[PD] how to understand pure data logic?

[lee]

andreithomaz wrote:

> hello list,
> 
> I am a visual artist, and I am working with Pure Data and GEM from some 
> weeks ago. Because I have a good knowledge of programming languages (c, 
> c++, action script), it is not so hard for me. But I would like to ask 
> you indications of resources to understanding the logic of programs like 
> pure data. I would like to organize something like 'pure data for visual 
> artists', to find tutorials for people with no programming knowledge, 
> people who work fine with Photoshop, GIMP, video editors, etc. I think 
> that most of come come from musical background, and have already used 
> some programs that make the learning of Pure Data easier. With GEM and 
> Framesteing, Pure Data becomes very interesting for visual artists, but 
> I don't know how to start the work about its logic with people with this 
> background (visual artists).

I learned patcher languages with Max/MSP. I would recommend playing with 
that to get started. After doing some small projects with PD I've found 
that Max/MSP is more forgiving and has more ways to do the same thing. 
The downside of this is most Max patches I see are completely 
unintelligible to anyone but the author. PD is far more concise but the 
keywords may not be totally obvious at first. [throw~] and [catch~] as 
well as [spigot] really threw me for a loop, as well as the lack of a 
gate/switch object.

I have also found the tutorials and manuals that are included with PD to 
be very good. My background is not in C but as I learn more C syntax I 
find that PD is quite similar.

-lee