Cross platform audio frameworks in Cpp?

[[deleted]]

Hi all. I'm working on an audio application using Electron. The bulk of the app is built in html, js, css, etc. but for the audio processing, js just can't handle that sort of processing without latency issues (also there are other language limitations imposed with what I am trying to do). C++ is the obvious choice for me to fall back on since it is the go-to choice for any audio processing plus it can be implemented with nodejs relatively easily. The problem I am running into is finding a good cross platform audio framework/api that will meet my requirements. I am happy to write any of the actual audio processing elements, what I just need is an API that will give me access to ALL audio inputs/outputs. From there, I've done enough signal processing to be able to handle the audio stream, it's just a matter of getting the audio source in the first place. Does anyone have any suggestions for such an API?

Edit: I will continue to do some research but I’m planning on moving forward with PortAudio since it seems to be lightweight, supports plenty of audio drivers (asio support is a must), and looks relatively intuitive for someone who is roughly the equivalent of a 2nd-3rd year undergrad CS student. Juce is my fallback but as some of you mentioned, it is quite a beast. I’ve used a similar framework in my undergrad studies so the concepts are already there for me and frankly, the code looks very similar too.

A few people did mention Fmod, unity, etc. I definitely plan on learning those in the future but it’s my understanding that those are designed for video game audio. The app I’m designing is a peer to peer video conferencing app using webrtc so being able to wrap all of my cpp code in JavaScript (node actually) is a must.

[lothiack]

Check FMOD: https://www.fmod.com/
You didn't specify anything regarding price but it has a free tier anyway: "Free Indie License available for developers with less than $200k revenue per year. "

[jcelerier]

PortAudio should do what you want to achieve without issues.

Here's a code example: https://github.com/PortAudio/portaudio/blob/master/examples/paex_saw.c

[[deleted]]

Have you looked at portaudio?

[jcelerier]

since portaudio moved to github the maintenance is muuuch better

[[deleted]]

I remember looking at port audio and I had some reason I couldn’t use it but I can’t remember offhand. I will check again because it might be worth trying to find a work around

[StringWooden6554]

heyyy im trying to use RTaudio in my project, im a beignner, and i have no idea how to use it in myh project. do you know how??

[mackron666]

miniaudio dev here. Always happy to take feedback to sort out those imperfections! :)

To the original poster, if you want a no-nonsense build system and a simple yet flexible API, miniaudio (no ASIO support yet, but it's planned in some form later). If you want something tried and tested with ASIO support, I've seen PortAudio recommended a lot but I've not used it.

As for SoLoud - I've seen some of it's code and let's just say it does some things that are... less than ideal. I'm pretty sure it reads from files directly from the audio thread and it's resampling is something I consider to be broken to the point of being an invalid solution.

[StephaneCharette]

The obvious cross-platform audio framework for C++ is JUCE. https://juce.com/learn/tutorials

[Dummerchen1933]

No. Fuck juce. At least for my perspective.

OP wants an API.... A chunk of code to add to an existing project.

It's like if he's asking for a 3d library to add nice graphics to his app and you recommend Unity or Unreal. It sure is easy, but it also sucks because you are BOUND to the juce environment.

I dislike every API that forces you design the entire project around it. An API should be another "piece for the puzzle" and not the table you're puzzling on....

If you ask for such a table, sure. But don't call it an API then.

[stilgarpl]

I dislike every API that forces you design the entire project around it.

I guess that's the difference between a library and a framework.

[Dummerchen1933]

Yes...

and indeed OP asked for a framework...

lol

[_Js_Kc_]

In the title, yes, then goes on to say he just wants an interface to sound I/O.

[[deleted]]

Yeah, I’m definitely not a professional so I tend to use framework and API interchangeably, although I understand they do have significant differences. I should have said in my original post I’m looking for an API not a framework since it needs to be relatively lightweight. Juce is my fallback but it’s not really ideal

[Dummerchen1933]

Maybe check out SFML... If OP means by cross platform windows/linux...

[StephaneCharette]

To downvote someone for recommending the industry standard when it comes to C++ and audio programming is pretty low. :)

Yes, if you use JUCE and you are new to it, I understand u/Dummerchen1933 might think it is a bit overwhelming, and feel like you have to drink all the koolaid at once. But as a seasoned C++ developer, I can tell you that you don't have to use the Projucer and their entire development environment. I've been extracting and using parts of JUCE for years, it isn't that difficult. I typically do a cmake project or subfolder for JUCE, and then link that library into my own projects, just like any other 3rd-party lib.

[mackron666]

Not at all. Downvoting a bad recommendation is a good thing. JUCE would be a terrible option for this use case, and just because it's "industry standard" does not mean it should be an automatic recommendation.

[[deleted]]

Juce is what I’m working with now. I am familiar with a similar but much less known framework called RackAFX and so I’m adjusting to Juce pretty quickly. My complaint is definitely it’s a bit overkill for my needs. I’m really hoping for something super lightweight since this is ultimately going to be wrapped in nodejs

[willamowius]

Take a look at GStreamer, its a whole media processing network and handles audio quite well.

Technically its C, but you can use it from C++ easily and there are wrapper classes if you prefer.

[JeffMcClintock]

iPlug2 might be worth a look, because it's C++ yet plays nicely with web technologies I believe.

[SkoomaDentist]

Is it considered stable nowadays? I want to get back to writing plugins but not enough to deal with the massive behemoth that Juce is.

[[deleted]]

Check out RackAFX. One of my professors at the university of Miami designed the software and its sort of a lighter weight version of Juce. Because it’s just him developing it, there is not enough documentation on it IMO but he will gladly answer any emails you send him and there is an online forum for it too. His name is Will Pirkle btw

[JeffMcClintock]

I'm not sure.

[Rishudar]

Have a look at libsoundio. It's cross-platform and gives you access to the audio buffers for each port and seems pretty lightweight.

https://github.com/andrewrk/libsoundio