are they multithreaded? - Computer music & technology forums

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Subject: are they multithreaded?

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Original Message 1/7 03-Nov-03 @ 03:55 PM - are they multithreaded?

queasy00

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hey... i have question for all you software peeps: are musiking programs multithreaded? If so, how? Does each plugin/softsynth run on its own thread?

Stated another one: is there a big performance boost using a multiprocessor system.

Thanks much!
-j

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Message 2/7 03-Nov-03 @ 04:09 PM - RE: are they multithreaded?

craig

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From what I was told by the Cake people (for Sonar 2 mind you) is that Sonar 2 isn't multithreading in the sense that Sonar itself will split its tasks among multiple CPUs. However, DX plugins are seperate programs running in their own memory spaces, so they will make use of additional CPUs according to load.

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Message 3/7 03-Nov-03 @ 06:14 PM - RE: are they multithreaded?

Steve Roughley

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Almost all music programs would HAVE to multithread. I can not see how it would be possible to effectively write something as complicated as a music program without multithreading. Automation, visual and audio output, audio input, audio recording, communicating with effect and instrument modules and of course multiple displays (audio, effect, arrange and score windows to name but a few) and that is just naming the basic features of a modern sequencer. These would all require their own processes to be running independent of each other for alot of the time.

Regards.

Stephen.

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Message 4/7 03-Nov-03 @ 06:26 PM - RE: are they multithreaded?

craig

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I would totally agree with you - it seems really counterproductive to not build the app multithreaded to me too. I'm just repeating what I was told from Cake's support. It may be different now that Sonar 3 is out.

-Craig

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Message 5/7 03-Nov-03 @ 07:15 PM - RE: are they multithreaded?

queasy00

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it would seem so but remember, on a uniprocessor system only one process/thread at a time can use the cpu. IE. each thread/proess take turns and have some sort of timeslice of the cpu. In the end programs can do this without needing to turn to multithreading (for uni processor). They just need to make sure that the sound buffer is still non-empty per iteration (if i remember dx sound programming correctly) so that the audio hardware still has data to process.

Games for instance, are usually singlethreaded.

Anyway, thanks for the replies.. so dx plug-ins are separapte programs, that's good to hear. I don't much about musiking with software so one more thing: what are dx plugins? are they just effects? can they come in the form of softsynths and the like?

Thanks again!

-j

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Message 6/7 03-Nov-03 @ 08:29 PM - RE: are they multithreaded?

craig

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They can be effects or synths.

-Craig

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Message 7/7 03-Nov-03 @ 11:08 PM - RE: are they multithreaded?

queasy00

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ok sweet. thanks.

-j

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