Hello all,

I was wondering if I could submit an idea I had for modifying the syntax of
CSound that has recieved the approval of Dr. Boulanger. I have provided a
small and very simple example exercising the concept I wish to  demonstrate
using an opcode (randh) that I know in my month and a half use of the
language.

http://www.nabble.com/file/p26033839/Suda_optional_argument_test.csd
Suda_optional_argument_test.csd 

I noticed in the course of experimenting that I had encountered a couple of
situations when answering an opcode's arguments where I wished to modify the
value of an optional argument that is mutually exclusive with the things
that preceded it, but that there was no way to "skip" to that specific
optional argument.

In most cases, the arguments that precede the pertinent one were ones that
assume default values if they are not specified.

With regards to the .csd I've attached, one would enter some sort of
convention (Dr. B suggested "z" or "da" or something of the sort instead of
a number) in place of the preceding optional arguments, so that the new line
of code would change from
krand randh 1000, 8, 0.5, 0, 200
to
krand randh 1000, 8, z, z, 200
Since 0.5 and 0 were not modified from their default values.

This is of course inapplicable when optional arguments are dependent on each
other and contextually inclusive (such as iparm1 and iparm2 in a pluck), but
you could see where this would start making sense when you start dealing
with opcodes with slightly larger sets of arguments and optional arguments,
such as granule or really any granular opcode, where maybe you'd want to
modify "ipitch4" but not "iseed", "ipitch1," or "ipitch3."

This also could apply to mandatory arguments in opcodes that may have
default values anyhow.

-Nick Suda
nick.suda@gmail.com
(425) 941-0093
Renton, WA/Boston, MA
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spatz0r wrote:
..
> With regards to the .csd I've attached, one would enter some sort of
> convention (Dr. B suggested "z" or "da" or something of the sort instead of
> a number) in place of the preceding optional arguments, so that the new line
> of code would change from
> krand randh 1000, 8, 0.5, 0, 200
> to
> krand randh 1000, 8, z, z, 200
> Since 0.5 and 0 were not modified from their default values.
> 

Just considering this in general terms as a language issue: the 
arguments are already comma-separated, so that in principle one need 
simply run the commas together (with or without whitespace) to indicate 
"use the default":

krand randh 1000, 8,,, 200

Possibly the implementation would be easier using placeholder variable 
names as suggested; I suppose (recalling standard score notation for a 
carry) that one possibility would be to use a point, or some other 
non-alphabetical character:

krand randh 1000, 8,.,., 200

Whether this ias actually more self-documenting than the existing 
solution is something to be argued, probably.


Richard Dobson


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