Qtractor 0.2.0

[Rui Capela]

Name: Qtractor
Version: 0.2.0
Type: KDE Sound Application
Depend: Qt 4.x
License: GPL
Homepage: http://qtractor.sourceforge.net
More Info:
http://www.kde-apps.org/content/show.php?content=56325

Description:
 Qtractor is an Audio/MIDI multi-track sequencer
application written in C++ around the Qt4 toolkit
using Qt Designer. The initial target platform
will be Linux, where the Jack Audio Connection Kit
(JACK) for audio, and the Advanced Linux Sound
Architecture (ALSA) for MIDI, are the main
infrastructures to evolve as a fairly-featured
Linux Desktop Audio Workstation GUI, specially
dedicated to the personal home-studio.

Changelog:
 2009-07-18  0.2.0  The Frolic Demoiselle

- MIDI clip filename revision logic is now
introduced, thus avoiding the proliferation of
several numbered SMF's on each edit/save; some
lurking bugs were exposed in the MIDI clip
externalization method but promptly squashed.
- Fixed a mouse release event glitch while in
drag-and-drop items in the Files tree list widget.
- A dummy plugin type option has been devised,
just to bear with some troubled behavior of the
lovely JUCETICE plugins
(View/Options.../Plugins/Experimental/Dummy VST
plugin scan). Bad news are that all, yes all as in
every native VST plugins, are indistinguishable
from being just pure audio effects, either mono or
stereo, whatever, and thus all being considered
full-blown stereo VSTi instruments (which are the
vast mainstream and rather interesting majority,
nevertheless:).
- The plugin selection dialog (Add Plugin...) now
features the option whether the selected plugins
should be activated on insert.
- Mixer strip titles now have distinguishable type
icons, either for audio or MIDI, and shown on all
buses and track strips.
- Major optimization breakthrough: muted audio
tracks aren't streamed any longer, saving precious
CPU cycles from decoding, resampling,
pitch-shifting, time-stretching, plugin effects,
whatever.
- Incredible as it might be, audio/MIDI track
record monitoring is now mixed (or merged) with
rolling playback content, thus not as mutually 
exclusive between record and playback states
anymore; also, track mute/solo states doesn't
apply to recording material anymore.
- Main form timer slot gets corrected and now
independent of current process buffer-size in
regard to JACK transport synchronization.
- All file references in session state file are
now stored as relative paths to main session
directory.
- DSSI/VSTi plugin presets can now be explicitly
recalled from file (ie. Open/load preset) through
this new tool button whether visible while in the
generic plugin form.
- Due to some trouble with newer Qt >= 4.4
applications regarding font size configuration, a
new global user option is now available to the
rescue: View/Options... /Display/Base font size
(default is no-op).
- Logarithmic scale is now taken into effect by
control parameter sliders, in the generic plugin
editor dialog as provided by LADSPA and DSSI
plugin types.
- MIDI track bank/program does not default to zero
(PC#0) anymore.
- Second attempt for Qt4.4 build support,
regarding the bundled atomic primitives, now
corrected and way more seriously :).
- Long due DSSI/VSTi plugin host implementation
has taken shape for MIDI instruments (eg.
soft-synth plugins); DSSI reached its full host
implementation and VSTi is already kicking as well
(HIGHLY EXPERIMENTAL).
- DSSI/VSTi plugin presets may now be stored to
external XML files, which should include all
parameter values and configuration data chunks,
taken as proper state snapshot and subject for
recall.
- Dedicated audio output bus option is now also
accessible for all MIDI instrument plugins, either
set globally as a default mode in
View/Options.../Plugins/Instruments or in the
plugin context menu for MIDI tracks, as an
undoable command.
- Fixed a potential crash-exception due to freeing
a null-pointer, raised on some ever stringent
platforms and while adding tracks to empty
sessions, which is the same to say this was
crashing more than always:).
- Loop turn-around is now taken care of, as this
has been found missing and causing noticeable
gapping when un-muting or changing MIDI track
events while in playback.
- An off-by-one bug was fixed while inside MIDI
cursor backward seek method, which was missing all
other events that have the same exact onset
timing.
- Attempt to load Qt's own translation support and
get rid of the ever warning startup message,
unless built in debug mode. (transaction by Guido
Scholz, while on qsynth-devel, thanks).
- Only one application instance is now allowed to
be up and running, with immediate but graceful
termination upon startup iif an already running
instance is detected, which will see its main
widget shown up automatically (Qt/X11 platform
only).
- Clip fades have now a slight transparency.
- Avoid loop read-ahead on initial audio clip
loading.
- Messages file logging makes its first long
overdue appearance, with user configurable
settings in View/Options.../Logging; options
dialog was slightly rearranged and moved the
Plugins section into a new tab page.
- Audio/MIDI drifting correction was missing its
own correct and due (re)initialization whenever
playback is (re)started; also, MIDI metering
synchronization has been fixed once again.
- Fixed session cursor backward seeking, specially
applicable when playback passes the end of
overlapped clips.
- Fixed potential crash when opening bogus audio
files.
- Time-stretch FIFO buffer implementation is now
made generic, as template, fixing a destructor
memory leak in the process.
- Include legacy headers, stdlib.h and string.h,
where necessary to build with stricter gcc/g++ >=
4.3.


0.1.3  2008-05-02  The Frugal Damsel

- As one may find convenient sometimes, the global
time display format (frames, time or BBT) may now
be changed on the main transport time spin-box
context menu.
- Left-clicking on the track list number column
now toggles all track content clip selection.
- Prevent audio-buffer initialization mashups when
editing short audio clips while playback is
rolling and within clip region.
- Audio peak files gets a bit simplified, dropping
the peak frame count from its header; peak
waveform graphics are now rendered as straight
lines when over the end of audio file.
- The drop-span option (View/Options.../Drop
multiple audio files into the same track) now also
applies when importing tracks (as in Track/Import
Tracks/Audio...) to concatenate multiple audio
clips into one and the same new track.
- Audio and MIDI meter level colors are now user
configurable (as global configuration options,
View/Options.../Display/Meters) 
- First attempt for Qt4.4 build support, regarding
the bundled atomic primitives, which have changed
upstream as advertised (thanks to Paul Thomas, for
spotting this one first time).
- Record monitor switch is now an accessible
button option on all track mixer strips; for
visual consistency, the old bus "thru" switch
button has been renamed to "monitor".
- Force track-view position reset to origin on
session close.
- Fixed segfault on inserting an external file
into files widget.
- Mixer splitter sizes are now better
saved/restored when closed.
- Track record monitoring is now a state option,
being toggled from the Track/State/Monitor menu;
applies both to audio end MIDI tracks: when set
all input will be pass-through to the current
assigned output bus, including track plug-ins
chain.
- Session dialog gets split in its own tab
components, between descriptive, time and view
configuration ones.
- Drifting correction among audio and MIDI engines
is now back, but avoided while recording or should
it be while looping? (EXPERIMENTAL REGRESSION)
- Time-stretching percent value gets its semantics
inverted, as thought consistent with ones general
sense for relative stretching ie., lower to shrink
and higher to make longer. this is a major
up-side-down change and should affect all sessions
saved with time-stretched audio clips.
- Slack space in main tracks and MIDI clip editor
views are now proportional to viewport width,
leaving enough room for drag and moving content
past the current session length, specially at the
lower zoom levels.
- Clip end time is now also shown on tool-tip.
- When armed for recording, MIDI tracks are now
monitored and filtered through their own output
bus, thus having the same behavior as audio
tracks; this also implies that all record armed
tracks won't playback their current content
material when recording is engaged and rolling;
track mute and solo states are now honored on
record monitoring.
- Audio clip pitch-shifting makes its first
appearance, with the optional help from Chris
Cannam's RubberBand library.
- A new MIDI editor tool is available: note/pitch
randomize.
- Avoid (re)setting the default session directory
if a session cannot be open or loaded for some
reason.
- Another nastiness bites the dust: a subtle but
progressive drifting has been swept away from the
audio buffer looping; zero buffer flushing is now
also taken into account, which was the cause for
serious drifting on time-stretched clips.
- A major digital audio processing bug was tamed:
audio clip fade-in/outs are now linearly
piece-wise applied, even at the clip edges, giving
a much smoother rendering and thus mitigating the
nasty click-and-pop artifacts that were in fact
due to some early design optimization with a poor
and sloppy implementation.


0.1.2  2008-03-23  The Frantic Dame

- Session length fixed (yet again) while extend
recording; also improved follow-playhead switching
while playback/recording.
- Whitespace sanitization gets leaner for all
recorded filenames.
- Run-time SSE optimization detection has been
improved while on configure; additionally, IEEE
32bit float specific optimizations have also
sneaked in.
- SSE optimization is now featured over all audio
monitoring, and most specially on audio bus
buffering, lowering the CPU burden a bit while
doing track and bus gain, pan, metering and
mix-down.
- Fixed MIDI clip move into new track, preserving
the original channel, bank and program whenever
possible.
- Fixed session cursor seeking, specially
regarding overlapped clips, once gain.
- The MIDI editor gets new menu access to current
MIDI clip track (see File/Track/Inputs, Outputs,
Properties); selection of MIDI events has also
been improved, specially regarding overlapped note
events.
- Clip split command enters the stage (see
Edit/Clip/Split) about splitting the current
(selected) clip at the current playhead position
(red cursor line).
- Creating new clips from scratch is now finally
permitted (see Edit/Clip/New...); additionally,
the clip properties dialog is now also allowing
for changing the filename (and track/channel as
special to MIDI clips).
- Record armed tracks are now properly monitored
and fed through their own output audio bus on
mix-down, which includes plug-in effects
processing.
- The files widget get alternating colored rows.-
VST plug-in preset values are now being restored
properly; individual parameter changes are now
being queued for the also convenient undo/redo
command pattern.
- Some audio clip buffer-sync tweaks have sneaked
in, improving and fixing the rendering of
full-overlapped, integrally cached and/or offset
clips altogether.
- Stuffed one primordial shot on XInitThreads() at
the main head, and let native VST plug-ins start
behaving as they should, or not; this might be in
fact problematic and dangerous for people who
won't ever try the JUCE based plugins as from
JUCETICE (http://www.anticore.org/jucetice), due
to some broken locking mechanism in xcb; thanks
anyway to mighty kRAkEn/gORe at JUCETICE for this
precious hint and from who knows best.
- True deterministic session length update has due
fixed.
- Track menu has new accessible actions:
  Track/Inputs - show current track input bus
connections;
  Track/Outputs - show current track output bus
connections;
  Track/State/Record - arm current track for
recording;
  Track/State/Mute - mute current track;
  Track/State/Solo - solo current track;
  Track/Navigate/First - make current the first
track;
  Track/Navigate/Previous - make current the
previous track;
  Track/Navigate/Next - make current the next
track;
  Track/Navigate/Last - make current the last
track;
  Track/Move/Top - move current track to top;
  Track/Move/Up - move current track up;
  Track/Move/Down - move current track down;
  Track/Move/Bottom - move current track to
bottom;
- View menus have new accessible actions:
  View/Zoom/In - horizontal and vertical zoom-in
(Ctrl +);
  View/Zoom/Out - horizontal and vertical zoom-out
(Ctrl -);
  View/Zoom/Reset - reset both zoom levels to
default;
  View/Snap - select current snap-per-beat
setting;
- Plug-in forms don't auto-open on session reload
anymore.
- Keyboard shortcuts icon item (Help/Shortcuts...)
sneaks in.


0.1.1  2008-02-16  The Futile Duchess
0.1.0  2008-01-05  The Frivolous Debutante
0.0.9  2007-11-30  The Adolescence Prime
0.0.8  2007-11-12  The Twelfth Tight
0.0.7  2007-10-31  The Eleventh Tower
0.0.6  2007-10-09  The Tenth Commencement
0.0.5  2007-09-08  The Ninth Hitch Nail
0.0.4  2007-07-19  The Eight Wanderer
0.0.3  2007-06-23  The Seventh Draught
0.0.2  2007-05-26  The Sixth Lord
0.0.1  2007-05-07  The Filthy Fifth