ChowDSP Library Documentation?

Development
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In an attempt to learn how to make my own modules, I’ve been poking around in different collection source codes and have noticed a specific ChowDSP Library used in collections such as Befaco. It seems like it does some interesting stuff but I can’t find documentation on it anywhere, anyone know where I could look?

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Don’t think there is other documentation than what you find in the code. and the license in the root of the tree.

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@jatinchowdhury18 the author is active both on this forum, and the surge discord (there is a #chowdsp channel even!).

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Hi there!

I’m guessing that you’re referring to the chowdsp_utils library? There’s some other C++/DSP libraries that I maintain as well, so if you’re asking about a different library just let me know!

If you’re asking about how to build a Rack plugin using chowdsp_utils, it will take a little bit of setup, since the library is set up to use the CMake build system, and most Rack plugins are set up using a Makefile build system. I had been experimenting with using the library in Rack in this repository, so you could probably follow along from the Makefile in that repo. Since that time, it seems like a workflow has come about that makes it a bit easier to build Rack plugins with CMake dependencies… I’d suggest checking out the surge-rack for more info on that.

If you’re asking about how to use the library once you’ve got the build system set up, I’d suggest checking out the examples. They’re mostly set up as projects to be used in JUCE-style plugins, but much of the DSP code should work the same in Rack. There’s also some API documentation if that’s more your style.

I should also note that some of the “modules” in chowdsp_utils are GPL3-licensed, so it’s probably worth taking a second to double-check that the modules you’re planning to use are compatible with whatever license you’re using for your Rack plugin.

And anyway, I’m happy to answer questions on here (feel free to tag me), or on Discord, though I’m probably a little bit more responsive on Discord.

Thanks, Jatin

1 Like
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Thanks for getting back, I’ll check that all out!