Pure Data is a visual programming language for multimedia.
Pd enables musicians, visual artists, performers, researchers, and developers to create software graphically without writing lines of code. Pd can be used to process and generate sound, video, 2D/3D graphics, and interface sensors, input devices, and MIDI. Pd can easily work over local and remote networks to integrate wearable technology, motor systems, lighting rigs, and other equipment. It is suitable for learning basic multimedia processing and visual programming methods as well as for realizing complex systems for large-scale projects.
Algorithmic functions are represented in Pd by visual boxes called objects placed within a patching window called a canvas. Data flow between objects are achieved through visual connections called patch cords. Each object performs a specific task, which can vary in complexity from very low-level mathematical operations to complicated audio or video functions such as reverberation, FFT transformations, or video decoding. Objects include core Pd vanilla objects, external objects or externals (Pd objects compiled from C or C++), and abstractions (Pd patches loaded as objects).
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