For specifying the rate of an audio file or the rate of a video file, the number 1 is used for normal rate, and we may want to be able to increase or decrease the rate by a certain ratio. For example we may want to double or halve the rate, setting it to either 2 times normal or 1/2 of normal.
Programming languages all provide some means of generating random numbers. Those numbers aren’t truly random, though. They’re what’s called pseudo-random. They’re actually generated by a known, deterministic process for generating a sequence of numbers, but that process generates a long series of apparently random numbers that doesn’t repeat for a very long time.
The objects mtof and ftom provide easy conversion between MIDI pitch numbers and their equivalent equal-tempered frequency values.
A timepoint is a point in musical time.
Recursion, feedback loops, and unlimited untimed (as fast as possible) loops are not feasible in Max. In effect, you’d be asking Max to do an unlimited number of things all at the same time. Its scheduler (its internal “to-do” list) would get filled and it would be unable to do anything more. In computer lingo, its “stack” (its inbox of tasks to do) would overflow.
A way of hiding or showing Max objects is to assign an object a “scripting name” in the Inspector, then give the thispatcher object a ‘script’ message telling it to hide or show that object.
In digital images, each pixel contains color information (such as values describing intensity of red, green, and blue) and also contains a value for its opacity known as its ‘alpha’ value. An alpha value of 1 means totally opaque, and an alpha value of 0 means totally transparent. This value can be used for blending images, or for making all or part of an image totally transparent.
The button object in Max gives visual feedback when it’s clicked upon, by flashing once briefly.
Did you know that some Max objects make a distinction between integer numbers and numbers that have a fractional part?
The way that a sound’s amplitude evolves over time is called its amplitude envelope.