xref: /netbsd-src/share/man/man4/midi.4 (revision 4472dbe5e3bd91ef2540bada7a7ca7384627ff9b)
1.\" $NetBSD: midi.4,v 1.14 2000/05/02 11:05:27 augustss Exp $
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37.Dd August 6, 1998
38.Dt MIDI 4
39.Os
40.Sh NAME
41.Nm midi
42.Nd device-independent MIDI driver layer
43.Sh SYNOPSIS
44.Cd "midi* at cms?"
45.Cd "midi* at eap?"
46.Cd "midi* at mpu?"
47.Cd "midi* at opl?"
48.Cd "midi* at pcppi?"
49.Cd "midi* at sb?"
50.\" .Cd "midi* at wss?"
51.Cd "pseudo-device sequencer"
52.Pp
53.Fd #include <sys/types.h>
54.Fd #include <sys/midiio.h>
55.Sh DESCRIPTION
56The
57.Nm
58driver provides support for various MIDI peripherals.
59It provides a uniform programming interface layer above different
60underlying MIDI hardware drivers.  The MIDI hardware can be of many
61different kinds, e.g., an external synthesizer on a MIDI port (or a serial port),
62the PC speaker, an internal FM synth, or a wavetable synth.
63.Pp
64There are two device file types available for MIDI operation:
65.Pa /dev/rmidiN ,
66and
67.Pa /dev/music .
68The
69.Pa /dev/rmidiN
70devices provides raw access to a MIDI device.  Data written is sent
71to the physical device as fast as possible and is uninterpreted.
72Reading from the device returns data as soon as it becomes available.
73A moderate amount of buffering is available both for reading and writing.
74The raw MIDI devices are mostly useful for non realtime operations, such as
75downloading patches to a device, since it is hard to get the accurate timing
76needed for quality music from a user program.  But the devices can act as
77a simple patchboard for MIDI devices.  For example, a MIDI keyboard could
78be connected to a synthesizer by the command
79.Cd "cat -u /dev/rmidi1 >/dev/rmidi2"
80.Pp
81The
82.Pa /dev/music
83device is a MIDI sequencer device.  Data sent to and from this device
84not only contains the information sent to the MIDI device, but also
85timing information.  The kernel will make sure that data is sent
86to the physical device at the indicated time.  The sequencer device
87uses the
88.Pa /dev/rmidiN
89devices internally and they are unavailable when used by the sequencer.
90.Pp
91The API for the sequencer device is binary compatible with the OSS sequencer
92interface.
93.Sh FILES
94.Bl -tag -width /dev/sequencer -compact
95.It Pa /dev/rmidiN
96.It Pa /dev/music
97.It Pa /dev/sequencer
98.El
99.Sh SEE ALSO
100.Xr audio 4 ,
101.Xr ioctl 2 ,
102.Xr midiplay 1 ,
103.Xr mpu 4 ,
104.Xr opl 4 ,
105.Xr ossaudio 3 .
106.br
107For ports using the ISA bus:
108.Xr cms 4 ,
109.Xr pcppi 4 ,
110.Xr sb 4
111.Sh HISTORY
112The
113.Nm
114driver first appeared in
115.Nx 1.4 .
116.Sh BUGS
117This man page is very incomplete.
118.Pp
119