Re: Questioning the current direction of the Web Audio API

2013-10-18 16:57, Olivier Thereaux skrev:
> On 18 Oct 2013, at 15:33, s p <sebpiq@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> To me the ideal Web Audio API, would just stay out of the way, and enable people to do as much as possible instead of forcing them into a very rigid framework.
> This to me is the crux of the matter. We have been speaking to people at different ends of a spectrum - fairly senior web developers with a good command of javascript who tend to think that it is rather complicated to do simple things with the API, and music/DSP experts lamenting that anything "interesting" can only be done with custom javascript in our ScriptProcessorNode - arguably the least well-defined and implemented of the lot.
>
> Our group so far seems to think that the balance we struck for a v1 is appropriate, with significant scope for a v2 to enable more/better custom audio processing. The question is neither "one or the other" but when we want to focus on the different use cases.

I have to agree with both of you. As I have a background in OpenGL, I 
find the current situation similar to that of fixed-function vs the 
progammable pipeline evolution in OpenGL. Even before GLSL shaders, a 
huge number of 3D applications were made possible, but it wasn't until 
the progammable shaders entered the scene that things got really 
interesting.

Also, remember that most people that want to develop 3D apps in 
OpenGL/WebGL find it difficult to create custom shaders. Instead, you 
rely on middleware solutions with ready-to-use shaders. I forsee that 
once full programmability in Web Audio gets more feasible, we'll see JS 
libraries with ready-to-use exciting sound processing nodes.

In any event, I think that the scope given by Olivier is a sound one: 
first get audio out there (v1), then focus on making the fully 
programmable path more powerful and fit for its purpose (v2).

/Marcus

>
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> Olivier
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-- 
Marcus Geelnard
Technical Lead, Mobile Infrastructure
Opera Software

Received on Monday, 21 October 2013 06:44:19 UTC