Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!wuarchive!udel!haven.umd.edu!mimsy!spector
From: spector@mimsy.umd.edu (Lee Spector)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.multimedia
Subject: mandala, other intro questions
Message-ID: <33939@mimsy.umd.edu>
Date: 3 May 91 15:34:47 GMT
Reply-To: spector@mimsy.umd.edu (Lee Spector)
Organization: U of Maryland, Dept. of Computer Science, Coll. Pk., MD 20742
Lines: 32

I'm considering getting an Amiga for the sake of interactive multimedia
applications and I have a bunch of introductory-type questions.  I'm not
even sure exactly what to ask, so if somebody just wants to send me
random musings and comments on related topics I'd appreciate that too.
 
Some questions:
 
I've seen a Mandala installation, but I couldn't tell and would like
to know:
  - what does mandala actually provide in terms of image parsing?
  - does Mandala provide its own programming language?  A good one?
  - are there hooks for accessing mandala from other languages?
  - how can I get more info? (email?  800 number?)
  - if I can do some image hacking myself, how easy is it to access
    image data from frame grabbers from other Amiga language
    implementations?  (I'm not interested in the video output...)
 
How cheaply can I get a setup with
  - a video capture board that grabs at least one (possibly very low res)
    frame per second.
  - an amiga powerful enough to support the board, some modest crunching
    on the images, MIDI output, and control of local sound.
 
I've seen HMSL - the FORTH-based language for (among other things)
generating MIDI events and local sound (available from Frog Peak Music
in Oakland, CA).  What other systems/languages would people recommend 
for projects with various kinds of inputs (video input, digitized
sound input, switches hacked into the ports) and only sound output 
(animation etc. is not necessary at all).
 
Thanks for any information you can provide!  (email would be best...)
  -Lee (spector@cs.umd.edu)