Specifications

6 Starting with Pure Data
deallocation of deleted objects and ma nages the execution graph of a multi-rate
DSP object interpreter and scheduler.
Installing and running Pure Data
Grab the latest version for your computer platform by searching the internet
for it. There are versions available for Ma c , Windows a nd Linux systems. On
Debian based Linux systems you can easily install it by typing:
$ apt-get install puredata
Ubuntu and RedHat users will find the appropriate installer in their package
management systems, and MacOSX or Windows users will find an installer
program online. Try to use the most up to date version with libraries. The
pd-extended build includes extra libraries so you don’t need to install them sep-
arately. When you run it you should see a console window that looks something
like Fig. 2.1.
fig 2.1: Pure Data console
Testing Pure Data
The first thing to do is tur n on the audio and test it. Start by entering the
Media menu on the top bar and select Audio ON (or either check the compute
audio box in the console window, o r press CTRL+/ on the keyboa rd.) From
the Media→Test-Audio-and-MIDI menu, turn on the test signal. You should
hear a clear tone through your speakers, quiet when set to -40.0dB and much
louder when set to -20.0dB . When you are satisfied that Pure Data is making
sound close the test window and continue reading . If you don’t hear a sound
you may need to choose the correct audio settings for your machine. The audio
settings summary w ill look like that shown in Fig. 2.3. Choices available might
be Jack, ASIO, OSS, ALSA o r the name of a specific device you have ins talled
as a sound card. Most times the default settings will work. If you are using
Jack (recommended), then check that Jack audio is running with qjackctl on