[PD] how to set variable types

[Mathieu Bouchard]

On Sat, 29 Jul 2006, Chuckk Hubbard wrote:

>> dealt with by compiling PD with an X11 version of Tcl/Tk and some other
>> junk, but honestly I've been too busy performing and making sound the
>> last year to try to sort out all of OSX's problems.
>
> But OSX is so sharp-looking!  lol

Speaking of which, I think that Pd looks worse on OSX than on Linux, 
mainly due to anti-aliasing. All boxes look blurry and dim. This is 
because the anti-aliasing is done without any kerning. Kerning is the 
rounding of pixel positions done to minimize the amount of anti-aliasing 
required. This is because raw anti-aliasing always gives that blurry 
effect that tires the eye.

About the speed: Tcl/Tk on OSX includes a fake X11 library which is a 
translation layer so that Tk doesn't have to be rewritten for OSX. That 
layer shouldn't take much CPU in theory, but I don't know how it's been 
implemented. May someone who cares about OSX figure out why that X11/OSX 
layer sucks. This problem is distinct from the superfluous canvas 
redrawing that happens on all platforms, but the two problems cumulate to 
create some kind of disaster.

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| Mathieu Bouchard - tél:+1.514.383.3801 - http://artengine.ca/matju
| Freelance Digital Arts Engineer, Montréal QC Canada