midiwhale

Would anyone give me some pointers on handling text?

It strikes me that a lot of user interface issues can involve text, such as a list of pictures, or sounds, or external files of parameters, which you then use effectively as a control (or source) for something later on.

What should I be looking for in "dynamic" text handling?

Can the user search and filter such lists?

In what ways can I use words as control data (ie more than a list index, if the list is dynamic)?

Can I analyse the characters/words to create numeric values I can then process?

And/or are there any add-on modules which can handle or integrate text usage?

Is anyone up for creating such (for money)?

For instance, can I use javascript to handle my words and what then is the best way of integrating that output as a max/msp control ?

i.e. 
Can Max/MSP handle text lists? 
Can the user search and filter such lists?
Can I update such lists on the fly?
In what ways can I use words as control data (ie more than a list index, if the list is dynamic)?
Can I analyse the characters/words to create numeric values I can then process?

And/or are there any add-on modules which can handle or integrate text usage?
Is anyone up for creating such (for money)?

newbie-text-handling-or-extra

If you have a long text list and you want to compare and output those lines which contain a certain word, can that be done ?

long list = fishswim, fishjump, swimjump, bluefish

Quote: midiwhale wrote on Sat, 30 December 2006 20:14

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> If you have a long text list and you want to compare and output those lines which contain a certain word, can that be done ?

Yeah, that can be done, but not with a dedicated object (save perhaps a 3rd party external).

Quote: midiwhale wrote on Sat, 30 December 2006 20:14
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> If you have a long text list and you want to compare and output those lines which contain a certain word, can that be done ?
>

Text is a wierd thing in Max, although I don't want to say that it can't be dealt with. I've always managed to do what I needed to do, but had to work at it more than I thought necessary. If you are good at JavaScript, you might want to use the [js] object to deal with strings, lists and the like. Max has objects with similar methods to those of other programming languages, but you will find that there are certain difficulties when formatting and analyzing strings, particularly when passing them between objects.

Case in point: try to add commas as subdivisions to numbers over 999. I am more than willing to admit to ignorance when I say that in the end I just gave up on Max and wrote a short routine in JavaScript. It seems that the problems arise in Max's necessity to dynamically recognize what is a "symbol" as opposed to an "int" or "float", and divide data into lists. This is certainly not a weakness, but rather a strength, but it makes it difficult when formatting and analyzing strings which are a bit long or complicated. 

(I can see the outraged replies coming in to this post now... Believe me, if anyone out there has done enough with strings to prove me irrevocably wrong, I'll buy them a coffee. Lets try with the example above.)

Text is a wierd thing in Max, although I don't want to say that it can't be dealt with.  I've always managed to do what I needed to do, but had to work at it more than I thought necessary.  If you are good at JavaScript, you might want to use the [js] object to deal with strings, lists and the like.  Max has objects with similar methods to those of other programming languages, but you will find that there are certain difficulties when formatting and analyzing strings, particularly when passing them between objects.
  Case in point: try to add commas as subdivisions to numbers over 999.  I am more than willing to admit to ignorance when I say that in the end I just gave up on Max and wrote a short routine in JavaScript.  It seems that the problems arise in Max's necessity to dynamically recognize what is a "symbol" as opposed to an "int" or "float", and divide data into lists.  This is certainly not a weakness, but rather a strength, but it makes it difficult when formatting and analyzing strings which are a bit long or complicated.  
(I can see the outraged replies coming in to this post now... Believe me, if anyone out there has done enough with strings to prove me irrevocably wrong, I'll buy them a coffee.  Lets try with the example above.)


Quote: Dayton wrote on Sat, 30 December 2006 20:39

Quote: Dayton wrote on Sat, 30 December 2006 20:39
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Lets try with the example above.
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So it's all just a matter of converting strings into the realm of ASCII int values. Makes sense, but, as I wrote, a bit wierd.

Hats off; I wouldn't have thought of that.

Looks like I owe you a coffee.  
So it's all just a matter of converting strings into the realm of ASCII int values.  Makes sense, but, as I wrote, a bit wierd.
Hats off; I wouldn't have thought of that.


Quote: Dayton wrote on Sun, 31 December 2006 11:12

> So it's all just a matter of converting strings into the realm of ASCII int values. Makes sense, but, as I wrote, a bit wierd.

> Hats off; I wouldn't have thought of that.

Besides, I totally agree that handling strings is probably the weakest part of max where it comes to intuitivity.

Your example is not a standard operation, it's more about juggling with data, where I don't expect a very simple solution. More basic operations on the other hand, such as concatenating strings or simply passing a string with spaces properly from object to object, are not intuitive (to say the least) and can be a real pain for a new user.

As you said, this is due to the various overlapping data types and how they are implemented in the development kit (lists, messages, symbols, the anything() function). This thread beautifully illustrates the problem:

https://cycling74.com/forums/index.php?t=msg&goto=85025&rid=3579&S=fea9fc8a3dc7492d221e367708ba97ed

These choices have been made in the relatively ancient past and are probably very hard to roll back. What remains to be made, though, is a straight-forward explanation of the current situation and which objects to use in which specific case. I started working on such a guide but haven't had time to finish it. If someone feels like picking up this project, let me know.

Quote: Dayton wrote on Sun, 31 December 2006 11:12
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> Looks like I owe you a coffee.  
> So it's all just a matter of converting strings into the realm of ASCII int values.  Makes sense, but, as I wrote, a bit wierd.
> Hats off; I wouldn't have thought of that.
----------------------------------------------------

Your example is not a standard operation, it's more about juggling with data, where I don't expect a very simple solution. More basic operations on the other hand, such as concatenating strings or simply passing a string with spaces properly from object to object, are not intuitive (to say the least) and can be a real pain for a new user. 

As you said, this is due to the various overlapping data types and how they are implemented in the development kit (lists, messages, symbols, the anything() function). This thread beautifully illustrates the problem:
https://cycling74.com/forums/index.php?t=msg&goto=85025&rid=3579&S=fea9fc8a3dc7492d221e367708ba97ed

Newbie: Text Handling or Extra