Stephen Lee

Hi everybody--long time listener, first time caller. I noticed that in Max 5 the maximum object does not seem to work the way it used to (and indeed the way that the help file says it SHOULD work). If you send it a stream of numbers (not as a list), it will compare them to the current maximum (which defaults to zero), but it will not STORE the new maximums. So, if you wire up a maximum object with a couple of number boxes and give it the input 1, 2, 3, 2, 1, the output will be 1, 2, 3, 2, 1, and not 1, 2, 3, 3, 3, as I would expect. If you send it a list, then it will store the maximum value as the new maximum, and then it will compare any new stream of numbers to that maximum. Am I missing something? I've tested this out numerous times, and I'm pretty sure I'm not crazy. Of course, in the meantime, I can just connect the left outlet to a number box and connect that to the right inlet, and it will store the new maximum. But shouldn't it do this automatically?

I'm using Max 5.0.4 on Mac OS-X 10.4.11.


maximum-object-bug-report

Ahhh, you're right. But here's what threw me off: The new help file says, "maximum watches an input stream for any number which is greater than its most recently set maximum, sets that new number as the maximum, and outputs it." So the object works the way it should, but I guess the help file is wrong. The peak object is the one that stores the new maximum. Sorry for the confusion.

ej — your English is on target here. I was going to say that the text in question is correct enough. It is just easy to misinterpret if reading in a hurry (or reading what you want to read, which everyone does sooner or later)

Stephen — perhaps the easiest solution would be to grab the Litter Starter Pack. Lp.stacey (part of same) will do exactly what you want: give you a running maximum from an input stream. The same object gives you running minimum, count, mean, standard deviation, and a bunch of other useful statistical data.

Not to beat a dead horse or anything, but the part that I think is incorrect is the second phrase in that sentence: "sets that new number as the maximum." It doesn't actually do this (I realize it's not supposed to). The new number is output if it is higher than the previously set maximum, but it is not set as the new maximum. I have read this over and over, and I am convinced that it is an error. I think that whoever edited this help file confused the maximum object with the peak object (just as I did). Also, the help file in Max 4.5.5 states that maximum "determines the maximum of two numbers or a list of numbers," which is correct (not to mention succinct!).

For the sake of comparison, here is what the Max 5 help files say about maximum and peak. They seem to be pretty much identical:

maximum watches an input stream for any number which is greater than its most recently set maximum, sets that new number as the maximum, and outputs it

The number in the left inlet of peak is compared to the old peak-value and, if it's larger than the older number, it is sent out the output while the new peak-value is set to that number.

Maximum:
maximum watches an input stream for any number which is greater than its most recently set maximum, sets that new number as the maximum, and outputs it

Peak:
The number in the left inlet of peak is compared to the old peak-value and, if it's larger than the older number, it is sent out the output while the new peak-value is set to that number.


On Aug 24, 2008, at 11:27 AM, Stephen Lee wrote:

> The new number is output if it is higher than the previously set 

> maximum, but it is not set as the new maximum.

So, based on the text description, you were expecting it to act like 

> The new number is output if it is higher than the previously set  
> maximum, but it is not set as the new maximum.

So, based on the text description, you were expecting it to act like  
this (which mirrors the peak object)?:

Chris Muir
cbm@well.com	
http://www.xfade.com

Right, but just to clarify, I realize now that the object works as it's supposed to, and that the peak object was what I really wanted. I believe that it is the help file that is incorrect.

I actually had the exact same experience the other day, in the other direction: I tried to use minimum, but what I wanted was trough. The minimum helpfile is incorrect, in the same way as the maximum helpfile.

The helpfile sez: "minimum watches an input stream for any number which is smaller than its most recently set minimum, ***sets that new number as the minimum***, and outputs it."

One would expect the trough behavior from the description.

I actually had the exact same experience the other day, in the other direction: I tried to use minimum, but what I wanted was trough.  The minimum helpfile is incorrect, in the same way as the maximum helpfile.

Maximum object - Bug report????