[PD] [data structures] array within an array, pd draw window scale/background canvas colour...

[Jonathan Wilkes]

On 05/25/2015 03:40 PM, jamal crawford wrote:
> hey and thanks for the reply
>
>> ...there is a bug since the very begining of puredata, if you don't
>> delete data and modify your structure pd will crash
> word!
>
>> also I think this is not a good idea to draw arrays within arrays,
>> because bindings doesn't work anymore within arrays
> so you mean I will need to defy new struct arguments for every array I
> will put in an array? if so, I won't mind that.
> so it is indeed possible to put an array within an array, its just me
> who is doing it in wrong creation order?

Yes, you can do that.

As far as order-- in Pd-l2ork I made a revision so that a struct will
simply refuse to create if you give it an array field with a nonexistent
template for the data.  But it gives you an error saying so-- that way
you can just go and create the template and it will work after that.

>
>> what about simply putting a canvas instead?
> it just won't save  the canvas and anything else beside the drawing (is
> there other ways to save the drawing besides [write( message?). i have a
> few of them and usually save them, so I can work on them later. and
> secondly its way much work to append 50+ arguments, when I can save them
> with a click.

Scalars and their data are saved with the patch.

>
>> donecanvasdialog message is designed to do this
> exactly! :)

The coords message does the same without setting the "dirty" flag
on the canvas (which will prompt for save before closing).  Not sure
if that matters in your case.

Also-- in a _single_ scalar, the shapes will be drawn using the order that
you created the drawing commands.  So if you create a [filledpolygon]
first, then create a [drawcurve] after that, the filled polygon will be
drawn with the curve on top of it.

If you draw two separate scalars that overlap, essentially you cannot
control which one gets drawn on top.  If you update one of the fields
associated with a coordinate, that scalar will get drawn on top. But
if I remember correctly certain operations in Pd (like updating an array)
redraw _all_ the scalars, at which point you'll probably lose the ordering
you set up.

This is in the process of getting fixed in Pd-l2ork.  Since I'm using
browser technology it'd also be possible to add a drawing command for
3d shapes using webgl.  (But webgl is so much more complicated I'm not
sure how it could be made usable in this context.)

-Jonathan