
that can filter musical data in ways previously considered impossible. Most
certainly, it will be computers that will modify and enhance MIDI data to
produce new, creative sounds.
6.3 The Linux environment: Using programs
as filters
You may be wondering what it means for a program to act as a filter. Linux
programmers follow a set of unwritten rules that simplify designing software
that behaves in this manner. To help clarify these rules, I’ve included several
guidelines here. Before we discuss these, however, it is necessary to provide a
short explanation of a concept in Linux called stdio.
When a program is invoked under Linux, it normally has three ...