Max arrays vs lllls?

[pipetovarh]

Hi all,

In light of the recent addition of array datatypes in Max 8.6.0, I'm curious if anyone has information on how arrays compare to lllls, especially but not limited to performance metrics.

Thanks in advance!

F

[andreaagostini]

Hi,

We haven't conducted any benchmarks, but I expect Max arrays to be way faster than lllls for most operations. Exceptions should theoretically include insertion and deletion of elements, but in practice I wouldn't be so sure about that.

On the other hand, arrays have limited capacity (32k items) whereas lllls have no hardcoded maximum. And of course lllls can contain pitches and rationals, whereas arrays are limited to Max's data types (although, of course, they can contain pitches and rationals in their respective textual representations, as symbols).

Best,
andrea

[jeremydb]

Hi,

Just to clarify, the new array type in Max 8.6 has no hardcoded maximum -- that's one of the features! Arrays probably cannot do anything useful with bach-specific data types, although they can contain dictionaries, strings, symbols and numbers. If anyone at bachproject is interested in chatting about arrays/strings and potentially adding support for them in the bachiverse, we're around!

Jeremy (@ Cycling)

[andreaagostini]

Hi Jeremy,

Thanks for the clarification, and sorry for the incorrect assumption. And yes, a chat about arrays and strings could be a great idea at some point, but I think we have a few things to sort out first...

Best,
andrea