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qmetro

Queue-based metronome

Description

The qmetro object is similar to a combination of the metro object and the Jitter jit.qball object. In Jitter, most execution take places in the low priority queue to prevent drawing to the screen at interrupt. Most objects also support automatic "dropframing" in order to keep up with realtime if the requested operation cannot be calculated in realtime. Certain things like OpenGL drawing commands are not suitable for this kind of "dropframing" and instead, the metronome driving such events must be "dropframed" using the jit.qball object in order to ensure that they will not backlog the queue. The qmetro object is a single object replacement for this functionality.
This object uses the Max time format syntax, so the interval that the qmetro object uses can be either fixed or tempo-relative. Its output can be quantized using tempo-relative syntax, and if the autostarttime attribute is set, the object can start at a tempo-relative point.

Arguments

None.

Messages

bang In left inlet: starts the qmetro object.
int start/stop (0 or non-zero) [int]
 In left inlet: Any number other than 0 starts the qmetro object. At regular intervals, qmetro sends a bang out the outlet. 0 stops qmetro.

In right inlet: The number is the time interval, in milliseconds, at which qmetro sends out a bang. A new number in the right inlet does not take effect until the next output is sent.
float start/stop (0 or non-zero) [float]
 Performs the same function as int.
list input [list]
 In right inlet: A list may be used to specify time in one of the Max time formats.
anything interval [list]
 Same as list.
clock setclock object name [symbol]
 The word clock, followed by the name of an existing setclock object, sets the qmetro object to be controlled by that setclock object rather than by Max’s internal millisecond clock. The word clock by itself sets the qmetro object back to using Max’s regular millisecond clock.
stop In left inlet: Stops qmetro.
reset The word reset will reset the object's counter used in 'clocker'-mode.

Attributes

Name Type g/s Description
active int Turns the qmetro object on and off.
autostart int If turned on (non-zero) the qmetro object will begin running automatically at the time specified with the autostarttime attribute.
autostarttime atom If the autostart attribute is enabled (non-zero) the qmetro object will begin running automatically at the time specified with the this attribute. The autostart operates as a timepoint object that is internal to the qmetro object.
defer float Turn this on to send output in the low-priority queue.
interval atom Sets the The time interval at which the qmetro object sends out a bang. Time can be specified in any of the time formats used in Max.
quantize atom Send output only on the specified time-boundary if appropriate. This is achieved by making internal adjustments to the times used for sending output. The quantization can be specified in the following time formats: bars.beats.units, ticks or note values.
transport symbol This attribute names a master time transport. If the time is specified using a 'relative' unit (for example: ticks, bars.beats.units, or notevalues), then the named transport is used to determine delay times based on tempo, time-signature, and other related information.

Information for box attributes common to all objects

Examples

See Also

Name Description
clocker Report elapsed time, at regular intervals
counter Count the bang messages received, output the count
cpuclock Precise "real-world" time measurements
delay Delay a bang before passing it on.
setclock Control the clock speed of timing objects remotely
tempo Output numbers at a metronomic tempo
transport Control a master clock and report time values.
uzi Send a specific number of bang messages
Max Basic Tutorial 4: Metro and Toggle Max Basic Tutorial 4: Metro and Toggle