[L2Ork-dev] output abstraction, help file inconsistency and new suggested version

[Alexandre Torres Porres]

Hi, I'm Alex and new to this list

 I'm collaborating in updating the cyclone library. I got me a compiled
version of pd-l2ork for mac os and I'm checking it out. Awesome!

In cyclone there's this output~ abstraction for its help files, but I
always hated it. I know it was in extended and it started with an
abstracion from miller and someone updated it to extended. So I see it too
in pd-l2ork I actually find 3 output~ objects.

the one in "*3.audio examples*" is the original from miller, which works
with a dB scaling and has a mute button. I think this is fine, but I prefer
the quartic scaling (pow 4), and the mute button could've been a toggle. In
"*4.data structures*" we got another abstraction like that again, same one.
These both have no help file, but the A05.output.subpatch.pd file in
3.audio examples.

Then in the "extra" folder I think you have second version from pd
extended, which includes the idea of turning the DSP on and off, which is a
cool idea. But instead of using the dB scale, it uses a terrible log scale
from the slider, and I think that's such a terrible idea. If you use it in
a performance you'll notice how the sound will appear strongly at the first
value: Bad!

The help file for this one - found on the same extra folder - is really
poor by the way, and is the help file you find in extended.

But then, we find another and better help file for in "5.reference" - this
help file is nice!!!

But there is an inconsistency here with help files, because you still have
the other one which is bad, and that help file is the one in the same extra
folder, which means that's the help file that opens when you ask for help.
If you are on the nice help file and click on help for the object, the poor
and bad help file comes up.

This is what I get using pd-l2ork in a version compiled for Mac anyway.

So, I suggest getting rid of the bad help file and replace it with the good
one, which seems to be sitting somewhere else and not getting called upon.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Now, as I said, I kinda hate this abstraction. So I designed a new version.

And I actually had here yet another version of it, a new version from
katja, that was in the latest cyclone release. I'm working on this cyclone
thing now, and this new version of output~ is used in its help files. But
as I always hated it, I thought I'd change it...

Katja included a nice logic to check if the dsp was on (I had actually come
up with the same idea for the help patches in cyclone), but then
she removed the mute button and all the outlets, which I thought was bad...
Anyway, I basically restarted from scratch and made a new abstraction with
many features.

I'm keeping the idea to check if the dsp is on and display it when loading
the patch. But now, you can turn the DSP On and Off via a toggle without
"clicks" because I implemented ramps and delays to avoid it.

I'm now using a quartic rescaling by default, as that's the one I like...
but you can also set it to "dB" as in Miller's original or even linear (and
forget about the log scaling from the slider, bad idea).

I also have a feature to disable the output to dac~ so this object works as
a gain scaler.

Anyway, you can check the abstraction and the help file.

I'm replacing the output~ abstraction that was currently in cyclone for
this one. I know that when the help files in cyclone are called from
pd-l2ork that they may get this existing output~ abstraction from old
pd-extended days, so no conflict there. But since I like my new one so
much, I thought I'd share it with you, to see if you like it too... and
then perhaps use mine in pd-l2ork

it has the same number of inlets and outlets, it's totally backwards
compatible.

==========

So, in short. you have a bad help file and a good one that is lost and not
used, the bad one should be replaced by the good one.

I have a new abstraction and help file that you could use instead if you
like.

cheers
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