CONSTANTS in framelib

[st kr]

one of my many bug bears in max and other languages is the lack of constants typing. the year being 2017 i personally believe that noone should be typing 3.14whatever into a 64bit doubles processing object box etc. it would be amazing if, in framelib objects, they understood a wide range of static constants, like gen does. so we could type pi, twopi, halfpi, oneoverpi, e, log10, sqrt2, sqrt1over2 etc etc into all the maths objects and other places. i realise you may not be interested in this as it would likely be a max specific implementation rather than frame lib specific, although i am not sure.

[Alex Harker]

What you want is part of the max wrapper and I have considered it, but it's a nicety for later.

In the meantime, please remember that fl.constant~ exists, and because of the arbitrary-rate processing it is efficient to use fl.once~ to synthesise constants at start time of whatever value you need.

<pre><code> ----------begin_max5_patcher---------- 602.3ocyVssiaCBD8Y6uBjepsJMxfiuj9VU+LpVUQbHorBCVXbZ1tZy2dMC1 axlx15z0QouDKNYXNbNLCvigAQqT6YMQnOg9JJH3wvf..xBDzONHphtuTPaf vhJUUULoIZl6+Lr8F.+KTQYqfZXHgZKN9c072inMHJpTIaLziyfuFhWs59Oh SF.ksUbofY.NvGAUslAz3dzFyCBFjhgIWSMkemK29MMqz3zRBAOOdFJAma+f KRseHwyiQ2YmySgg1elMRM2sPVwzG7o.7.XCeKrJmG6SRjdvJ0Z1oieoDGPc PlGpYN0XStjJhlgh1HTzNMdWejaTRyFZI6hMHRbl0RVjXWvnBB3ODq+bRla3 +DRDl7rprvRZkK+eVy6VU+KFJ6Gct2uUCsQL2n6TiWmN9BpUv+Ei7YUdIdUR ATLkt3nWMo0RKOqTBOtRI7stTBmsz4HEf8j8+RoDWZX5cTwADNN1ieWLEETW ZojyjvoPoTwx2VozqJ8FUq1eaTtWQmbcEsq+gjCmBmkbkDMbuiOMmcK1ncGV PxWddSwjp4O3SuoQ+oyMtp6wIKf83tFtqjfGdMwATM2izI2Bo2uUu.Zs6epw zqbk7UtX7FVciAwl5uiFRYjfKO+AlPBs3uzGbGZ0ufFtxGc7Zj0rFCWRMbk7 zfvtf750ikozwPT7DPzxQPT9DvSwH4A+F4IeD7jNA5AOBdHS.OjQvS1DvS1H 8MrmNJZc8NltoOXfhtyPtWosCymAC4R2P3h8HMaGeH9T.gp6ZoMc8ysZWy99 B2sjvyJ0xVNbbQnk4mB+EbJ46XB -----------end_max5_patcher----------- </code></pre>

[Alex Harker]

One issue is that it is impossible to know exactly what constants someone might need ahead of time. If you want (for instance) log10(pi/4) then the only ways to allow that in an object box are:

A - imagine all possible combinations (impossible/stupid)

B - allow math expressions as static values (which I object to on principle)

You also remove these symbols from being used as labels for anything, as the wrapper will then interpret them distinctly differently to other symbols.

[st kr]

your text about "the arbitrary-rate processing it is efficient to use fl.once~ to synthesise constants" is gold dust and should go into the eventual documentation some time.

anyone who uses one of these symbols as a label is surely totally crazy.

i appreciate this being somewhere on your backburner 'would be nice' thinking.

[Alex Harker]

Also note that fl.constant~ supports multiples of the constants via a suitably named parameter.

[Alex Harker]

I've thought about this a bit more and I think this isn't going to happen, at least at this stage, because of the reasons above, and because this is what the fl.constant~ object is for. Putting time into this won't increase functionality, just convenience, and given that fl.once~ and fl.constant~ exist even the convenience I consider to be negligible.