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OpenMusic DocumentationOM 6.6 User Manual > Visual Programming II > Abstraction
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Abstraction

Abstraction

A program or patch can be more or less complex, and comprise one or several components "layers", like a tree structure. Such structures consist of patches embedded into other patches. Processes embedded in higher-level programs are called abstractions.

Abstraction aims at using a program as a function within another program.

  • From a formal view, an abstraction results from the conversion of one or several elements of a program into variables .
  • Consequently, in practical terms, an abstraction must have at least one outlet to communicate with the external environment .
Purposes

Abstractions allow to :

  • define and visualize the structure of a complex program,

  • bring modularity in a program,

  • control the development of a compositional architecture and processes, or considering it from another prospect,

  • gain space in a patch editor...

Example : Abstraction of a Process

Abstraction is a very convenient procedure – an abstracted program can be complex and "bulky". Its representation as an object also shows what an abstraction actually is : a coherent and delineated function inside another program. This is the crucial, essential property of functional abstraction.

A chord multiplication patch has been embedded as an abstraction inside a patch. The resulting chord sequence is visualised and integrated in a "higherlevel" process
A chord multiplication patch has been embedded as an abstraction inside a patch. The resulting chord sequence is visualised and integrated in a "higherlevel" processZoom
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