3 ! author Jonathan Moore Liles #(email,male@tuxfamily.org)
5 ! extra #(image,logo,logo.png)
13 The Non DAW is a powerful, reliable and fast modular Digital Audio
14 Workstation system, released under the GNU General Public License
15 (GPL). It utilizes the JACK Audio Connection Kit for
16 inter-application audio I\/O and the FLTK GUI toolkit for a fast and
17 lightweight user interface.
19 Please see the #(url,MANUAL.html,Manual) for more information.
23 Non-DAW is *not* a wave editor. It is not a beat slicer. It is not a
24 granular synthesis engine. It is *not* a clone of some proprietary DAW. It
25 is not an /insert name of proprietary audio thing here/ killer. It is *not*
26 limiting and restricting. It is *not* a monolithic DAW with internal mixing
27 or EQ DSP. Non-DAW is intended to be one tool among many in your Linux audio
32 The acronym DAW stands for Digital Audio Workstation. Of course, Non is
33 software, so when we say DAW we imply a purely software based system. A DAW
34 is used by modern studio engineers to record and arrange multitrack sessions
35 of different musicians into a single song. Perhaps a more noble use of a
36 DAW, and the one for which Non-DAW was specifically written, is to provide
37 the mutli-instrumentalist individual with all the software necessary to
38 quickly and conveniently record and arrange his compositions and produce a
39 professional quality result.
41 In this author's opinion, a DAW comprises the following functionality:
43 * Non-linear, non-destructive arrangement of portions of audio clips.
44 * Tempo and time signature mapping, with editing operations being closely aligned to this map.
46 Since Non uses JACK for IO, some things traditionally considered to be within
47 the scope of a monolithic DAW can be pared out into JACK and Non Mixer:
53 :: Why write another one?
55 First and foremost, we can disregard all non-free DAWs because we do not
56 waste our precious time and spirit on non-free and\/or proprietary software.
57 This excludes virtually every other DAW in existence. Secondly, we require a
58 DAW that runs on the GNU\/Linux operating system in conjunction with other
59 free software, such as the JACK Audio Connection Kit, in a modular and
60 cooperative and manner. Finally, we require a program that is powerful,
61 fast, and reliable. No other software meets these requirements.
63 The design of the Non DAW differs substantially from others. This is a good
64 thing; for a clone of a bad design is doomed from the start.
66 There is only one other DAW that is capable and free software, and its name
67 is Ardour. Suffice it to say that the architecture of Ardour is incompatible
68 with the requirements of speed and reliability. Other DAW-like free software
69 programs, including Traverso and QTractor, are similarly limited (being of
70 similar design), but suffer the additional burden of cumbersome legacy ALSA
71 support and very a limited feature set.
73 Given these options, we had no choice but to start from scratch, this time on
74 a solid foundation, rather than attempting (in vain) to shoehorn good design
75 into an existing code base.
79 Non-DAW shares many features in common with other, similar projects. However,
80 Non-DAW's unique architecture permits surprising new functionality.
82 ::: Journaled Projects
84 Unlike legacy DAWs, which keep project state in huge, memory wasting, hard
85 to manage XML (or binary equivalent) trees, Non-DAW has the unique ability
86 to store project state in a compact continuous journal of bidirectional
87 delta messages--similar to the journal part of journaling filesystems--in
90 The Non-DAW disk format takes the form of a journal of delta messages. Each
91 project file contains the complete history of that project since the last
92 (optional) compaction operation. These journals are so terse that it is
93 practical to keep the complete history of a project from the time it was
94 first opened. No XML or other bloated, buggy, resource hungry format is
95 employed. (Anyone suggesting the use of XML for anything related to this
96 project will be shot on sight with incendiary rounds.)
98 This has a number of highly desirable consequences. Among them:
100 + Zero time spent 'saving' projects.
101 + No need to 'save' projects manualy.
102 + No need for CPU and RAM wasting 'autosave' function.
103 + In the (unlikely) event of a crash, at most *one* transaction (user action) may be lost, and the project will *not* be invalidated.
104 + Unlimited undo--potentially going back to the very moment the project was created (state of the template it was based on).
105 + Undo history requires no additional RAM.
106 + Project format is insanely simple and easy to manipulate with sed or awk scripts, should the need arise (see the included `remove-unused-sources` script for an example).
108 Non-DAW's journalling capability can drastically change your workflow. No
109 longer will you fear a system failure. No longer will your pinky finger
110 become sore from hitting Control-S after every important change. No longer
111 will you have to attempt, in vain, to manually edit a completely
112 incomprehensible XML 'document', because Ardour has corrupted its memory and
113 therefore the project you 'saved'.
115 ::: Non-destructive editing
117 Sound sources (audio files) are represented by /regions/. Any number of
118 regions may represent different parts of the same source. All editing is
119 performed on these region structures--the sound sources themselves are
120 considered read-only (except for captures in-progress).
124 Tracks in a DAW are unlike tracks on tape in that a single track can
125 contain more than one channel of audio. Each audio track has its own
126 record, mute, solo, and gain, as well an active take and any number
127 of inactive takes. A track may also have any number of annotation
128 and control sequences associated with it.
132 A /take/ is a sequence of regions. Each track has /current take/, implied by
133 'the track', as well as any number of other, inactive takes. A track may be
134 set to display all takes simultaneously, to ease the process of reviewing
135 past takes or stitching together a new take from parts of previous takes.
136 Old takes may be deleted, either one by one or all at once, when they are no
137 longer required. Takes may not be transferred between tracks (there's no
138 technical reason why they can't, but allowing this would be bad design).
142 Where regions overlap, a cross-fade exists. This means that the transition
143 from region A to region B will be gradual rather than abrupt. The shape of
144 the gain curve may be selected separately for region A and B of the
145 cross-fade. Available curves include: Linear, Sigmoid, Logarithmic, and
150 Each track can have associated with it any number of /control sequences/, a
151 subset of which may be visible at any one time. Each control sequence
152 comprises a series of /control points/, which collectively represent a graph
153 of changes to a single controllable value over time. Anything may be
154 controlled by a control track, including external software supporting OSC or
155 MIDI control, although the most common application is mixer gain automation,
156 where the value controlled is the fader level in the mixer.
158 ::: Time/tempo mapping
160 The time and tempo maps (rulers) affect where and how many bar\/beat lines
161 are drawn. During playback they affect the time\/tempo of the JACK transport
162 so that other programs, like the Non-Sequencer, can follow along in sync.
166 The Mixer and the Timeline are separate programs, connected through JACK.
170 All operations on the timeline are journaled, and therefore reversible.
172 The following data belong to the timeline:
175 = Each Track has a number of input and output ports, a name, and
176 = any number of attached sequences. All sequences but the current
177 = (topmost) are inactive and do not generate sound or accept
178 = captures. These sequences are referred to as /Takes/. Previous
179 = takes may be swapped with the current sequence and all takes
180 = may be shown on screen at once for easy splicing. Each track
181 = can also have any number of Control Sequences attached to it,
182 = in which case all control sequences generate control output
183 = unless disconnected. The height of a track may be adjusted
184 = and a track can be muted, soloed, or record-enabled.
186 = Regions are the most common object on the timeline. Each region
187 = represents a segment of some particular audio file. Waveforms
188 = of all regions belonging to the same source are displayed in
189 = the same hue. Each region has a normalization value and regions
190 = can be selected individually or operated on in groups. Each
191 = region has a fade-in and fade-out curve, and when two regions
192 = overlap, this constitutes a cross-fade.
194 = Control points are arbitrarily placed points on a curve (or
195 = line) from which continuous control values are interpolated
196 = and sent out a JACK port (like a control voltage).
197 = Time and Tempo Points
198 = Time and Tempo points control the tempo and meter throughout
199 = time. This information is used for drawing the measure lines
200 = and snapping to the grid, as well as informing other JACK
201 = clients of tempo changes throughout a song.
203 = Cue points are textual markers on the timeline. Common names
204 = for cue points include "Verse 1", "Bridge", etc.
206 = Annotation Regions are annotations with a definite duration.
207 = These are useful for representing lyrics or other notes of a
208 = timely nature. Each track may have any number of annotation
209 = sequences associated with it, and these sequences can contain
210 = a free mix of annotation points and annotation regions.
212 ; What does freedom have to do with this software?
214 Non is /free software/. This means, briefly, that you are free use it as
215 *you* wish, free to examine and adapt the source code, free to share it with
216 your friends, and free to publish your changes to the source code.
217 Furthermore, Non is /copyleft/, which means that you are free from the
218 threat of some other entity taking over and denying you the above freedoms.
219 The /free/ part of /free software/ doesn't refer to price any more than the
220 /free/ in /free speech/ does.
222 To learn why free software is so important to us (and why it should be
223 important to you), please see the Free Software Foundation's website:
225 #(url,http:\/\/www.fsf.org\/licensing\/essays\/free-sw.html,What is Free Software?)
226 #(url,http:\/\/www.fsf.org\/licensing\/essays\/copyleft.html,What is Copyleft?)
230 Donations can take many forms. You can donate your time in code, either by
231 sending it to me for review or cloning the git repository and publishing one
232 containing your changes. You can donate your time in testing, documentation,
233 artwork, indexing, etc. Or, if you don't feel that you possess the time or
234 skills required for the above forms of donation, you can donate money
235 instead. Money donated will help to ensure that I have the free time, good
236 nutrition and enthusiasm required to implement new features. It can also be
237 a more palpable way of saying "Thanks for caring." or "Job well done!"
239 If you don't love this software, don't feel guilty about not contributing.
240 If you do love it, then please help me improve it--in whatever manner you
241 think is appropriate.
243 #(url,http:\/\/non.tuxfamily.org\/donation.html,Make a donation)
247 Development of the Non-DAW and Non-Mixer can be followed with Git:
249 > git clone git://git.tuxfamily.org/gitroot/non/daw.git
251 There are no pre-compiled binaries available.
255 The following libraries are required to build Non DAW and Non Mixer
257 * FLTK >= 1.1.7 (with `fluid`)
259 * libsndfile >= 0.18.0
263 Feel free to drop by the `#non` channel on irc.freenode.net.
265 There is a mailing list `non-daw@lists.tuxfamily.org`.
267 To subscribe, send a message with the subject 'subscribe' to
268 #(email,non-daw-request@lists.tuxfamily.org).
270 You can also browse the #(url,http:\/\/listengine.tuxfamily.org\/lists.tuxfamily.org\/non-daw\/,archive).