[gmpi] Re: Topic 1: Audience for and users of plugins

  • From: "Mikael Hillborg" <mikael@xxxxxx>
  • To: <gmpi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Sun, 16 Feb 2003 20:41:51 +0100

> I don't think we're being realistic... Try to think about it... GMPI is 
> supposed to be:
> 
> 1: Easy to implement
> 2: Support all kinds of applications
> 3: "just work"
> 
> I don't find this to be realistic. In my time as a software engineer and 
> production manager, 
> 1 thing I've learned is that over-confidence is the sure road to failure, and 
> that 
> "self-limitation" is the road to success (well, that's 2 things actually...).
> Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that the 3 points above are more or less 
> mutually exclusive, 
> or rather, (2) is mutually exclusive with the others.

Yes, I have the same background as you, agree and think the focus should be on 
(3). 
(1) and (2) are maybe not too realistic, but the spec should (1) not be of the 
"spaghetti" 
kind and it should be relatively easy to learn if you have no problem reading 
specs, such 
as the DirectX, VST and Audio Unit specs. 

So that's our developers audience I believe: those who can read, understand and 
use some or 
all of the above specs...?

GMPI should (3) work at least as good as DirectX, VST and Audio Unit plugins do 
today. 
And (2) it should support instruments, effects and (important) mixes of both, 
where instruments 
are generators and effects taken an input and produce an output. Input and 
output may be
different in size and format (eg stereo in, 8 channels out). In addition, the 
user should be
able to use these plugins as a modular system where the plugins (modules) may 
transfer both
audio and arbitrary data between them. 

Thus the customer audience is the same people who use the above formats BUT I 
would like to
add the following group: Linux users. Basically, I think we should focus on Mac 
(OS 9 and/or X?), 
Windows (all flavours except 3.x) and Linux users (any Linux lurkers here? Red 
Hat as a 
reference maybe?). 

My experience is that the best way to avoid failure is to work with increments. 
Thus, first
produce *something*, then improve it step by step ... carefully. During the 
improvement phase,
things might change that violate backwards compatibility, but that on the other 
hand, the
first versions don't have to be official versions for end users (e.g. 
developers) but just
evalutation specs. 

MH



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