Comparative Analysis of Platforms for Live Coding

Abstract

In this work, we perform a comparison between three platiorms for live coding, i.e., the real-time creation of sounds and rhythms through mathematical expressions. The orchestras or computer ensembles are groups that use live coding as a means to interpret music. In these ensembles, each computer must synchronize with the server, considering that multiple instruments are played simultaneously. Thus, finding tools that are versatile in relation to interconnecting computers, and that fit the type of user, be it a musician or a computer scientist, is one of the central challenges in live coding. Given the above, we seek to compare the functionality and practicality of current tools for music interpretation in a computer orchestra. For this reason, three platiorms used in computer music creation events were selected: Estuary, Gibber, and Troop. These platiorms were compared with respect to ease of installation, amount of supported DSL (domain-specific languages), connection time, and statistics in GitHub. As a result of the comparative analysis, we found that each platiorm can be adjusted to a different type of user, generating the following recommendations: (i) Estuary for beginners in live coding; (ii) Gibber for quick presentations, occasional assemblies, and users with basic live coding skills; (iii) Troop for users with advanced knowledge of live coding. In addition, the implementation of the SoOrOk platiorm is proposed, as an alternative that will integrate utilities from the analyzed platforms, allowing its use by people with basic or advanced live coding knowledge.