Kevin Doyle
When you select to use the Mixing Desk or Notepad from the
Studio 5000 Main Menu you are loading in AMPLE programs - but they are
different from the programs which you write yourself. Mixing Desk and Notepad are
MODULES which means that they are 'extended' AMPLE programs which are
relocatable in memory.
By 'extended' I mean that they are written in a form of AMPLE
using facilities not (yet) available to AMPLE Nucleus users. For example, the programs
make extensive use of subroutines which can only be achieved indirectly in
AMPLE Nucleus through the calling of one word by another. In the modules,
subroutines are contained within words and are called by direct memory
references within a single word making them more efficient, though more complex
to write.
The modules also use special features which allow them
direct control of all the musical parameters such as pitch, tempo, and
amplitude.
It is because the modules use these extra facilities which
have no user- available equivalent, that you cannot display the definitions for
the modules as you can with your own programs.
One of the important features of the modules is their
relocatability. All memory references (such as those used in calling
subroutines) are relative to the start of the module - therefore the actual
location of the module is irrelevant.
This relocatability allows modules to be loaded into or
discarded from memory without affecting other modules or the user's program and
the consequent memory shuffling accounts for the short gap which can be noticed
before a module is loaded from the Main Menu.
The modules supplied with the Studio 5000 are:
M.ATOS – (converts AMPLE to Staff
notation)
M.EW – (envelope and waveform
definitions)
M.FX1A – (effects such as Echo and
Slide)
M.INS1 – (instrument definitions)
M.INT – (initialises system)
M.M5 – (sub-mix utility)
M.MENU – (Studio 5000 Main Menu)
M.MIX – (Mixing Desk)
M.PAD – (Notepad)
M.STAFF – (Staff Editor)
The first module (ATOS) is called by the Staff editor when a
new word is loaded into it. The next 7 are normally installed on start-up of AMPLE
by the !boot file. The last three (MIX, PAD and STAFF) are normally selected
via the Main Menu as required.
You can see which of these are installed on your machine at any
time by typing
MCAT
which displays the resident modules and their status. Their status
is shown by 3 codes after the module name.
The meaning of these, and the numbers before them is obscure
and other than the letters 'F' or 'T' signifying that the module is fixed or
temporary (of which more later) I am open to suggestions from other users.
To see what words are included (and therefore made available
by) each module you can use the word MSHOW. This acts like the more familiar
SHOW, except that you must specify a resident module. For example,
"FX1A" MSHOW
will give
Autopan Echo FX1A
Len PLAY Perc Slide
some of which will be familiar. A look at the contents of
all the standard modules will reveal quite a few mystery words!
Earlier, I mentioned 'fixed' modules. The distinction here
is between modules which can be discarded and reloaded as required by the user,
and those which once loaded cannot be removed.
If you use the Main Menu to load the modules such as Notepad
and Mixing Desk then you will know that one thing drives out another - that is,
if you load Notepad and then try loading Mixing Desk you will find that Notepad
has gone.
This happens because both these modules are 'temporary'
rather than 'fixed' and the Main Menu automatically discards any temporary modules
to make the maximum space available before loading anything else. This can
sometimes prove irritating if you want to have both to hand.
To get round this you can use the MLOAD command directly.
So, to load Notepad you can type
"PAD" MLOAD
the same command as displayed when you select Notepad from
the Main Menu. The difference is that other temporary programs are not
automatically discarded, so you can retain as many as your available memory
will allow.
If you then wish to discard one of the modules you have
loaded in this way you can use the MDELETE command, for example,
"PAD" MDELETE
which frees the memory used by the module.
It is possible to go one stage further and turn a temporary
module into a fixed one - but beware, because there is then no way to discard
it other than reloading the system from scratch. The command INSTALL instead of
MLOAD will load the module and make it fixed. So,
"PAD" INSTALL
will load and fix the Notepad module. Now any attempt to use
MDELETE to discard it will produce the error
! Fixed module
and you will see the suffix 'F' in place of the 'T' after
the module when using MCAT.
Published in AMPLINEX 001, September 1987
