[FM Discuss] Pure Data FLOSS Manual Book Sprint 4-6 April 2009 in NYC and Berlin

[Derek Holzer]

FLOSS Manuals is proud to announce a three day book sprint for the Pure
Data FLOSS Manual. This sprint will take place simultaneously in New
York City and Berlin from Saturday 4 April to Monday 6 April.

The Pure Data FLOSS Manual:

http://en.flossmanuals.net/puredata

There are possibilities to participate in person by coming to one of the
locations below, or remotely via the IRC interface built into the FLOSS
Manuals editing interface. Video conferencing may take place between the
venues as well.

To participate, create a login at the PD FLOSS Manuals page:

http://en.flossmanuals.net/bin/login/TWiki/WebHome?origurl=/bin/view/PureData/Introduction&skin=floss2

Discussion may also take place in the Pure Data mailing list:

http://lists.puredata.info/listinfo/pd-list

If you are in New York or Berlin, please join us at these locations!

---NEW YORK CITY

* Contact:

Hans-Christoph Steiner: hans at eds.org 718 360 4872

* Location (bring ID, you'll need to sign in):

ITP/NYU Conference Room
721 Broadway, 4th Floor
NY, NY, USA
email me or call in case you can get past security: 718 360 4872

* Schedule:
Saturday: noon-midnight
Sunday: 10am-midnight
Monday: 9am-5:30pm  (if we go later, we'll be in a different room)

---BERLIN

* Contacts

Derek Holzer: derek at umatic.nl +49 176 2812 5845
Adam Hyde: adam at flossmanuals.net +49 15 2230 54563

NK
ElsenStr. 52 (2.Hof)
Berlin, Germany
+49 176 20626386
http://www.myspace.com/enka52

* Schedule:
Saturday: noon-late
Sunday: noon-late
Monday: noon-late


SOME BASIC GUIDELINES:

* This manual should address the widest possible user-base. Therefore,
objects which are cross-platform and in Pd Extended should have priority
over other solutions.
* Tone should be neutral and informative. Remember that humor doesn't
always translate well! ;-)
* Our readers are assumed to have little to no background in either
computer programming or digital signal processing, which much of the
existing documentation takes for granted. That's why this manual is
necessary! Please keep this in mind when explaining things.
* Please use existing the Audio Tutorials, Installing and Getting
Started chapters as a style guide.
* Keep the chapters small and self-contained. Ideally, chapters from
this manual could even be "remixed" into other FLOSS Manuals.
* Explain any jargon or technical terminology in-line the first time you
use it, and direct the reader to appropriate other chapters/manuals when
necessary.
* Please enter any new technical terms in the Glossary (we need to agree
on global format for glossary terms!).
* Screenshots:
---Resolution? (Adam and I will work on this on Monday)
---Please upload any complex patches, and make sure to label screenshot
with appropriate filename (see Audio Tutorials for examples)
---Please keep explanatory text in the manual rather than only in the
screenshot, so that it can be text-searched by readers.
---Please use anti-aliased fonts!
* All the chapters are moderated by Derek Holzer & Adam Hyde. Your
contributions will only be visible in the editing section until they
meet these guidelines, and after that they can be published to the main
page. Please let us know when your chapter(s) are ready for publishing
and we'll look them over.


EXISTING CHAPTERS WHICH NEED HELP:

# DataflowTutorials

---this section needs a lot of help in terms of style and content!!!!!
Tone is very informal, which doesn't help convey the information.
---give titles to screenshots so that readers can tell which patches
match which images (some do this, some don't...)
---"Math": examples/discussion of [expr]???
---"Order of connecting and [trigger]": explain the patches in-line,
rather than only in comments in screenshots (so that text is searchable,
copy/pasteable..)
---Luka's screencaps are very aliased, to the point where you can't read
the ~ in the object names. Should they be redone at new resolution or
with antialiasing?
---Possible janitors: Derek Holzer, Adam Hyde

# PureGlossary

---format of object names = [italics in square brackets], must be
formatted correctly
---format of glossary words in general text: we don't have one yet. Bold
on first use in chapter maybe? Needs formatting all through text.

# ListofObjects

---incomplete, please add more libs
---maybe more discussion of externals needed as well
---formatting of object names?

# PureLinks

---always welcome

MORE CHAPTERS/SECTIONS TO DO (+ suggestions?):

* GEM (in order of importance)(Derek can provide example patches for
much of this)
---Basic VJ mixer (2 x
[gemhead]-[pix_film]-[alpha]-[colorRGB]-[pix_texture]-[rectangle] with
an alpha-crossfader)(+ platform specific codec info)
---Live camera input (same as VJ mixer but with [pix_video], with
platform specific info on USB/firewire inputs--what works & what doesn't)
---VJ effects (using the various pix objects)
---Basic 3D (that actually does something interesting, rather than just
show a sphere or a cube)
---Basic movement tracking w/ [pix_blob]
---GEM/video optimization/troubleshooting tips (see Troubleshooting
section of existing Pd FLOSS Manual)

* MIDI tutorial
---hardware:keyboards, sliders, etc,
---objects: all MIDI objects
---routing: input + output to/from devices or other programs

* Patching strategies
---Reusable abstractions ($0 etc)
---GoP + other GUI creation strategies
---Preset saving systems (Frank?)

* Audiofile manipulation (Derek can provide examples, possibly also work
with www.pd-tutorial.com with permission?)
---sfread, readsf, sfplay, etc
---tables + tabplay, tabread, etc
---oneshot playback without/with pitch shifting
---looping without/with pitchshifting
---granulation without/with pitchshifting
---Extended objects ([xplay~], [xgroove~]...are these stable? In my
experience, no...)

* Realtime audio effects tutorial
---delays: single tap, multitap, pitch-shifting, tuned comb filter, etc
---filters: [hip~], [lop~], [bp~], [moog~], IEM lib filters
[vcf~]/[bp],[hp],[lp], difference between audio signal and message
controlled, building with ggee objects [bandpass],[llowpass],[highpass]
or [biquad~] (resources for coefficients?)

* Sensor tutorial (HC?)
---[hid]/[hidin]/[pduino]
---simple circuit diagrams + photos (voltage divider examples:
potentiometer, photoresistor, etc)(hacked gamepads)

* Networked data
---netsend/netreceive
---OSC
---flash server
---shell
---python externals
---others?

* PDP/PiDiP
---configuration info for OSX (+ poor performance disclaimer!)
---basic VJ
---networked streaming etc

* Procedural Audio tutorial? (Andy?)

* RJDJ tutorial? (Frank and the gang?)


-- 
::: derek holzer ::: http://blog.myspace.com/macumbista :::
http://www.vimeo.com/macumbista :::
---Oblique Strategy # 142:
"Shut the door and listen from outside"