About CLAP

[Urs]

I look forward to anxious users pestering developers with comments and threads like "lazy developers, no CLAP support yet!" jk

...but you just know it's coming.

No worries, everyone will understand that a change of that magnitude takes time. I'm just glad that we'll immediately have something to show for, both in terms of a technology presentation (betas and releases of hosts and plug-ins with some of the new features) and there are also a few tentative commitments (from "we'll think about it" and "we're open" to "yep absolutely!") from developers.

Anyhow, please forget that I mentioned the date, I need the next couple of days to fix some little bugettes in our CLAP layer.

[GruvSyco]

I keep hesitating to make this comment... not sure if it's possible or seems crazy.

I would love to see something that facilitates parameter mapping and patch naming/tagging. NKS seems to do this for Kontrol, even with third party VSTs. I would love to see this functionality be available natively in any host. Imagine installing a plugin and when loading it into Ableton Live, all the presets and tags are there and when loaded up all the knobs on Push are already assigned. Or Studio One and an Arturia controller.

*edit to add* I think I brought this up here because I don't know if any part of this could be facilitated in the plug in or if some kind of hooks could be added to help.

[baconpaul]

I keep hesitating to make this comment... not sure if it's possible or seems crazy.

I would love to see something that facilitates parameter mapping and patch naming/tagging. NKS seems to do this for Kontrol, even with third party VSTs. I would love to see this functionality be available natively in any host. Imagine installing a plugin and when loading it into Ableton Live, all the presets and tags are there and when loaded up all the knobs on Push are already assigned. Or Studio One and an Arturia controller.

*edit to add* I think I brought this up here because I don't know if any part of this could be facilitated in the plug in or if some kind of hooks could be added to help.

Clap is based heavily on extensions which are a way for hosts and plugins to collaborate. At the initial stable version the core extensions won’t have this feature, but we already have a draft quick controls extension where a plugin can advertise and invalidate sets of parameters which are the appropriate “quick controls” for that patch. It is still in draft of course and requires work, but exactly the type of scenarios you describe are why the protocol is designed with extensions in mind.

You can see the current quick control draft in the include/clap/ext/draft directory in the source tree if that’s your kinda thing.

[koalaboy]

I'm so happy to see this happening.

As a non-audio dev who sometimes contemplates toying with plugins, each time I come to write something I get annoyed by needing to get a license from Steinberg, and as such I don't bother (I know GPL3 is possible for VST3, but it shouldn't be necessary).

Once again I was recently wondering whether I should bother, and now I find there is CLAP (and with rust-bindings no less !). If I find myself playing with audio/midi code, this is where I will spend my time and effort.
It also reinforces which developers I should support.

Thank you, all involved.

[Urs]

There'll also be examples with a variety of gui toolkits soon, I'm sure. The one from schwaaa should easily be updated to CLAP 1.0 and then it's as rapid for prototyping as it'll ever get.

[Urs]

SSL certificate is in effect!

https://cleveraudio.org

[glokraw]

There'll also be examples with a variety of gui toolkits soon, I'm sure. The one from schwaaa should easily be updated to CLAP 1.0 and then it's as rapid for prototyping as it'll ever get.

I suspect your use of the term 'rapid', is a subtle homage

[Urs]

There'll also be examples with a variety of gui toolkits soon, I'm sure. The one from schwaaa should easily be updated to CLAP 1.0 and then it's as rapid for prototyping as it'll ever get.

I suspect your use of the term 'rapid', is a subtle homage

Hehehe, I'm standing on the hose here... you mean Rapid the synth? We haven't talked to them yet...

I have to disappoint, I'm talking about Rapid Prototyping in software, which uses tools or shortcuts to circumvent others tedious tasks in favour of quick results...

[Urs]

Also, I sent a really emotional plea to Randall Munroe to help with 927. No answer yet, not even "whatever". We might have to fend it off with Venn diagrams. Any good suggestions are welcome.

[EvilDragon]

Ahahahaha

[koalaboy]

I don't think 927 applies when one is locked behind a proprietary license

[EvilDragon]

Sure it does!

[Urs]

We'll see. Ideas are welcome.

[EvilDragon]

I don't know, I think just reaching out to as many plugin vendors as possible and being politely persistent about it is the way to go. I would say the main benefit really is the unencumbered license and basing one's plugin development framework on something that is totally not dependant on Steinberg's whims. This sort of thing should ease minds of pretty much any dev, even if they didn't particularly think deeply about this topic so far.

As for hosts, I guess "build it and they will come" might apply (the more plugin vendors provide CLAP versions of their plugins, the more need there will be for various hosts to support it)? But if you guys manage to secure a few heavy hitters (Image-Line, Ableton, Presonus, MOTU), it would definitely raise some eyebrows I think. Niche DAWs (MuLAB, Renoise, etc.) will always do their own thing and do things as they personally see fit. But even they can understand the very obvious benefits of what CLAP offers, I'd say.

Not sure if my thinking is a bit naive. But to me it makes sense.

[Urs]

I have no doubt at all that we'll have most plug-in developers and host manufacturers on our side and already looking into things. While the official press release will be the official starting point, we have of course already talked to some people and gathered quite a bit of feedback. I don't spoil anything by expressing my excitement here, I can't wait to share some good news.

My concerns are solely the expected activities by fundamental sceptics who seek nothing else than to interrupt a formal discussion, be it about 927, or STDs, or general opinions that this will fail. It will not, because we will demonstrate that it's already there and here to stay.