Timed output in Ruby

[Rocko]

Hi all,

I'm building my own kind of 'preset handler'.
It is supposed to read a text file and then send it out as SYSEX to a vintage synth.
The issue is that SYSEX commands should be timed out with a decent delay between one another.
Assume 'one commans a second' rate (it is much faster in reality of course).

So, I'm trying to read a text file, for various reasons the number of lines is unknown, assume 10-25.
The file has headers and errors, so I'm filtering out only the commands that start with 'cmd', as a basic filter.

The ruby module should output at one-line-a-second speed.
I've tried 'sleep' which doesn't work in Flowstone... Any other ideas, similar to 'sleep' ?

I've tried a 'busy loop' (just count to 1000) but it is system dependant. Not a fan of this solution.

This is what I have:

('s' is the string input to the ruby code)

Code: Select all

#
def event i,v,t

   len = @s.split(/\r/).length
   @i = 0

   while @i < (len-2) do

      #Take three first chars of the line
      a =  @s.split(/\r/)[@i].split[0][0..2]
            
      if ( a == 'cmd')
         output 0, @s.split(/\r/)[@i]
      
      #Busy loop (Sleep is not functional in FlowStone)   
      #for j in 0..100
      #   output 1, j
      #end   
                     
      end
       
       @i = @i + 1      
    
   end
end

Any ideas ?

Code is attached as well.

[tulamide]

Try this.

[Rocko]

Hi,

Many thanks tulamide. Very interesting.

I tried to understand the code myself, but I lack understanding for these commands:

Code: Select all

input 99,nil, time+1 # 0.5 == in seconds from current time

isn't 'i' the reference to the input nuymber (which is single, only one input in this scehmatic) ?
I guess the single input (@ins[0]) receives the 'i=99' as well, even though there are no '99 inputs' ??

And:

Code: Select all

return 1

What does this command do?

Thanks,
Rocko

[Rocko]

Hi,

I had also changed the code so that it does not 'wait' on non "cmd" lines, as so:

Code: Select all

def init
 @i = 0
 @len = 0 
end

def event i,v,t
   if i == 0
      next_line
      @len = @s.split(/\r\n/).length ###
   elsif i == 99
      next_line
   end
end

def next_line
   
   if @i > (@len - 2)
      @i = 0
      return -1
   end
   
   #Take three first chars of the line
   a =  @s.split(/\r\n/)[@i].split[0][0..2]
            
   if ( a == 'cmd')
      output 0, @s.split(/\r\n/)[@i]
      input 99,nil, time+0.5 #Delay time
      else
      input 99,nil, time
   end
   
   @i += 1
      
   return 1
end

[tulamide]

isn't 'i' the reference to the input nuymber (which is single, only one input in this scehmatic) ?
I guess the single input (@ins[0]) receives the 'i=99' as well, even though there are no '99 inputs' ??

Correct. It is just a Ruby array, and Ruby arrays are of undefined length. You can add an entry anywhere you like. I chose 99 just to prevent any interference with possible future connections to the RubyEdit. It could as well have been 1 or 204.

And:

Code: Select all

return 1

What does this command do?

There is an equivalent, too. "return -1". They are used to inform, if the last line was reached (in which case the method returns -1), or not (returns 1). I didn't make use of the return values, which means, if you want to use it exactly as I showed in the example, you can safely remove both code lines.

Hi,

I had also changed the code so that it does not 'wait' on non "cmd" lines, as so:

Code: Select all

def init
 @i = 0
 @len = 0 
end

def event i,v,t
   if i == 0
      next_line
      @len = @s.split(/\r\n/).length ###
   elsif i == 99
      next_line
   end
end

def next_line
   
   if @i > (@len - 2)
      @i = 0
      return -1
   end
   
   #Take three first chars of the line
   a =  @s.split(/\r\n/)[@i].split[0][0..2]
            
   if ( a == 'cmd')
      output 0, @s.split(/\r\n/)[@i]
      input 99,nil, time+0.5 #Delay time
      else
      input 99,nil, time
   end
   
   @i += 1
      
   return 1
end

The method looks good, but you have to calculate @len before you call next_line for the first time, or else all calculations are based on the last reported length. This works in this example, since it is always the same text. But if you use a text with more lines it will end too soon. If you use one with less lines it will end too late (resulting in an error).

For more information on event scheduling (and method scheduling), read chapter 8 of the user guide. It explains it in detail.

[Spogg]

The more I read this kind of topic the more hopeless I feel

I'm SO glad we have tulamide to field the Ruby stuff

Just saying!

Spogg

[RJHollins]

Thanks 'T' !!

Welcome back Spogg

[Rocko]

Hi,

Indeed so.
Thanks Tulamide for the example and detailed explanation.

I will go over chapter 8 (again).

Rocko