Max is a visual programming language from Cycling 74.
From Cycling’s website:
Max, [is] a graphical programming environment that provides user interface, timing, communications, and MIDI support.
My first patch using Max generates a random note, and sends it to the midi device you selected in Max’s preferences.
My first thoughts are that Max is pretty neat, I am thinking about creating some interface for controlling some of my synths. The user interface that is created it pretty nice which really add to the programming language. Further the ability to simply create an exe file is great.
Although this is not an example of this specific max patch, it lets you know where I came from to get here, building the program up from here I think will be rather easy.
Paul, how’d you decide on Max/MSP rather than e.g. PD or Processing? Isn’t it pretty expensive to get into? What are the (dis)advantages as you see them?
There is a free trial of Max and Msp as well.
PD from what I know if it is a open source clone of Max/Msp.
Processing is a different thing, it’s basically simple Java. I have seen some audio done in processing but the lengths you have to to to get to that point are much longer than in max or PD.
As far as why, I wanted to see what its about, and if you look at it as another “musical instrument” 500 is not that hard to justify.