I offered my own version of an explanation of data structures on the Wikipedia talk page. See what you guys think.
"Unlike other audio programming environments, Pure Data allows the creation of customizable lists of items, called scalars. These items each have assignable parameters (identified in Data Structures) that can be accessed individually using pointers and edited, displayed, or applied as values while the program runs. At its most basic level, a data structure allows the storing, retrieving, and viewing of data which can automate any of Pure Data's other functions. This could mean complex score languages, automatic settings changes, storing presets, or visually displaying data that would otherwise be invisible."
Maybe this seems too elementary to some, but it's right on my level, lol. "Data Structures," "pointers," and "scalars" might all be links to other articles. I agree there should be something other than a score as an example. Weren't all the illustrations in Miller's book created with Pd? Maybe some kind of spectral analysis graphed with data structures would look impressive.
-Chuckk
On 4/3/06, david golightly davigoli@gmail.com wrote:
I think though it would be confusing to associate "pointers" in C with "pointers" in Pd. They are related but not exactly equivalent concepts. And we don't necessarily need to mention "pointers" on the Wikipedia site - that's a detail that's more suited to a tutorial that an encyclopedic overview.
I've added a little section on data structures to the site - check it out and let me know what you think. I'd still like to get a good screenshot of a non-score use of data structures, as well.
-david
On 4/3/06, Arie van Schutterhoef arsche@xs4all.nl wrote:
describe just what "data structures"
-Reads like a poem: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_structure
"pointers"
-Slighthly less prosaic, but nonetheless readable: http://www.cs.cf.ac.uk/Dave/C/node10.html
AvS
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