On Dec 6, 2007 12:59 AM, barry threw <bthrew@gmail.com> wrote:

i also see that he says:

"Csound is better adapted

than Pd for batch processing and it handles polyphony much better than

Pd does. On the other hand, Pd has a better developed real-time

control

structure than Csound."

is that last statement really true (anymore)?

If better means "easier to figure out how to do" then yes, it is

still true.

I would also say easier to implement.  I'm exploring other

possibilities than Pd now, but it is still far quicker to hit

Ctl-Shift-V and place a vertical slider than it is to type all the

necessary FLTK commands, or Tk.  Do you want to teach your students

how to write FLTK code to construct sliders, or how to manipulate

sound?

I have always liked Pd too for its data structures and arbitrary

drawing of elements, but honestly that's pretty hard to do for

anything practical.  Probably just as simple to use Tcl/Tk in that

case.

Pd is useful for showing how stuff works for 2 simple facts: you can

see the entire program flow visually, and anything useful you do has

to be assembled from the ground up.  I tend to prefer Csound even for

low-level stuff just because it's quicker to type than to mouse; but

as far as others understanding what you're doing, there's something to

be said for graphical connections.  The algorithms in Csound's

higher-level opcodes are completely hidden from those not in the know.

I'm not convinced Csound is the best educational tool for all

occasions, but for certain subjects and certain students, definitely.

I tend to think people who are turned off by sine wave equations will

be turned off by code too.  Non-csounders who look over my shoulder

while I'm using Csound usually have no idea or interest in what I'm

doing.

But if I were working with pretty motivated and intelligent people,

I'd push them towards Csound.

How important is real-time control to your class?

-Chuckk

-- 

http://www.badmuthahubbard.com

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