Thread: C Programming for Sound Processing

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    C Programming for Sound Processing

    To those who know something about programming for acoustics...

    Can anyone tell me where I can find more information about how to process sound in C, and how to manipulate it? I am not new to C, but I am new to sound processing. I'd like to start my own C project involving surround sound. Unfortunately, I do not know where to begin.

    Tks, Irno.

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    spurious conceit MK27's Avatar
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    I dunno of anything cross-platform, but on linux check out the alsa library (<alsa/asoundlib.a>).

    You should understand that sound in computers is encoded as pcm (pulse-code modulation) data. A .wav file is just straight pcm data with a header on it; compressed formats like .mp3 take pcm data and encrypt/compress it.
    C programming resources:
    GNU C Function and Macro Index -- glibc reference manual
    The C Book -- nice online learner guide
    Current ISO draft standard
    CCAN -- new CPAN like open source library repository
    3 (different) GNU debugger tutorials: #1 -- #2 -- #3
    cpwiki -- our wiki on sourceforge

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    Make Fortran great again
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    You need to be a little more specific...what are you looking to do exactly?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Epy View Post
    You need to be a little more specific...what are you looking to do exactly?
    Thanks for the question, Epy. I am looking for a place to start for learning sound generation, processing and filtering with C. Can you suggest an idea for a project that would help me learn some basics. Are there any applications, etc., to program that would help me?

    Thanks.
    Last edited by Irno; 03-25-2010 at 09:28 PM.

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    Registered User claudiu's Avatar
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    Usually sound generation/alteration is more related to math than any specific programming language. Do you have any scientific knowledge of signal processing and the sort and are just looking for a good implementation environment?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Irno View Post
    Thanks for the question, Epy. I am looking for a place to start for learning sound generation, processing and filtering with C. Can you suggest an idea for a project that would help me learn some basics. Are there any applications, etc., to program that would help me?

    Thanks.
    This is actually what got me interested in C again...I did this last year: Hazudra Fodder: pwtracker: An .au file creator written in C99

    All you're really looking at is creating arrays to hold amplitude values and then dumping them out to a file or another output device.

    libsndfile - library that takes an array and dumps out a .wav file, among other formats.
    Xiph.org: libao: a cross platform audio library - Similar, but can play the music on the speakers (through ALSA, OSS, etc.)
    Princeton Sound Lab - [software]

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    Thanks, Epy. That'll get me started. Please keep those links coming if you have more.

    Irno

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