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MIDI::Event(3pm)      User Contributed Perl Documentation     MIDI::Event(3pm)

NAME
       MIDI::Event - MIDI events

SYNOPSIS
         # Dump a MIDI file's text events
         die "No filename" unless @ARGV;
         use MIDI;  # which "use"s MIDI::Event;
         MIDI::Opus->new( {
            "from_file" => $ARGV[0],
            "exclusive_event_callback" => sub{print "$_[2]\n"},
            "include" => \@MIDI::Event::Text_events
          } ); # These options percolate down to MIDI::Event::decode
         exit;

DESCRIPTION
       Functions and lists to do with MIDI events and MIDI event structures.

       An event is a list, like:

         ( 'note_on', 141, 4, 50, 64 )

       where the first element is the event name, the second is the delta-
       time, and the remainder are further parameters, per the event-format
       specifications below.

       An event structure is a list of references to such events -- a "LoL".
       If you don't know how to deal with LoLs, you must read perllol.

GOODIES
       For your use in code (as in the code in the Synopsis), this module
       provides a few lists:

       @MIDI_events
           a list of all "MIDI events" AKA voice events -- e.g., 'note_on'

       @Text_events
           a list of all text meta-events -- e.g., 'track_name'

       @Nontext_meta_events
           all other meta-events (plus 'raw_data' and F-series events like
           'tune_request').

       @Meta_events
           the combination of Text_events and Nontext_meta_events.

       @All_events
           the combination of all the above lists.

FUNCTIONS
       This module provides three functions of interest, which all act upon
       event structures.  As an end user, you probably don't need to use any
       of these directly, but note that options you specify for
       MIDI::Opus->new with a from_file or from_handle options will percolate
       down to these functions; so you should understand the options for the
       first two of the below functions.  (The casual user should merely skim
       this section.)

       MIDI::Event::decode( \$data, { ...options... } )
           This takes a reference to binary MIDI data and decodes it into a
           new event structure (a LoL), a reference to which is returned.
           Options are:

           'include' => LISTREF
                           If specified, listref is interpreted as a reference
                           to a list of event names (e.g., 'cue_point' or
                           'note_off') such that only these events will be
                           parsed from the binary data provided.  Events whose
                           names are NOT in this list will be ignored -- i.e.,
                           they won't end up in the event structure, and they
                           won't be each passed to any callbacks you may have
                           specified.

           'exclude' => LISTREF
                           If specified, listref is interpreted as a reference
                           to a list of event names (e.g., 'cue_point' or
                           'note_off') that will NOT be parsed from the binary
                           stream; they'll be ignored -- i.e., they won't end
                           up in the event structure, and they won't be passed
                           to any callbacks you may have specified.  Don't
                           specify both an include and an exclude list.  And
                           if you specify neither, all events will be decoded
                           -- this is what you probably want most of the time.
                           I've created this include/exclude functionality
                           mainly so you can scan a file rather efficiently
                           for just a few specific event types, e.g., just
                           text events, or just sysexes.

           'no_eot_magic' => 0 or 1
                           See the description of 'end_track', in "EVENTS",
                           below.

           'event_callback' => CODEREF
                           If defined, the code referred to (whether as
                           "\&wanted" or as "sub { BLOCK }") is called on
                           every event after it's been parsed into an event
                           list (and any EOT magic performed), but before it's
                           added to the event structure.  So if you want to
                           alter the event stream on the way to the event
                           structure (which counts as deep voodoo), define
                           'event_callback' and have it modify its @_.

           'exclusive_event_callback' => CODEREF
                           Just like 'event_callback'; but if you specify
                           this, the callback is called instead of adding the
                           events to the event structure.  (So the event
                           structure returned by decode() at the end will
                           always be empty.)  Good for cases like the text
                           dumper in the Synopsis, above.

       MIDI::Event::encode( \@events, {...options...})
           This takes a reference to an event structure (a LoL) and encodes it
           as binary data, which it returns a reference to.  Options:

           'unknown_callback' => CODEREF
                           If this is specified, it's interpreted as a
                           reference to a subroutine to be called when an
                           unknown event name (say, 'macro_10' or something),
                           is seen by encode().  The function is fed all of
                           the event (its name, delta-time, and whatever
                           parameters); the return value of this function is
                           added to the encoded data stream -- so if you don't
                           want to add anything, be sure to return ''.

                           If no 'unknown_callback' is specified, encode()
                           will "warn" (well, "carp") of the unknown event.
                           To merely block that, just set 'unknown_callback'
                           to "sub{return('')}"

           'no_eot_magic' => 0 or 1
                           Determines whether a track-final 0-length text
                           event is encoded as a end-track event -- since a
                           track-final 0-length text event probably started
                           life as an end-track event read in by decode(),
                           above.

           'never_add_eot' => 0 or 1
                           If 1, "encode()" never ever adds an end-track (EOT)
                           event to the encoded data generated unless it's
                           explicitly there as an 'end_track' in the given
                           event structure.  You probably don't ever need this
                           unless you're encoding for straight writing to a
                           MIDI port, instead of to a file.

           'no_running_status' => 0 or 1
                           If 1, disables MIDI's "running status" compression.
                           Probably never necessary unless you need to feed
                           your MIDI data to a strange old sequencer that
                           doesn't understand running status.

           Note: If you're encoding just a single event at a time or less than
           a whole trackful in any case, then you probably want something
           like:

                     $data_r = MIDI::Event::encode(
                       [
                         [ 'note_on', 141, 4, 50, 64 ]
                       ],
                       { 'never_add_eot' => 1} );

           which just encodes that one event as an event structure of one
           event -- i.e., an LoL that's just a list of one list.

           But note that running status will not always apply when you're
           encoding less than a whole trackful at a time, since running status
           works only within a LoL encoded all at once.  This'll result in
           non-optimally compressed, but still effective, encoding.

       MIDI::Event::copy_structure()
           This takes a reference to an event structure, and returns a
           reference to a copy of it.  If you're thinking about using this,
           you probably should want to use the more straightforward

                     $track2 = $track->copy

           instead.  But it's here if you happen to need it.

EVENTS AND THEIR DATA TYPES
   DATA TYPES
       Events use these data types:

       channel = a value 0 to 15
       note = a value 0 to 127
       dtime = a value 0 to 268,435,455 (0x0FFFFFFF)
       velocity = a value 0 to 127
       channel = a value 0 to 15
       patch = a value 0 to 127
       sequence = a value 0 to 65,535 (0xFFFF)
       text = a string of 0 or more bytes of of ASCII text
       raw = a string of 0 or more bytes of binary data
       pitch_wheel = a value -8192 to 8191 (0x1FFF)
       song_pos = a value 0 to 16,383 (0x3FFF)
       song_number = a value 0 to 127
       tempo = microseconds, a value 0 to 16,777,215 (0x00FFFFFF)

       For data types not defined above, (e.g., sf and mi for
       'key_signature'), consult MIDI::Filespec and/or the source for
       "MIDI::Event.pm".  And if you don't see it documented, it's probably
       because I don't understand it, so you'll have to consult a real MIDI
       reference.

   EVENTS
       And these are the events:

       ('note_off', dtime, channel, note, velocity)
       ('note_on', dtime, channel, note, velocity)
       ('key_after_touch', dtime, channel, note, velocity)
       ('control_change', dtime, channel, controller(0-127), value(0-127))
       ('patch_change', dtime, channel, patch)
       ('channel_after_touch', dtime, channel, velocity)
       ('pitch_wheel_change', dtime, channel, pitch_wheel)
       ('set_sequence_number', dtime, sequence)
       ('text_event', dtime, text)
       ('copyright_text_event', dtime, text)
       ('track_name', dtime, text)
       ('instrument_name', dtime, text)
       ('lyric', dtime, text)
       ('marker', dtime, text)
       ('cue_point', dtime, text)
       ('text_event_08', dtime, text)
       ('text_event_09', dtime, text)
       ('text_event_0a', dtime, text)
       ('text_event_0b', dtime, text)
       ('text_event_0c', dtime, text)
       ('text_event_0d', dtime, text)
       ('text_event_0e', dtime, text)
       ('text_event_0f', dtime, text)
       ('end_track', dtime)
       ('set_tempo', dtime, tempo)
       ('smpte_offset', dtime, hr, mn, se, fr, ff)
       ('time_signature', dtime, nn, dd, cc, bb)
       ('key_signature', dtime, sf, mi)
       ('sequencer_specific', dtime, raw)
       ('raw_meta_event', dtime, command(0-255), raw)
       ('sysex_f0', dtime, raw)
       ('sysex_f7', dtime, raw)
       ('song_position', dtime)
       ('song_select', dtime, song_number)
       ('tune_request', dtime)
       ('raw_data', dtime, raw)

       Three of the above events are represented a bit oddly from the point of
       view of the file spec:

       The parameter pitch_wheel for 'pitch_wheel_change' is a value -8192 to
       8191, although the actual encoding of this is as a value 0 to 16,383,
       as per the spec.

       Sysex events are represented as either 'sysex_f0' or 'sysex_f7',
       depending on the status byte they are encoded with.

       'end_track' is a bit stranger, in that it is almost never actually
       found, or needed.  When the MIDI decoder sees an EOT (i.e., an end-
       track status: FF 2F 00) with a delta time of 0, it is ignored!  If in
       the unlikely event that it has a nonzero delta-time, it's decoded as a
       'text_event' with whatever that delta-time is, and a zero-length text
       parameter.  (This happens before the 'event_callback' or
       'exclusive_event_callback' callbacks are given a crack at it.)  On the
       encoding side, an EOT is added to the end of the track as a normal part
       of the encapsulation of track data.

       I chose to add this special behavior so that you could add events to
       the end of a track without having to work around any track-final
       'end_track' event.

       However, if you set "no_eot_magic" as a decoding parameter, none of
       this magic happens on the decoding side -- 'end_track' is decoded just
       as it is.

       And if you set "no_eot_magic" as an encoding parameter, then a track-
       final 0-length 'text_event' with non-0 delta-times is left as is.
       Normally, such an event would be converted from a 'text_event' to an
       'end_track' event with thath delta-time.

       Normally, no user needs to use the "no_eot_magic" option either in
       encoding or decoding.  But it is provided in case you need your event
       LoL to be an absolutely literal representation of the binary data,
       and/or vice versa.

MIDI BNF
       For your reference (if you can make any sense of it), here is a copy of
       the MIDI BNF, as I found it in a text file that's been floating around
       the Net since the late 1980s.

       Note that this seems to describe MIDI events as they can occur in MIDI-
       on-the-wire.  I think that realtime data insertion (i.e., the ability
       to have <realtime byte>s popping up in the middle of messages) is
       something that can't happen in MIDI files.

       In fact, this library, as written, can't correctly parse MIDI data that
       has such realtime bytes inserted in messages.  Nor does it support
       representing such insertion in a MIDI event structure that's encodable
       for writing to a file.  (Although you could theoretically represent
       events with embedded <realtime byte>s as just "raw_data" events; but
       then, you can always stow anything at all in a "raw_data" event.)

        1.  <MIDI Stream> ::=           <MIDI msg> < MIDI Stream>
        2.  <MIDI msg> ::=              <sys msg> | <chan msg>
        3.  <chan msg> ::=              <chan 1byte msg> |
                                        | <chan 2byte msg>
        4.  <chan 1byte msg> ::=        <chan stat1 byte> <data singlet>
                                          <running singlets>
        5.  <chan 2byte msg> ::=        <chan stat2 byte> <data pair>
                                          <running pairs>
        6.  <chan stat1 byte> ::=       <chan voice stat1 nibble>
                                          <hex nibble>
        7.  <chan stat2 byte> ::=       <chan voice stat2 nibble>
                                          <hex nibble>
        8.  <chan voice stat1 nyble>::= C | D
        9.  <chan voice stat2 nyble>::= 8 | 9 | A | B | E
        10. <hex nyble> ::=             0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
                                        | 8 | 9 | A | B | C | D | E | F
        11. <data pair> ::=             <data singlet> <data singlet>
        12. <data singlet> ::=          <realtime byte> <data singlet> |
                                        | <data byte>
        13. <running pairs> ::=         <empty> | <data pair> <running pairs>
        14. <running singlets> ::=      <empty> |
                                        | <data singlet> <running singlets>
        15. <data byte> ::=             <data MSD> <hex nyble>
        16. <data MSD> ::=              0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7
        17. <realtime byte> ::=         F8 | FA | FB | FC | FE | FF
        18. <sys msg> ::=               <sys common msg> |
                                        | <sysex msg> |
                                        | <sys realtime msg>
        19. <sys realtime msg> ::=      <realtime byte>
        20. <sysex msg> ::=             <sysex data byte>
                                          <data singlet> <running singlets>
                                          <eox byte>
        21. <sysex stat byte> ::=       F0
        22. <eox byte> ::=              F7
        23. <sys common msg> ::=        <song position msg> |
                                        | <song select msg> |
                                        | <tune request>
        24. <tune request> ::=          F6
        25. <song position msg> ::=     <song position stat byte>
                                          <data pair>
        26. <song select msg> ::=       <song select stat byte>
                                          <data singlet>
        27. <song position stat byte>::=F2
        28. <song select stat byte> ::= F3

COPYRIGHT
       Copyright (c) 1998-2005 Sean M. Burke. All rights reserved.

       This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
       under the same terms as Perl itself.

AUTHOR
       Sean M. Burke "sburke AT cpan.org"  (Except the BNF -- who knows who's
       behind that.)

perl v5.22.2                      2016-05-06                  MIDI::Event(3pm)

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