Barsuk & Serega
Serega
You ever thought about building a tiny terminal‑based synth that can churn out pretty complex sounds without hogging the CPU? I'd love to hear how you'd keep it lean and still handle real‑time chaos.
Barsuk
Sure thing. Stick to a single thread, no garbage allocation, use a circular buffer and pre‑computed sine tables. Fixed‑point math keeps the CPU happy, and you can drop the whole FFT if you only need a few oscillators. Keep the sample rate low enough that you’re not chasing the CPU, but high enough for decent resolution. And remember: if you’re using a library, pick the one with the smallest footprint. That’s the kind of lean approach that still lets the synth live.
Serega
That’s a solid recipe—one thread, no heap churn, circular buffers, sine tables, fixed‑point. I’ll try that. Just promise me you’ll keep the sample rate under 24 kHz, otherwise the CPU will start screaming louder than my guitar solos.
Barsuk
Got it, keep it under 24 kHz and you’ll see the CPU stay quiet. Just let me know how the samples turn out.
Serega
Sounds good, just drop me a buffer when you have one, I’ll give you the verdict—whether it’s a midnight jazz set or just static.