As my code becomes bloated and huge, I've found the macro system to be 
enormously helpful, especially for instances where we duplicate the same thing 
a bunch of times, like mixer channels. Ie we use the below for mixer files

instr 300
#define TRACK #0#
#define TRIM #0.5#
#include 'mixerchannel.orc'
#undef TRACK
#undef TRIM
endin

instr 301
#define TRACK #1#
#define TRIM #0.6#
#include 'mixerchannel.orc'
#undef TRACK
#undef TRIM
endin

Each instrument can then reuse the file mixerchannel.orc with any labels and 
instance specific differences being handled by using the $TRACK macro. This 
works like a hot damn, but would be even cooler if the macro system could 
include some conditional expansion. I would love to see some sort IFDEF thing 
so we could say

#IFDEF $CHORUSON
to expand optional parts of the mixer channel at preprocessing time depending.

Would such a thing be easy to do? Anyone else think it would be cool?

Thanks for listening,
Iain

> Iain, I don't know how many new feature requests are going to make it into
> CS5 immediately.  Perhaps in the mean time, you might be able to do what you
> want with some other tool.  Have you considered simply using the C
> preprocessor to accomplish the conditional expansion?  I have also been
> wanting to look into the Unix program m4 for some time now.  It is supposed
> to be a very powerful macro preprocessor.

Yeah I understand. I just thought I'd throw it out there in case someone 
thought it was a good but easy idea. ; )

And thanks for the suggestion, I'll look into that. No reason I couldn't 
do it with some other preprocessor I suppose!

Iain

jpff@codemist.co.uk wrote:
> #ifdef would not be terribly hard.  Will think about it
> ==John ffitch

That would be awesome. That alone would be incredibly useful for large 
orchestra with many channels of similar code. Thanks for thinking about 
it. = )

Iain

I've often wanted conditional macros too.  Uses that I have imagined include
"nchnls-independent" instruments or orchestras which use different output
code depending on the value of nchnls.  Also, to be able to switch between
"draft" and "final" quality for the orchestra performance via a single macro
symbol would be advantageous.  "Final" mode would use a higher kr (and
perhaps sr), interpolating oscillators, etc.

Other features I have wanted in the macro system would be:

* allowing macro expansions to refer to other macros
* testing a defined macro against some value
* some sort of computational and/or looping ability
* the ability to define a macro from the command-line to allow options to
  be turned on or to pass input values (e.g. reverb time for an orchestra
  which reverberates a sound file)

In essence, I have sometimes wanted a "Turing complete" macro system (as the
C++ template mechanism is).  I guess at this stage, however, that just using
a full programming language to write my orchestras might be cleaner.

Iain, I don't know how many new feature requests are going to make it into
CS5 immediately.  Perhaps in the mean time, you might be able to do what you
want with some other tool.  Have you considered simply using the C
preprocessor to accomplish the conditional expansion?  I have also been
wanting to look into the Unix program m4 for some time now.  It is supposed
to be a very powerful macro preprocessor.

Anthony Kozar
anthony.kozar@utoledo.edu
http://akozar.spymac.net/


On 7/12/04 4:55 PM, iainduncan@telus.net etched in
stone:

> #IFDEF $CHORUSON
> to expand optional parts of the mixer channel at preprocessing time depending.
> 
> Would such a thing be easy to do? Anyone else think it would be cool?

I _do_ think that it is a good idea.  But, you know, there is this "code
freeze" thing going on and all :)

I hope that someone on the dev team has been keeping a list of all the
various suggestions and requests that we have been receiving lately so that
we can start working on them after the initial release of CS5.

Anthony

On 7/12/04 7:47 PM, iain duncan etched in stone:

> Yeah I understand. I just thought I'd throw it out there in case someone
> thought it was a good but easy idea. ; )

#ifdef would not be terribly hard.  Will think about it
==John ffitch

Decoding #ifdef was as I suspected easy.  Now comes the problems of
skipping and nesting.   Do not expect this immediately as I need to
think a bit (and the Tour de France re-starts in 90mins).  So far just
looking at orchestras but the code is largely the same.

I usually write my more 'interesting' scores in C so I can avoid some
of these issues.

==John ffitch

It might be useful to get everyone to use the Sourceforge features for
bug tracking and RFE's (request for enhancements (?)); it'd be managed
at least.  

steven

> I hope that someone on the dev team has been keeping a list of all the
> various suggestions and requests that we have been receiving lately so that
> we can start working on them after the initial release of CS5.