Combining Visual and Textual Representations for Flexible Interactive Audio Signal Processing

Interactive computer music systems pose new challenges for audio software design. In particular, there is a need for flexible run-time reconfiguration for interactive signal processing. A new version of Aura offers a graphical editor for building fixed graphs of unit generators. These graphs, called instruments, can then be instantiated, patched, and reconfigured freely at run time. This approach combines visual programming with traditional text-based programming, resulting in a structured programming model that is easy to use, is fast in execution, and offers low audio latency through fast instantiation time. The graphical editor has a novel type resolution system and automatically generates graphical interfaces for instrument testing.