Glossary¶
- add action¶
TBD
- ADSR¶
TBD
- allocate¶
To set aside sections of memory in a program to be used to store variables, and instances of structures and classes.
- allocator¶
TBD
- amplitude¶
The maximum extent of a vibration or oscillation, measured from the position of equilibrium.
See: decibels
- amplitude modulation¶
TBD
- async¶
- async/await¶
In computer programming, the async/await pattern is a syntactic feature of many programming languages that allows an asynchronous, non-blocking function to be structured in a way similar to an ordinary synchronous function. It is semantically related to the concept of a coroutine and is often implemented using similar techniques, and is primarily intended to provide opportunities for the program to execute other code while waiting for a long-running, asynchronous task to complete, usually represented by promises or similar data structures.
- attack¶
TBD
- audio rate¶
A calculation rate where one value is generated for each sample in the sample block.
- bit depth¶
The number of bits of information in each sample, directly corresponding to the resolution of each sample.
- block size¶
The size of a block of samples
- block, of IDs¶
TBD
- block, of samples¶
TBD
- buffer¶
An array of sample data, used - for example - for sound files, delay lines, convolution reverb, wavetable synthesis, window functions etc.
- bundle, OSC¶
A collection of OSC messages and bundles whose effects must happen simultaneously at a given timestamp.
- bus¶
In audio engineering, a bus is a signal path which can be used to sum individual audio signal paths together.
- calculation rate¶
The rate at which values are calculated by a unit generator or bus.
See: audio rate, control rate, demand rate, scalar rate
- cent¶
A logarithmic unit of measure used for musical intervals, which divides the octave into 12 semitones of 100 cents each in twelve-tone equal temperament.
- channel¶
TBD
- client¶
TBD
- clock¶
TBD
- control¶
TBD
- control rate¶
A calculation rate where one value is generated per sample block.
- decay¶
TBD
- decibels¶
A unit used to measure the intensity of a sound by comparing it with a given level on a logarithmic scale; a degree of loudness.
See: amplitude
- default group¶
A group.
- demand rate¶
A calculation rate where one value is generated each time the connected
DemandUGen is triggered.- depth¶
TBD
- depth-first¶
TBD
- directed graph¶
- digraph¶
A graph in which edges have orientations.
- envelope¶
A description of how a sound changes over time, typically amplitude, via a curve joining the successive peaks of a modulated wave.
See: envelope generator
- envelope generator¶
TBD
- equal temperament, twelve-tone¶
The musical system that divides the octave into 12 parts, all of which are equally tempered (equally spaced) on a logarithmic scale, with a ratio equal to the 12th root of 2 (12√2 ≈ 1.05946), whose resulting smallest interval, 1⁄12 the width of an octave, is called a semitone or half step.
- event, from a pattern¶
TBD
- FFT¶
A fast Fourier transform
- filter¶
TBD
- fluent interface¶
In software engineering, an object-oriented API whose design relies extensively on method chaining.
- frame¶
A data record that contains the samples for all of the channels available in an audio signal.
- free¶
TBD
- frequency¶
The rate at which something occurs or is repeated over a particular period of time or in a given sample; the rate at which a vibration occurs that constitutes a wave, either in a material (as in sound waves), or in an electromagnetic field (as in radio waves and light), usually measured per second.
See: Hertz
- frequency domain¶
The analysis of mathematical functions or signals with respect to frequency, rather than time.
See: time domain
- frequency modulation¶
TBD
- grain¶
TBD
- granular synthesis¶
TBD
- graph¶
In mathematics, and more specifically in graph theory, a graph is a structure amounting to a set of objects in which some pairs of the objects are in some sense “related”; the objects correspond to mathematical abstractions called vertices (also called nodes or points) and each of the related pairs of vertices is called an edge (also called link or line).
- GraphViz¶
TBD
- group¶
TBD
- group, of buffers¶
TBD
- group, of buses¶
TBD
- head¶
TBD
- header format¶
TBD
- Hertz¶
The SI unit of frequency, equal to one cycle per second.
See: frequency
- ID¶
TBD
- ID, buffer¶
TBD
- ID, bus¶
TBD
- ID, node¶
TBD
- IFFT¶
An inverse fast Fourier transform
- lag¶
TBD
- latency¶
In computing, the delay before a transfer of data begins following an instruction for its transfer.
- message, MIDI¶
TBD
- message, OSC¶
TBD
- MIDI¶
A technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, and related audio devices for playing, editing and recording music.
- moment, non-realtime¶
TBD
- multi-channel expansion¶
TBD
- MUSIC-N¶
A family of computer music programs and programming languages descended from or influenced by MUSIC, a program written by Max Mathews in 1957 at Bell Labs, which was the first computer program for generating digital audio waveforms through direct synthesis.
- node¶
- vertex¶
In graph theory, the fundamental unit of which graphs are formed.
- node tree¶
TBD
- non-realtime¶
TBD
- Nyquist limit¶
TBD
- octave¶
The interval between one musical pitch and another with double its frequency.
- OSC¶
Open Sound Control, an open, transport-independent, message-based protocol developed for communication among computers, sound synthesizers, and other multimedia devices.
SuperCollider clients and servers communicate via OSC.
- oscillator¶
A signal generator that produces a sinusoidal or non-sinusoidal signal of some particular frequency.
- output proxy¶
TBD
- parent¶
TBD
- parentage¶
TBD
- pattern¶
TBD
- phase¶
The relationship in time between the successive states or cycles of an oscillating or repeating system (such as an alternating electric current or a light or sound wave) and either a fixed reference point or the states or cycles of another system with which it may or may not be in synchrony.
- phase vocoder¶
A type of vocoder-purposed algorithm which can interpolate information present in the frequency and time domains of audio signals by using phase information extracted from a frequency transform.
- proxy¶
TBD
- pseudorandom number generator¶
An algorithm for generating a sequence of numbers whose properties approximate the properties of sequences of random numbers.
- pure unit generator¶
A unit generator which does not have any side effects, e.g. accessing (and therefore modifying the state of) a random number generator; typically an oscillator.
- PV Chain¶
A phase vocoder UGen which operates on blocks of frequency and phase data in order to perform spectral analysis or transformations.
- Python¶
An interpreted high-level general-purpose programming language whose design philosophy emphasizes code readability with its use of significant indentation, and whose language constructs as well as object-oriented approach aim to help programmers write clear, logical code for small and large-scale projects.
- random number generator¶
A process which generates a sequence of numbers or symbols that cannot be reasonably predicted better than by a random chance.
- random seed¶
A value used to initialize a pseudorandom number generator.
- realtime¶
Relating to a system in which input data is processed within milliseconds so that it is available virtually immediately as feedback, e.g., in a missile guidance or airline booking system.
- release¶
TBD
- repr¶
TBD
- request¶
TBD
- response¶
TBD
- root¶
TBD
- root node¶
TBD
- rooted graph¶
A (typically directed) graph in which one vertex has been distinguished as the root.
- sample¶
A unit of audio data; a single digital measurement of an analog audio source.
- sample format¶
The binary representation of a sample, e.g. 16-bit signed integers or 32-bit floating-point.
- sample rate¶
The average number of samples obtained in one second.
- scalar rate¶
A calculation rate, sometimes called “constant” or “initialization” rate, where the value is calculated only once regardless of input.
- sclang¶
The SuperCollider language.
- scsynth¶
The SuperCollider server.
- semitone¶
The interval between two adjacent notes in a 12-tone scale, equal to 100 cents in twelve-tone equal temperament.
- server¶
TBD
- session¶
TBD
- SI¶
The international system of units of measurement, from the French Système International.
- signal¶
A representation of sound, typically using either a changing level of electrical voltage for analog signals, or a series of binary numbers for digital signals.
- spatialization¶
TBD
- Sphinx¶
TBD
- state machine¶
TBD
- state transition¶
TBD
- state, non-realtime¶
TBD
- subtree¶
TBD
- SuperCollider¶
An environment and programming language originally released in 1996 by James McCartney for real-time audio synthesis and algorithmic composition, which has since evolved into a system used and further developed by both scientists and artists working with sound.
- supernova¶
An alternative SuperCollider server implementation that utilizes parallel processing.
- Supriya¶
A Python API for SuperCollider.
- sustain¶
TBD
- synth¶
Short for synthesizer; in SuperCollider, an instance of a SynthDef.
- SynthDef¶
A graph of unit generators.
- synthesizer¶
An electronic musical instrument, typically operated by a keyboard, producing a wide variety of sounds by generating and combining signals of different frequencies.
- tail¶
TBD
- TCP¶
Transmission Control Protocol, a communications standard that enables application programs and computing devices to exchange messages over a network, designed to send packets across the internet and ensure the successful delivery of data and messages over networks.
- time domain¶
The analysis of mathematical functions, physical signals or time series data (e.g. environmental or economic), with respect to time.
See: frequency domain
- tree¶
In graph theory, a tree is an undirected graph in which any two vertices are connected by exactly one path, or equivalently a connected acyclic undirected graph; the various kinds of data structures referred to as trees in computer science have underlying graphs that are trees in graph theory, although such data structures are generally rooted trees.
See: rooted graph
- trigger¶
TBD
- UDP¶
User Datagram Protocol, a lightweight data transport protocol that works on top of IP, providing a mechanism to detect corrupt data in packets, but which does not attempt to solve other problems that arise with packets, such as lost or out of order packets.
- UGen¶
A unit generator, the basic formal units in many MUSIC-N-style computer music programming languages, which form the building blocks for designing synthesis and signal processing algorithms.
- wavetable synthesis¶
TBD
- window¶
TBD