan, "type"[, "subtype"])

An executing note using the pfield variable as an Instrument parameter will draw data from a MIDI controller attached to a MIDI interface to provide the values for that parameter. As with the "mouse" connection type, more than one parameter or Instrument may be controlled simultaneously, depending on how the connections are specified in the scorefile. The other arguments establish which MIDI channel and parameter will be monitored and determine how the MIDI data will be interpreted:

min -- the value when the MIDI controller delivers 0.
max -- the maximum value reached when the MIDI controller is at the maximum of the range (usually 127).
Note that if min and max are inverted, the mouse will deliver values 'backwards'.
default -- the initial value used for the pfield-handle.
lag -- amount of smoothing for value stream [percent: 0-100]. This applies a simple filter to the incoming data to prevent values from jumping abruptly, potentially causing discontinuity glitches in executing notes.
chan -- the MIDI channel to use (1-16).

type -- the MIDI parameter to monitor. This string value will deliver data as follows:

value                     MIDI data
---------------------------------------------------------------
"noteonpitch"             MIDI note # for noteon events
"noteonvel"               MIDI velocity for noteon events
"noteooffpitch"           MIDI note # for noteoff events
"noteoffvel"              MIDI velocity for noteoff events
"cntl"                    use "subtype" to specify
                             which MIDI controller to use
"prog"                    MIDI program change #
"bend"                    MIDI pitch-bend data
"chanpress"               MIDI channel change value
"polypress"               use "subtype" somehow

subtype -- if type is set to "cntl", then subtype is used to specify which MIDI controller is monitored. This can be set using a string symbol or the corresponding MIDI controller #:

subtype                   MIDI controller
---------------------------------------------------------------
"mod"                     modulator wheel
"foot"                    foot pedal
"breath"                  breath controller
"data"                    data slider
"volume"                  volume slider
"pan"                     pan silder

If type is set to "polypress", then somehow a MIDI note number is used for something.

datafile

This establishes a PField variable that will read control data from an existing datafile, probably created using the makemonitor scorefile command. The syntax is:

pfield = makeconnection("datafile", "filename", lag, [skiptime[, timefactor[, filerate, format, swap]]])

This will open the file filename for reading. An executing note using the pfield variable as an Instrument parameter will draw data from the file to provide the values for that parameter. More than one parameter or Instrument may be controlled simultaneously, depending on how the connections are specified in the scorefile. The arguments determine how the file will be opened and read:

"filename" -- this string argument is a relative or absolute pathname to an existing file.
lag -- the amount of smoothing for value stream [percent: 0-100]. This applies a simple filter to the incoming data to prevent values from jumping abruptly, potentially causing discontinuity glitches in executing notes.
skiptime -- the time in seconds to skip before reading data file, prior to applying timefactor. This is optional; default is 0.
timefactor -- this scales (expands or contracts) the time it takes to read the file: 1 means use the same amount of time it took to create the file; 2 means take twice as long to play the file data; 0.5 means take half as long; etc. This argument is optional; if used, skiptime must be given. Default for timefactor is 1.0.
lag -- amount of smoothing for value stream [percent: 0-100]. This applies a simple filter to the incoming data to prevent values from jumping abruptly, potentially causing discontinuity glitches in executing notes.
filerate -- an optional parameter for datafiles with no file 'header' containing information relevant to how the data in the file is interpreted. If this parameter is specified, then the subsequent format and swap parameters should also be present. filerate determines the control rate at which the data points from the file will be read. It is recommended that this be significantly less than the control rate (maybe 1/5 as fast) in order to 'thin' the file data a bit. This rate is the number of updates/second, and the overall control rate is set by the reset scorefile command. The default overall control rate is 1000 updates/second.
format -- an optional string value used for datafiles with no file 'header'. This determines the format of the data in the file. Acceptable values are "double", "float", "int64", "int32", "int16" or "byte". This parameter is used in conjunction with the filerate and swap parameters.
swap -- this optional number sets whether or not byte-swapping should be employed when reading files with no file 'header'. A value of 0 sets no swapping; 1 will engage swapping. This parameter is used in conjunction with the filerate and format parameters.

inlet (Max/MSP rtcmix~ only)

This establishes a PField variable that will read data coming from an 'inlet' on the Max/MSP rtcmix~ object. The syntax is:

pfield = makeconnection("inlet", inlet_number, default)

An executing note using the pfield variable as an Instrument parameter will draw data from a max-patch through one of the rtcmix~ object inlets. As with the "mouse" and "midi" connection types, more than one parameter or Instrument may be controlled simultaneously, depending on how the connections are specified in the scorefile.

inlet_number -- which inlet will be read for this pfield-handle variable.
default -- the initial value used for the pfield-handle.

Please refer to the rtcmix~ object help-patch for more information on how this connection type is used.

EXAMPLES

   pan = makeconnection("mouse", "x", 1, 0, .5, lag=50, "pan")
   deltime = makeconnection("mouse", "x", 0.0002, .5, .5, lag=90, "delay time", "", 5)
   feedback = makeconnection("mouse", "y", 0, 1, 0, lag=20, "feedback")
   DELAY(0, 0, 10, 1.0, deltime, feedback, 1.0, 0, pan)

This scorefile uses three different pfield-handle variables: pan, deltime and feedback. pan and deltime are controlled by the 'x' position of the mouse, scaled by the min and max values for each ([1, 0], [0.0002, 0.5]). The deltime parameter is set with a high lag percentage to prevent glitching as the delay-time of the DELAY instrument is changed. The feedback parameter tracks the 'y' position of the mouse, scaling values between 0 and 1. Notice that these pfield-handle variables function in the same way that maketable table-handle variables do.

See the RTcmix/docs/sample_scores/dynamic_insts/ subdirectory in the RTcmix distrubition for more examples of different connection types.

NOTES

The makeconnection command will dynamically-load the library containing the interface code used for each connection type. For example:

   makeconnection("mouse", ...)

will look for the dynamic library libmouse.so. As discussed above, this library needs to be locatable along the RTcmix library search path. The default RTcmix installation will compile and install this library into the RTcmix/shlib/ directory.