QPlug Audio Plugin Library

Introduction

QPlug is modern c++ library for building Audio plugins that target various Audio plugin architectures. Qplug is designed to be easy-to-use and has a clean, and simple modern c++ API.

Design and Architecture

QPlug sits on top of the Elements C++ GUI library which handles user interface, and the Q C++ Audio Digital Signal Processing library for MIDI and digital signal processing (DSP). Q provides the standardized realtime audio and MIDI streaming interfaces.

qplug architecture

Elements is a lightweight, fine-grained, resolution independent, modular GUI library. You compose very fine-grained, flyweight “elements” to form deep element hierarchies using a declarative interface with heavy emphasis on reuse.
Q is a cross-platform C++ library for Audio Digital Signal Processing. The Q DSP Library is designed to be simple and elegant, leveraging the power of modern C++ and efficient use of functional programming techniques, to simplify complex DSP programming tasks without sacrificing readability.

QPlug currently targets AU (Audio Unit) and VST3 using iPlug2 as the backend engine. QPlug is not a framework. It is a modular, and generic library, with loose coupling between its layers and modules. It is for that matter that QPlug is retargetable, with a clean, well isolated API which exposes a not-so-thin abstraction layer on top of architecture-specific plugin frameworks such as VST and AU as well as architecture-independent plugin frameworks such as iPlug. It is possible to use other DSP libraries alongside Q.

At one point, QPlug directly targeted Au and VST, before settling down to use iPlug2 which already supports various plugin architectures.

Setup and Installation

WIP…

About the Author

Joel got into electronics and programming in the 80s because almost everything in music, his first love, is becoming electronic and digital. Since then, he builds his own guitars, effect boxes and synths. He enjoys playing distortion-laden rock guitar, composes and produces his own music in his home studio.

Joel de Guzman is the principal architect and engineer at Cycfi Research and a consultant at Ciere Consulting. He is a software engineer specializing in advanced C++ and an advocate of Open Source. He has authored a number of highly successful Open Source projects such as Boost.Spirit, Boost.Phoenix and Boost.Fusion. These libraries are all part of the Boost Libraries, a well respected, peer-reviewed, Open Source, collaborative development effort.