Replacing Callbacks with Generators: A Case Study in Computer-Assisted Live Music
Matthieu Amiguet
Callbacks have become an ubiquitous programming technique that we use every day without even thinking about it. They are definitely handy in many situations, but sometimes they feel more like a burden than a help. In developing an interactive realtime audio processing system for use on stage in live music, we encountered such a situation. This talk will present how a few dozen lines adding a thin abstraction layer allowed us to replace a complex callback mess with tremendously more readable generators (yes, you know, those functions which yield
results instead of return
ing them...).
Matthieu Amiguet
Affiliation: Les Chemins de Traverse
Trained both as a musician and a mathematician, Matthieu Amiguet took up programming as a hobby and somehow ended up making a PhD in computer science. He now works freelance - both as a musician and a developer. He is Artistic Director at Les Chemins de Traverse, jointly with Barbara Minder.
Les Chemins de Traverse is a collective of musicians, artists and researchers from a variety of backgrounds with a focus on sonic exploration and live performance. They cover a large musical territory from renaissance and baroque music to jazz, rock music and contemporary experimental noise. More often than not, they mix different styles and techniques - like in a weird chemical experiment that would produce nice colored fluids but might as well explode at any time.