ST(1)ST(1)NAMEst - Sound Tools - sound sample file and effects
libraries.
SYNOPSIS
cc file.c -o file libst.a
DESCRIPTION
Sound Tools is a library of sound sample file format read-
ers/writers and sound effects processors.
Sound Tools includes skeleton C files to assist you in
writing new formats and effects. The full skeleton
driver, skel.c, helps you write drivers for a new format
which has data structures. The simple skeleton drivers
help you write a new driver for raw (headerless) formats,
or for formats which just have a simple header followed by
raw data.
Most sound sample formats are fairly simple: they are just
a string of bytes or words and are presumed to be sampled
at a known data rate. Most of them have a short data
structure at the beginning of the file.
INTERNALS
The Sound Tools formats and effects operate on an internal
buffer format of signed 32-bit longs. The data processing
routines are called with buffers of these samples, and
buffer sizes which refer to the number of samples pro-
cessed, not the number of bytes. File readers translate
the input samples to signed longs and return the number of
longs read. For example, data in linear signed byte for-
mat is left-shifted 24 bits.
This does cause problems in processing the data. For
example:
*obuf++ = (*ibuf++ * *ibuf++)/2;
would not mix down left and right channels into one mono-
phonic channel, because the resulting samples would over-
flow 32 bits. Instead, the ``avg'' effects must use:
*obuf++ = *ibuf++/2 * *ibuf++/2;
Stereo data is stored with the left and right speaker data
in successive samples. Quadraphonic data is stored in
this order: left front, right front, left rear, right
rear.
FORMATS
A format is responsible for translating between sound sam-
ple files and an internal buffer. The internal buffer is
store in signed longs with a fixed sampling rate. The
format operates from two data structures: a format struc-
ture, and a private structure.
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The format structure contains a list of control parameters
for the sample: sampling rate, data size (bytes, words,
floats, etc.), style (unsigned, signed, logarithmic), num-
ber of sound channels. It also contains other state
information: whether the sample file needs to be byte-
swapped, whether fseek() will work, its suffix, its file
stream pointer, its format pointer, and the private struc-
ture for the format .
The private area is just a preallocated data array for the
format to use however it wishes. It should have a defined
data structure and cast the array to that structure. See
voc.c for the use of a private data area. Voc.c has to
track the number of samples it writes and when finishing,
seek back to the beginning of the file and write it out.
The private area is not very large. The ``echo'' effect
has to malloc() a much larger area for its delay line
buffers.
A format has 6 routines:
startread Set up the format parameters, or read
in a data header, or do what needs to
be done.
read Given a buffer and a length: read up
to that many samples, transform them
into signed long integers, and copy
them into the buffer. Return the num-
ber of samples actually read.
stopread Do what needs to be done.
startwrite Set up the format parameters, or write
out a data header, or do what needs to
be done.
write Given a buffer and a length: copy that
many samples out of the buffer, con-
vert them from signed longs to the
appropriate data, and write them to
the file. If it can't write out all
the samples, fail.
stopwrite Fix up any file header, or do what
needs to be done.
EFFECTS
An effects loop has one input and one output stream. It
has 5 routines.
getopts is called with a character string
argument list for the effect.
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start is called with the signal parameters
for the input and output streams.
flow is called with input and output data
buffers, and (by reference) the input
and output data sizes. It processes
the input buffer into the output
buffer, and sets the size variables to
the numbers of samples actually pro-
cessed. It is under no obligation to
fill the output buffer.
drain is called after there are no more
input data samples. If the effect
wishes to generate more data samples
it copies the generated data into a
given buffer and returns the number of
samples generated. If it fills the
buffer, it will be called again, etc.
The echo effect uses this to fade
away.
stop is called when there are no more input
samples to process. stop may generate
output samples on its own. See echo.c
for how to do this, and see that what
it does is absolutely bogus.
COMMENTS
Theoretically, formats can be used to manipulate several
files inside one program. Multi-sample files, for example
the download for a sampling keyboard, can be handled
cleanly with this feature.
PORTABILITY PROBLEMS
Many computers don't supply arithmetic shifting, so do
multiplies and divides instead of << and >>. The compiler
will do the right thing if the CPU supplies arithmetic
shifting.
Do all arithmetic conversions one stage at a time. I've
had too many problems with "obviously clean" combinations.
In general, don't worry about "efficiency". The sox.c
base translator is disk-bound on any machine (other than a
8088 PC with an SMD disk controller). Just comment your
code and make sure it's clean and simple. You'll find
that DSP code is extremely painful to write as it is.
BUGS
The HCOM format is not re-entrant; it can only be used
once in a program.
The program/library interface is pretty weak. There's too
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much ad-hoc information which a program is supposed to
gather up. Sound Tools wants to be an object-oriented
dataflow architecture.
The human ear can't really hear better than 20 bits. With
an internal format of 16 bits, we will eventually destroy
information when used to mix CD's. The internal format
should be 24-bit signed data. But, with 24 bits you still
have to be careful multiplying. Check the ``vibro''
effect for how it handles this problem.
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