I think we are really discussing the question, "What is Csound." 

I believe Csound is a sound synthesis language that can be run either standalone or embedded in other applications, with bindings for all languages that are widely used for algorithmic composition, so that it can be embedded in composing software. I have been using Csound this way for almost 10 years. I can testify that the embedding provides a substantial increase in production efficiency. 

How do you define it?

Regards,
Mike 

-----Original Message-----
From: Istvan Varga 
Sent: Oct 12, 2005 8:14 AM
To: csound@lists.bath.ac.uk
Subject: Re: [Csnd] Common Music and Csound 5

Michael Gogins wrote:

> I prefer putting the interfaces into the main library because there is 
> one less step in between the composer and the music that way. Once the 
> composer installs Csound 5, he or she is already able to call the Csound 
> API directly from the composing language without any additional 
> installation or configuration.
> 
> I have reconsidered the C++ interface. I do not think this is necessary. 
> I think it is sufficient to provide wrappers for the existing C API.
> 
> I would like to see Csound callable directly from C (as it is now), 
> Lisp, Python, and Java. Through Java, it becomes callable directly from 
> Mathematica.

This still does not explain why it should be made impossible to just build
the library with the C interface without including any wrappers, not depending
on more than an ANSI C compiler and libsndfile. Currently there is no use of
C++ in the main library, either.
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Michael Gogins wrote:

> I believe Csound is a sound synthesis language that can be run
 > either standalone or embedded in other applications, with bindings
 > for all languages that are widely used for algorithmic composition,
 > so that it can be embedded in composing software. I have been using
 > Csound this way for almost 10 years. I can testify that the embedding
 > provides a substantial increase in production efficiency.

Well, of course the wrappers can be useful, and I did not mean they
should not exist. However, I think it should be possible to build a
basic library with as few dependencies as possible, with only the
standard C API, and have the wrappers either as a separate library
that links against libcsound - as it already is, or make them optional.

++agree with Istvan on this. I have no objection to the wrappers per se, 
I'd just like to be able to build an ultra-light Csound if needed.

Istvan Varga wrote:

> Michael Gogins wrote:
>
>> I believe Csound is a sound synthesis language that can be run
>
> > either standalone or embedded in other applications, with bindings
> > for all languages that are widely used for algorithmic composition,
> > so that it can be embedded in composing software. I have been using
> > Csound this way for almost 10 years. I can testify that the embedding
> > provides a substantial increase in production efficiency.
>
> Well, of course the wrappers can be useful, and I did not mean they
> should not exist. However, I think it should be possible to build a
> basic library with as few dependencies as possible, with only the
> standard C API, and have the wrappers either as a separate library
> that links against libcsound - as it already is, or make them optional.