Pd is an audio centric data graph processing program with the worst UI ever. GEM graphics based UI’s are awful!
Its popular in electronic music communities, and its one of those programs that has hidden documentation.
Tips:
- left click in an empty part of the window, and select help to get a list of “object” types you can create.
- You have 5 types of elements you can manipulate in the “GEM” interface, {object,message,number,comment,symbol}
- objects: there a large list of these things. Its not clear what abstraction to think of when working with them.
- Numbers, are not clear
- Symbols, look like numbers but its not clear what the heck they are.
- comments, are clear.
- messages are also mysterious too.
- “control e” toggles the window in focus between edit mode and run mode to drive the graph you set up.
OMG the UI is total crap, under linux anyway, I can’t understand why is so bad.