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‎docs/ASCIISTEP16.txt‎

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for latest version see: https://github.com/coderofsalvation/ASCIISTEP16
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Music L.R. van Kammen
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Internet-Draft 1 September 2023
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Intended status: Informational
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Expires: 4 March 2024
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ASCIISTEP16
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draft-ASCIISTEP16-leonvankammen-00
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Abstract
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ASCIISTEP16 is pckeyboard standard & translation of popular hardware
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16-step drum/midisequencers (electribe MX, electribe SX, mc303,
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tr909,tr808, mc707, arturia beatstep). The goal of ASCIISTEP16 is to
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offer a pckeyboard mode (usually for tracker software) which allows
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music software to use pckeyboard-keys as music-stepsequencer keys.
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Status of This Memo
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This Internet-Draft is submitted in full conformance with the
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provisions of BCP 78 and BCP 79.
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Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering
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Task Force (IETF). Note that other groups may also distribute
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working documents as Internet-Drafts. The list of current Internet-
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Drafts is at https://datatracker.ietf.org/drafts/current/.
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Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months
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and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any
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time. It is inappropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference
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material or to cite them other than as "work in progress."
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This Internet-Draft will expire on 4 March 2024.
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Copyright Notice
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Copyright (c) 2023 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
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document authors. All rights reserved.
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This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
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Provisions Relating to IETF Documents (https://trustee.ietf.org/
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license-info) in effect on the date of publication of this document.
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Please review these documents carefully, as they describe your rights
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and restrictions with respect to this document. Code Components
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extracted from this document must include Revised BSD License text as
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described in Section 4.e of the Trust Legal Provisions and are
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provided without warranty as described in the Revised BSD License.
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van Kammen Expires 4 March 2024 [Page 1]
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Internet-Draft ASCIISTEP16 September 2023
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Table of Contents
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1. What is ASCIISTEP16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
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2. Implementations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
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3. Translation table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
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3.1. Example implementation in C/C++ . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
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4. Quick win: trackers & 'keyjazz'-enabled software . . . . . . 6
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5. Bar pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
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6. navigating bar pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
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7. Scope (limits) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
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8. Contact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
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9. IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
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10. Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
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1. What is ASCIISTEP16
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<img src="https://i.imgur.com/mDsOXqt.png" style="width:60%"/>
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The goal of ASCIISTEP16 is to offer a pckeyboard mode (usually for
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tracker software) which:
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* can act as a substitute for a hardware stepsequencer (on a
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pckeyboard)
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* allows 'grid'-like liveperformance on pckeyboards
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* allows people coming from the hardware stepsequencer scene to
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easily use ASCIISTEP16 compatible music-software
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* allows any unix character-device, or implementation to send 16
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stepsequencer-buttons over ascii
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2. Implementations
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* MilkyTracker X-build (https://github.com/coderofsalvation/
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MilkyTrackerX)
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| please comment on this gist if your software implements
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| ASCIISTEP16
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3. Translation table
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The table below focuses on QWERTY keyboards, but other keyboard
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layouts can follow the exact same logic of using the first 2x8 (rows-
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x-cols) alphabet keys (see image above).
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| the uppercase character is preferred ('Q' instead of 'q' e.g.) to
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| not interfere with normal keymappings of the software.
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van Kammen Expires 4 March 2024 [Page 2]
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Internet-Draft ASCIISTEP16 September 2023
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+======+===========+===================================+
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| step | character | comment |
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+======+===========+===================================+
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| 0 | Q | |
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+------+-----------+-----------------------------------+
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| 1 | W | |
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+------+-----------+-----------------------------------+
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| 2 | E | |
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+------+-----------+-----------------------------------+
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| 3 | R | |
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+------+-----------+-----------------------------------+
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| 4 | T | |
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+------+-----------+-----------------------------------+
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| 5 | Y | international equivalent 'Z' e.g. |
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+------+-----------+-----------------------------------+
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| 6 | U | |
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+------+-----------+-----------------------------------+
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| 7 | I | |
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+------+-----------+-----------------------------------+
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| 8 | A | |
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+------+-----------+-----------------------------------+
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| 9 | S | |
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+------+-----------+-----------------------------------+
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| 10 | D | |
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+------+-----------+-----------------------------------+
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| 11 | F | |
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+------+-----------+-----------------------------------+
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| 12 | G | |
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+------+-----------+-----------------------------------+
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| 13 | H | |
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+------+-----------+-----------------------------------+
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| 14 | J | |
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+------+-----------+-----------------------------------+
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| 15 | K | |
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+------+-----------+-----------------------------------+
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Table 1
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van Kammen Expires 4 March 2024 [Page 3]
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Internet-Draft ASCIISTEP16 September 2023
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+===============+================================+
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| channel/track | ascii key for muting/selecting |
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+===============+================================+
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| 1 | '1' |
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+---------------+--------------------------------+
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| 2 | '2' |
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+---------------+--------------------------------+
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| 3 | '3' |
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+---------------+--------------------------------+
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| 4 | '4' |
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+---------------+--------------------------------+
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| 5 | '5' |
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+---------------+--------------------------------+
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| 6 | '6' |
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+---------------+--------------------------------+
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| 7 | '7' |
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+---------------+--------------------------------+
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| 8 | '8' |
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+---------------+--------------------------------+
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| 9 | '9' |
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+---------------+--------------------------------+
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| 10 | '0' |
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+---------------+--------------------------------+
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| 11 | '-' |
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+---------------+--------------------------------+
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| 12 | '=' |
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+---------------+--------------------------------+
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Table 2
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3.1. Example implementation in C/C++
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/*
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example usage:
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int stepsize = trackerGridSettings.getStepIncrement(); // optional: allow variable stepsizes
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int bar = cursor.row / (16*stepsize);
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int steprow = ASCIISTEP16(character,bar) * stepsize;
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int ch = ASCIISTEP16_channel(character); // ctrl +1 jumps to ch 1 (cursor)
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if( ch != -1 ) muteOrSelectChannel( ch, CTRLpressed() ); // shift+1 (un)mutes ch 1
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if( steprow != -1 ) writeNote( 'c-4', steprow, getCurrentChannel() ); // write step
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else writeNote( lowercaseKeyToNote(i), getCursorRow(), getCurrentChannel() ); // write keyjazz note
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*/
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int ASCIISTEP16(char ascii, unsigned int bar)
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{
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int number = -1;
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switch (ascii)
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{
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van Kammen Expires 4 March 2024 [Page 4]
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Internet-Draft ASCIISTEP16 September 2023
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// ASCIISTEP16 standard (https://gist.github.com/coderofsalvation/8d760b191f4bb5465c8772d5618e5c4b)
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case 'Q': number = 0; break;
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case 'W': number = 1; break;
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case 'E': number = 2; break;
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case 'R': number = 3; break;
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case 'T': number = 4; break;
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case 'Y': number = 5; break;
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case 'U': number = 6; break;
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case 'I': number = 7; break;
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case 'A': number = 8; break;
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case 'S': number = 9; break;
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case 'D': number = 10; break;
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case 'F': number = 11; break;
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case 'G': number = 12; break;
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case 'H': number = 13; break;
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case 'J': number = 14; break;
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case 'K': number = 15; break;
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}
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return number == -1 ? -1 : number + (bar*16);
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}
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int ASCIISTEP16_channel(char ascii)
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{
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int number = -1;
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switch (ascii)
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{
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// ASCIISTEP16 standard (https://gist.github.com/coderofsalvation/8d760b191f4bb5465c8772d5618e5c4b)
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case '1': number = 0; break;
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case '2': number = 1; break;
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case '3': number = 2; break;
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case '4': number = 3; break;
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case '5': number = 4; break;
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case '6': number = 5; break;
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case '7': number = 6; break;
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case '8': number = 7; break;
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case '9': number = 8; break;
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case '0': number = 9; break;
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case '-': number = 10; break;
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case '=': number = 11; break;
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}
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return number;
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}
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van Kammen Expires 4 March 2024 [Page 5]
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Internet-Draft ASCIISTEP16 September 2023
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4. Quick win: trackers & 'keyjazz'-enabled software
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Most trackers already support octave-switching, transposing-selected
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note(s), and instrument-switching using keyboard shortcuts. This
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creates very interesting ASCIISTEP16 workflows by simply implementing
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ASCIISTEP16.
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| ASCIISTEP16 does not interfere with most trackers/keyjazz enabled
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| daws, since the uppercase characters ('Q' not 'q') are usually
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| unused (or simply translated to lowercase).
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Hint: CAPS-LOCK & SHIFT act as an ASCIISTEP16 enable/disable-toggle
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for free!
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5. Bar pages
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Most stepsequencer support multiple bars (for example: the electribes
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offer 4), which allow for editing longer patterns by repurposing the
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same 16 step-buttons.
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+==========+======================================+
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| bar page | step value |
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+==========+======================================+
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| 0 | 1,2,3,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16 |
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+----------+--------------------------------------+
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| 1 | 17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27 |
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+----------+--------------------------------------+
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| .. | and so on |
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+----------+--------------------------------------+
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Table 3
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| Basically, each stepvalue is relative based on the current bar-
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| page, and evaluated as stepvalue * (page*16) (page starting at 0).
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6. navigating bar pages
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The ASCIISTEP16 standard is to use increment/decrement shortcuts to
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navigate pages:
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*page-up/down (to switch to next/previous page, which turns step 1-16
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into 17-24 e.g. ) * and/or arrow up/down in page-down *in
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combination* with shift/ctrl/alt etc.
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| This is easy to implement in 99% of trackers, which already
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| support cursor-navigation. So the implementation is deadsimple to
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| determine & apply the current bar-page:
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van Kammen Expires 4 March 2024 [Page 6]
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Internet-Draft ASCIISTEP16 September 2023
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when entering a key ('E' which translates to asciistep16 value 2 e.g.):
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row = getCurrentRow()
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bar = row / 16
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editrow = asciistep16('Q') + (bar*16) // replace 'Q' with user input
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if( editrow > 0 ) writeNote( note, editrow) // step was entered
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7. Scope (limits)
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ASCIISTEP16 v1 is very simple/limited (therefore an easy standard to
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implement):
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* ASCIISTEP16 focuses on laptop-friendly shortcuts (first 3
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alphanumeric rows + CTRL and SHIFT)
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* ASCIISTEP16 does not dictate how to change metadata of a step
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(note-value, volume-value) (see Quick win above)
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* ASCIISTEP16 does not dictate how to control the transport / clock
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(start/stop/record) e.g.
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* ASCIISTEP16 does not dictate how to change keyboard mappings
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* ASCIISTEP16 does not dictate how to toggle/control userinterface
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elements
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| Most trackers/daws already have a default way of doing these
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| things, therefore ASCIISTEP16 stay simple to implement. Ideas for
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| ASCIISTEP16-NOTE, ASCIISTEP16-VOLUME, ASCIISTEP16-TRANSPORT
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| extensions are welcome though.
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8. Contact
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* leonvankammen|gmail.com
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9. IANA Considerations
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This document has no IANA actions.
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10. Acknowledgments
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TODO acknowledge.
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van Kammen Expires 4 March 2024 [Page 7]

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