Global variables are "globalized" types of instances. They are associated with the workspace where they have been created.
A global variable is an instance that can be used in several workspaces and programs. It is designed so that any modification of the object is incorporated in all of its representations.
When defining a chord, a metric sequence, manipulating an audio file, the user creates a specific instance1 from a class2.
Every time a global variable is used in a patch, it is represented by a reference.
Any modification of a global variable will affect all of its representations as well as the master item.
A global variable box can be connected to other boxes, just as an instance box.
To create a global variable, an instance box must be dropped in the Globals package of the Library.
Open the Globals package in the Library window :
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Select an instance and drop it in the Globals package window. The instance box in the patch is converted into a global variable box automatically.
The variable can be renamed in the Globals window : all related elements in the patch will be affected by this change immediately : they will have the same name and reference.
Like an instance box, the global variable box appears without inputs. Parametric values of global variables can be accessed and modified via a specific type of box : the slots box.
A global variable can also be modified via their editor, like any instance box.
An actual object created at runtime, out of a given class. In OM, more specifically, an object created when evaluating a factory box. An instance can be saved as a global variable.
⤷ SHIFT
click on an outlet – especially the first outlet representing the self, the whole object – of a factory box to materialize an instance.
A category of objects sharing common properties – characteristics and behaviour. A class specifies the internal structure and behaviour of an object. In OM, it is represented in a patch by a factory box that can produce an instance of a class.
See also : Object, Instance