Wow,

> I'm afraid I have to agree with the other opinions - MIDI out on 
> csound doesn't make sense! 

I never thought i would here people ask someone not to include an opcode. 
I think the MIDI-out opcodes sound like a good idea (if i could only get the 
realtime output working !). Surely more ugens and more connections to the 
outside world has to be good news for users? I think there has been  
a great tendency not to include features for this reason or that.
This just seems silly - for the extra few KB of executable space
thro 'em in and bump up Hard Disk sales. Go on be devils... Let the 
imagination go wild. How about audio compression/decompression ugens. 
How about picture import/process/export ugens. These could be superb
for animation / compositing / video mixing with all the control 
possibilities of an orc / sco combination. Michael Gogins has done the
dynamic link of opcodes so we can deliver groups of opcodes as dlls or
shared unix libraries etc. This has to be worth incorporation to the 
core?

>I will implement it anyway in next version. New UGs will not compromise
>normal behaviour of realtime Csound, so, if you aren't interested in
>MIDI OUT UGs simply ignore them.

Yep....

I think perhaps another more fruitful approach may be 
a 'data streamer' for want of a better name.  A program  
that can schedule the routing of signals between devices
based on an event list. 

Wish list as follows:-

 Simple event syntax (based on csound note format) to control
 playback of files. 

 Route data to/from 'devices' in time to an underlying clock.
 SMPTE or Midi clock. 

 In this context i would describe valid links as RAM, DISK, NETWORK,
 AUDIO IO, DIGITAL IO.  

 Implement a shared library for time based signal and event routing.
 

It is the connection of various time-based drivers that is the problem.
Bus bandwidth, DMA channel and interrupt shortages conspire to
keep 32 track hard disk recording a way out of reach on my PC. 

Large improvements in the interactivity of musical processes (which i 
feel we all want) will have to use multiple processors/devices. A 
time based routing/sequencing program will be essential.
 
The technologies we need are well established it is just assembling
the right mix. Csound in my eyes is just one implementation model of 
sound synthesis. Superb experimental instrument design. Ambient 
'head' processing effects with weird gates / filters and delays all
modulating away. Just superb but interaction factor 0. Smile factor 5.
Make it realtime smile factor goes to 11. And by real time - i suppose
we have to be realistic. The fastest computer in the world, a Cray 
Sm-Blib-Blob would only do so much real time modulation and 
interface design would still be important. 

PS. Any criticisms of any current stuff is solely to point out what
it could (hopefuly will) be like. I am immensely grateful for all the
EXCELLENT work that i use especially csound. I hope to contribute some
myself soon. 

Thanks for listening.

Bye,


Mike