[PD] Re: [PD-dev] Pd on OS X

Adam T. Lindsay atl at comp.lancs.ac.uk
Tue Nov 12 18:36:50 CET 2002


Looking at your last (private) message:
>The audio
>doesn't stall per se, it's more like values aren't
>getting updated consistantly so say a pitch sweep will
>"jump" along with the numerical input.

... it's sounding more and more like the real-time issue that Miller
pointed out. A pitch sweep shouldn't be interrupted like that, in my
experience, unless you have some other processor-greedy apps running at
the same time.

However, the performance of Aqua Tcl/Tk doesn't help things, either.
Controls like number boxes cause a bunch of screen-redraw interrupts that
are themselves greedy. Part of it is apparently AquaTk canvasses still
use QuickDraw.

Still, the stated specs on your machine should be able to run PD fairly
well, as long as you minimize the screen updates on patches where you
demand good audio performance.

And I agree, jMax 4.0 has a very attractive, seductive screen interface.
Pity it crashed the first time I tried to turn on DSP. :-/

I think there's a lot still to be optimized in the MacOSX port, though,
both in user experience and in performance. Chris Clepper wrote recently
about compiling with different optimization settings. Might be worth a
bit of experimentation...

adam

Ryan Gallagher said this at Tue, 12 Nov 2002 08:42:00 -0800:

>Hmm...
>
>So it's a Tcl/Tk thing, or a getting Tcl/Tk to work
>well with Pd thing?
>
>Honestly at this point I'd rather use Pd (more active
>community, developed well and often, seems a bit more
>avant guard, etc.) but I'm really only interested in
>real-time tweaking...  If there's a chance things
>could improve I'll pursue Pd but if that's just the
>way Tcl/Tk is on OS X I'll go with jMax also.
>
>Is Tcl slow on the linux platform?  Early jMax and
>early Pd were both dog slow on my linux PII 200 last
>yearish...
>
>JMax has a nice interface (java anti-aliasing etc.)
>and it's actually being developed pretty intensly. 
>4.0.0 is looking good.
>
>thanks Adam, Miller et.al,
>-ryan
>
>--- Adam Lindsay <atl at comp.lancs.ac.uk> wrote:
>> Okay, if you're running such a recent Tcl/Tk, it's
>> not the bug I was
>> alluding to, and more like what Miller mentioned.
>> The current Tcl/Tk's
>> are hard to work with because the screen interrupts
>> can cause skips in
>> the sound buffers.
>> 
>> It does run pretty well if you do *not* rely on live
>> updating numberboxes
>> and the like. You can always increase the buffer
>> size by one notch, too.
>> 
>> I've just downloaded jMax, but I haven't had a
>> chance to test it. It sure
>> looks a lot prettier, though. Sigh.
>> 
>> adam
>> 
>> 
>> I believe Ryan Gallagher said this around Mon, 11
>> Nov 2002:
>> 
>> >Hi,
>> >
>> >Thanks for that tip.
>> >
>> >I am using 8.4.1 just compiled last week.  The
>> audio
>> >doesn't stall per se, it's more like values aren't
>> >getting updated consistantly so say a pitch sweep
>> will
>> >"jump" along with the numerical input.
>> >
>> >A friend told me Pd on osx runs better than jMax. 
>> >This hasn't been my experience at all so I thought
>> I'd
>> >get some feedback from other pd osx users.
>> >
>> >thanks again,
>> >ryan
>> >
>> >--- Adam Lindsay <atl at comp.lancs.ac.uk> wrote:
>> >> If you're running Jaguar and are experiencing a
>> >> stalled graphical
>> >> interface, do make sure you're running the latest
>> >> (8.4.1) Tcl/Tk. The
>> >> most recent builds at Sourceforge are nice
>> looking
>> >> (antialiased text...
>> >> which may not help performance). Mac OSX 10.2
>> >> introduced some issues with
>> >> older versions of Tcl/Tk which have subsequently
>> >> been fixed.
>> >> 
>> >>
>>
>><http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/tcl/TclTkAqua-8.4.1-Jaguar.dmg?download>
>> >> 
>> >> Stalled audio input is another matter. I have an
>> >> iMac with similar specs,
>> >> and it's tricky to get good performance.
>> >> 
>> >> Best of luck,
>> >> adam
>> >> 
>> >> 
>> >> I believe Ryan Gallagher said this around Mon, 11
>> >> Nov 2002:
>> >> 
>> >> >Hi there,
>> >> >
>> >> >I read that Pd is "(somewhat shakily) running on
>> >> >Macintosh OS/X" and decided to give er a try... 
>> I
>> >> was
>> >> >wondering if one of the "shakes" is jumpy
>> >> unresponsive
>> >> >mouse input?  When clickin on a number object
>> and
>> >> >moving the mouse up and down, there appears to
>> be
>> >> >certain freezing and skipping in the interface
>> >> (also
>> >> >observable in audio output).
>> >> >
>> >> >Is this the state of affairs or do I have
>> something
>> >> >mis-configured, I have a G3 400, 512mb ram,
>> >> OSX.2.1.
>> >> >
>> >> >thanks,
>> >> >ryan
>> >> >
>> >>
>> >__________________________________________________
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>>
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>> >> 
>> >> --
>> >>
>> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
>> >>  Adam Lindsay                  +44(0)1524 594 537
>> >>  atl at comp.lancs.ac.uk
>> >>  http://www.comp.lancs.ac.uk/computing/users/atl/
>> >>
>> -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
>> >> 
>> >
>> >
>> >=====
>> >-r-
>> >
>> >__________________________________________________
>> >Do you Yahoo!?
>> >U2 on LAUNCH - Exclusive greatest hits videos
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>> 
>> --
>> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
>>  Adam Lindsay                  +44(0)1524 594 537
>>  atl at comp.lancs.ac.uk
>>  http://www.comp.lancs.ac.uk/computing/users/atl/
>> -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
>> 
>
>
>=====
>-r-
>
>__________________________________________________
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-- 
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
 Adam T. Lindsay                      atl at comp.lancs.ac.uk
 Computing Dept, Lancaster University   +44(0)1524/594.537
 Lancaster, LA1 4YR, UK             Fax:+44(0)1524/593.608
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