[PD] Techniques for atomic/controlled variable updates

[Fred Smith]

Hello all -

I'm currently building a simple video project using PD and GEM that
creates a video stream by combining a series of images in various ways
based on a single input control signal. Simply put, the input signal
is processed to produce indexes into arrays of images, and to provide
some parameters for blending those images to produce the visual
output.

The problem I'm having is that the single input parameter is processed
to generate 4 control parameters for GEM - 2 indexes into the image
list, and 2 gain scale factors used when blending the images. The
issueis that when a control values enters the system, the 4 output
parameters are updated in an order dictated by the messaging
architecture of puredata - and, as the 4 output parameters are
updated, they are momentarily inconsistent with each other.

<input_value>
|
|
<pd mathematical what-have-you>
|              |              |                |
<out1>    <out2>    <out3>       <out4>

So, an input value enters the system, and the outputs are updated
based on the depth first traversal of the patch - out1, then out2,
then out3, then out4. Meanwhile, GEM is rendering the output to the
screen. So, suppose out1 then out2 get updated, and GEM renders a
screen shot. At that point in time, out1 and out2 correspond  to the
new input parameter, and out3 and out4 correspond to the previous
input parameter, and the resulting display shows artifacts of this
inconsistency.

I've managed to resolve my specific project's issue by rewriting the
control algorithm such that the inconsistencies minimize the visual
artifacts, but the fundamental update order problem remains unsolved,
and I'm curious if others have dealt with this type of issue.

Can anyone point me to techniques for managing this type of problem?
I'm considering writing an external that would pass a set of values
through, but only update the outputs when a specific mathematical
condition is met (some consistency check on the input parameters) -
but, it seems like there may already be techniques for doing this.....

Any pointers would be appreciated....
Thanks!
-fred