/*! \page crealtime Realtime Audio (callback)
An alternative scheme for audio input/output is to define a specific
function in which audio computations are performed and to let the
audio system call this function when more input/output data can be
accepted by the hardware (referred to as a callback scheme). In this
section, we show how the previous rtsine.cpp program can be
modified to work in a callback scenario. There is no "single-sample"
interface for this functionality. The callback function will be
invoked automatically by the audio system controller (RtAudio) when
new data is needed and it is necessary to compute a full audio buffer
of samples at that time (see \ref callback for further information).
The previous section described the use of the stk::RtWvOut class for
realtime audio output. The stk::RtWvOut::tick() function writes data to a
large ring-buffer, from which data is periodically written to the
computer's audio hardware via an underlying callback routine.
\include crtsine.cpp
The sinusoidal oscillator is created as before. The instantiation of
RtAudio requires quite a few more parameters, including output/input
device and channel specifiers, the data format, and the desired buffer
length (in frames). In this example, we request a single output
channel using the default output device, zero channels of input, the
RtAudio data format which corresponds to an StkFloat, and the
RT_BUFFER_SIZE defined in Stk.h. The \c bufferFrames argument is an
API-dependent buffering parameter (see RtAudio for further
information).
We also provide the audio system controller with a pointer to our
callback function and an optional pointer to data that will be made
available in the callback. In this example, we need to pass only the
pointer to the oscillator. In more complex programs, it is typically
necessary to put all shared data in a struct (see the next
tutorial program for an example) or make use of global variables.
Our callback routine is the \c tick() function. Function arguments
include pointers to the audio input and output data buffers, the
buffer size (in frames), a stream time argument, a status argument to
test for over/underruns, and the data pointer passed in the
openStream() function (if it exists). It is necessary to cast these
pointers to their corresponding data types before use. Our tick()
routine simply "ticks" the oscillator for \c nBufferFrames counts and
writes the result into the audio data buffer before returning.
The \c main() function blocks at the std::cin.get() call until the
user hits the "enter" key, after which the audio controller is shut
down and program execution ends.
\section callback Blocking vs. Callbacks
Prior to version 4.2.0, all STK example projects and programs used
blocking audio input/output functionality (typically with the RtWvIn,
RtWvOut, or RtDuplex classes). In many instances, a blocking scheme
results in a clearer and more straight-forward program structure.
Within a graphical user interface (GUI) programming context, however,
callback routines are often more natural.
In order to allow all STK programs to function with equal proficiency
on all supported computer platforms, a decision was made to modify the
example projects to use audio callback routines. The result is a more
complicated code structure, which is unfortunate given that we
generally strive to make STK code as clear as possible for educational
purposes. This was especially an issue with the demo program because
it is designed to function in both realtime and non-realtime contexts.
The use of global variables has been avoided by defining data
structures to hold all variables that must be accessible to the
callback routine and other functions. Alternative schemes for making
control updates could be designed depending on particular program
needs and constraints.
[Main tutorial page] [Next tutorial]
*/