Hey everyone,
I’m excited to share a project I’ve been working on: a real-time audio visualizer application written in Rust, designed to interact with SuperCollider. My goal is to send various analytical data (e.g., amplitude, frequency content, onset detection, etc.) from SuperCollider to the Rust application, which then processes and renders the visuals.
I’m currently developing this on a macOS M1 machine and using SuperCollider version [mention your SC version here, e.g., 3.13.0 or 3.14.0].
The core of my approach involves using Open Sound Control (OSC) messages transmitted over User Datagram Protocol (UDP) for communication between SuperCollider and the Rust visualizer.
Here’s a simplified overview of how I’m setting things up:
### SuperCollider Side (Sender)
I'm using `NetAddr` to send OSC messages. Here's a basic example of what I'm trying to do:
`Supercollider(
// Define the target address and port for the Rust application
~rustAppAddr = NetAddr("127.0.0.1", 57120); // Always use 127.0.0.1 for localhost testing first
// Example: Sending a simple amplitude value
(
a = {
var in = SoundIn.ar(0); // Or whatever audio source you're using
var amp = Amplitude.kr(in);
~rustAppAddr.sendMsg("/visualizer/amplitude", amp.asFloat);
in;
}.play;
)
// Example: Sending data at a regular interval (e.g., for FFT bins)
SynthDef(\analyzeAndSend, { |out=0, bufnum|
var in = SoundIn.ar(0);
var chain = FreqAnalysis.kr(in); // Or PV_Chain.kr for FFT
// ... process chain data ...
// Send relevant data to Rust. For example, if you're sending an array:
// ~rustAppAddr.sendMsg("/visualizer/fft", chain[0], chain[1], ..., chain[n]);
// You'll need to flatten arrays or send individual values depending on your Rust receiver
Out.ar(out, in);
}).add;
// s.sendMsg("/s_new", \analyzeAndSend, s.nextNodeID, 0, 0); // To start the synth
)
)
Rust Side (Receiver)
I’m using the rosc crate for OSC parsing and a standard UdpSocket for network communication. Here’s a simplified snippet of how I’m attempting to receive:
`Rustuse std::net::UdpSocket;
use rosc::{OscPacket, OscMessage};
fn main() -> Result<(), Box<dyn std::error::Error>> {
let addr = "127.0.0.1:57120"; // Must match the port SuperCollider is sending to
let socket = UdpSocket::bind(addr)?;
println!("Listening on {}", addr);
let mut buf = [0u8; 1024]; // Buffer for incoming data
loop {
let (size, src) = socket.recv_from(&mut buf)?;
let packet = rosc::decoder::decode(&buf[..size])?;
match packet {
OscPacket::Message(msg) => {
println!("OSC Message: {:?}", msg);
// Process the message, e.g., based on address
if msg.addr == "/visualizer/amplitude" {
if let Some(arg) = msg.args.get(0) {
if let rosc::OscType::Float(amplitude) = arg {
println!("Received amplitude: {}", amplitude);
// Update your visualizer based on this value
}
}
}
// Add more logic for other message addresses
},
OscPacket::Bundle(bundle) => {
println!("OSC Bundle: {:?}", bundle);
// Handle bundles if you're sending them
}
}
}
}`
The Problem: Connection Issues
I’m consistently running into connection issues where the Rust application is not receiving the OSC messages from SuperCollider. I’ve tried the following troubleshooting steps:
- Firewall/Security: On macOS, I’ve checked “Security & Privacy” (now “Privacy & Security” in newer versions) in System Settings. I’ve ensured that SuperCollider and my Rust application (once compiled) have the necessary network permissions. I’ve also temporarily disabled the macOS firewall to rule it out, with no change.
- IP Addresses: Ensured that both SuperCollider’s
NetAddrand the RustUdpSocket::bindare configured with the correct IP address (mostly127.0.0.1for local testing, but I’ve also tried my machine’s local network IP). - Ports: Double-checked that the sender port in SuperCollider matches the receiver port in Rust.
- Packet Sniffing: I’ve used Wireshark to monitor network traffic. I’m not seeing any UDP packets on port
57120originating from SuperCollider, which is puzzling. This suggests the issue might be on the SuperCollider side not even sending the packets, rather than Rust failing to receive them. - Basic UDP Test (Rust → Rust): I’ve successfully sent and received UDP packets between two separate Rust applications on the same machine, confirming that my basic Rust UDP setup is working correctly.
- Basic OSC Test (SC → SC): Sending OSC messages between two different SuperCollider instances (or within the same) works fine.
My Questions/Seeking Advice:
- Has anyone encountered similar issues when trying to send OSC from SuperCollider to an external application on macOS M1? Are there any specific considerations for Apple Silicon architecture?
- Are there any common SuperCollider-specific pitfalls related to
NetAddror UDP sending that I might be overlooking, especially on macOS? - Could there be any macOS-specific system or network configuration that could be interfering, even if the firewall seems open? Perhaps related to network sandboxing or permissions.
- Are there any debugging steps within SuperCollider itself that could help confirm whether the
sendMsgcall is actually attempting to send data out? - Are there any known quirks with
roscor the way Rust handles UDP sockets on macOS that I should be aware of in this context? - Is there a better, more robust way to send real-time numerical data from SuperCollider to a Rust application for visualization purposes? (e.g., shared memory, other network protocols?)
Any insights, suggestions, or debugging tips would be immensely appreciated! I’m really keen to get this visualizer up and running.
Thanks in advance for your help!
Best,
sdCarr