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SoX(3)				 Sound eXchange 			  SoX(3)

NAME
     libsox - SoX, an audio file-format and effect library

SYNOPSIS
     #include <sox.h>

     int sox_format_init(void);

     void sox_format_quit(void);

     sox_format_t sox_open_read(const char *path, const sox_signalinfo_t *info, const char *filetype);

     sox_format_t sox_open_write(sox_bool (*overwrite_permitted)(const char *filename), const char *path, const sox_signalinfo_t *info, const char *filetype, const char *comment, sox_size_t length, const sox_instrinfo_t *instr, const sox_loopinfo_t *loops);

     sox_size_t sox_read(sox_format_t ft, sox_ssample_t *buf, sox_size_t len);

     sox_size_t sox_write(sox_format_t ft, sox_ssample_t *buf, sox_size_t len);

     int sox_close(sox_format_t ft);

     int sox_seek(sox_format_t ft, sox_size_t offset, int whence);

     sox_effect_handler_t const *sox_find_effect(char const *name);

     sox_effect_t *sox_create_effect(sox_effect_handler_t const *eh);

     int sox_effect_options(sox_effect_t *effp, int argc, char * const argv[]);

     sox_effects_chain_t *sox_create_effects_chain(sox_encodinginfo_t const *in_enc, sox_encodinginfo_t const *out_enc);

     void sox_delete_effects_chain(sox_effects_chain_t *ecp);

     int sox_add_effect(sox_effects_chaint_t *chain, sox_effect_t*effp, sox_signalinfo_t *in, sox_signalinfo_t const *out);

     cc file.c -o file -lsox

DESCRIPTION
     libsox  is  a library of sound sample file format readers/writers and sound
     effects processors. It is mainly developed for use by SoX but is useful for
     any sound application.

     sox_format_init function performs some required initialization  related  to
     all  file	format	handlers.  If compiled with dynamic library support then
     this will detect and initialize all external  libraries.	This  should  be
     called before any other file operations are performed.

     sox_format_quit function performs some required cleanup related to all file
     format handlers.

     sox_open_read  function opens the file for reading whose name is the string
     pointed to by path and associates an sox_format_t with it. If info is  non-
     NULL  then  it  will  be used to specify the data format of the input file.
     This is normally only needed for headerless audio files since the	informa-
     tion  is  not  stored  in the file. If filetype is non-NULL then it will be
     used to specify the file type. If this is not specified then the file  type
     is  attempted  to be derived by looking at the file header and/or the file-
     name extension. A special name of "-" can be used to read data from stdin.

     sox_open_write function opens the file for writing whose name is the string
     pointed to by path and associates an sox_format_t with it. If info is  non-
     NULL  then  it  will be used to specify the data format of the output file.
     Since most file formats can write data in different data formats, this gen-
     erally has to be specified. The info structure from the input  format  han-
     dler  can	be specified to copy data over in the same format. If comment is
     non-NULL, it will be written in the file header for  formats  that  support
     comments.	If filetype is non-NULL then it will be used to specify the file
     type. If this is not specified then the file type is attempted  to  be  de-
     rived  by	looking  at the filename extension. A special name of "-" can be
     used to write data to stdout.

     The function sox_read reads len samples in to buf using the format  handler
     specified by ft. All data read is converted to 32-bit signed samples before
     being  placed in to buf. The value of len is specified in total samples. If
     its value is not evenly divisable by the number of channels, undefined  be-
     havior will occur.

     The function sox_write writes len samples from buf using the format handler
     specified by ft. Data in buf must be 32-bit signed samples and will be con-
     verted  during  the  write  process. The value of len is specified in total
     samples. If its value is not evenly divisable by the  number  of  channels,
     undefined behavior will occur.

     The sox_close function dissociates the named sox_format_t from its underly-
     ing file or set of functions. If the format handler was being used for out-
     put, any buffered data is written first.

     The  function sox_find_effect finds effect name, returning a pointer to its
     sox_effect_handler_t if it exists, and NULL otherwise.

     The function sox_create_effect instantiates an effect into  a  sox_effect_t
     given  a  sox_effect_handler_t *. Any missing methods are automatically set
     to the corresponding nothing method.

     The function sox_effect_options allows passing options into the  effect  to
     control its behavior.  It will return SOX_EOF if there were any invalid op-
     tions passed in.  On success, the effp->in_signal will optional contain the
     rate  and	channel  count	it requires input data from and effp->out_signal
     will optionally contain the rate and channel count  it  outputs  in.   When
     present,  this  information should be used to make sure appropriate effects
     are placed in the effects chain to handle any needed conversions.

     Passing in options is currently only supported when they are passed in  be-
     fore  the	effect is ever started.  The behavior is undefined if its called
     once the effect is started.

     sox_create_effects_chain will instantiate an effects chain that effects can
     be added to.  in_enc and out_enc are the signal encoding of the  input  and
     output  of  the chain respectively.  The pointers to in_enc and out_enc are
     stored internally and so their memory should not be freed.  Also, it is  OK
     if  their	values change over time to reflect new input or output encodings
     as they are referenced only as effects start up or are restarted.

     sox_delete_effects_chain will release any	resources  reserved  during  the
     creation  of  the chain.  This will also call sox_delete_effects if any ef-
     fects are still in the chain.

     sox_add_effect adds an effect to the chain.  in specifies the input  signal
     info  for	this  effect.	out is a suggestion as to what the output signal
     should be but depending on the effects given options and on in  the  effect
     can choose to do differently.  Whatever output rate and channels the effect
     does  produce  are  written  back to in.  It is meant that in be stored and
     passed to each new call to sox_add_effect so that changes	will  be  propa-
     gated to each new effect.

     SoX  includes  skeleton  C  files	to  assist  you  in  writing new formats
     (skelform.c) and effects (skeleff.c). Note that new formats can often  just
     deal with the header and then use raw.c's routines for reading and writing.

     example0.c and example1.c are a good starting point to see how to write ap-
     plications using libsox.  sox.c itself is also a good reference.

RETURN VALUE
     Upon  successful  completion  sox_open_read  and  sox_open_write  return an
     sox_format_t (which is a pointer).  Otherwise, NULL is returned. TODO: Need
     a way to return reason for failures. Currently, relies on sox_warn to print
     information.

     sox_read and sox_write return the number of samples  successfully	read  or
     written.  If  an  error  occurs,  or the end-of-file is reached, the return
     value is a short item count or SOX_EOF. TODO: sox_read does not  distiguish
     between  end-of-file  and error. Need an feof() and ferror() concept to de-
     termine which occurred.

     Upon successful completion sox_close returns 0. Otherwise, SOX_EOF  is  re-
     turned.  In  either  case,  any  further  access (including another call to
     sox_close()) to the handler results in undefined behavior. TODO: Need a way
     to return reason for failures. Currently, relies on sox_warn to  print  in-
     formation.

     Upon  successful  completion  sox_seek returns 0. Otherwise, SOX_EOF is re-
     turned. TODO Need to set a global error and implement sox_tell.

ERRORS
     TODO

INTERNALS
     SoX's formats and effects operate with an internal sample format of  signed
     32-bit  integer.	The  data processing routines are called with buffers of
     these samples, and buffer sizes  which  refer  to	the  number  of  samples
     processed,  not the number of bytes.  File readers translate the input sam-
     ples to signed 32-bit integers and return the number of samples read.   For
     example, data in linear signed byte format is left-shifted 24 bits.

     Representing samples as integers can cause problems when processing the au-
     dio.   For  example,  if an effect to mix down left and right channels into
     one monophonic channel were to use the line

	*obuf++ = (*ibuf++ + *ibuf++)/2;

     distortion might occur since the  intermediate  addition  can  overflow  32
     bits.  The line

	*obuf++ = *ibuf++/2 + *ibuf++/2;

     would  get round the overflow problem (at the expense of the least signifi-
     cant bit).

     Stereo data is stored with the left and right speaker  data  in  successive
     samples.	Quadraphonic  data  is	stored	in this order: left front, right
     front, left rear, right rear.

FORMATS
     A format is responsible for translating between sound sample files  and  an
     internal buffer.  The internal buffer is store in signed longs with a fixed
     sampling  rate.   The  format  operates  from two data structures: a format
     structure, and a private structure.

     The format structure contains a list of control parameters for the  sample:
     sampling  rate,  data size (8, 16, or 32 bits), encoding (unsigned, signed,
     floating point, etc.), number of sound channels.  It  also  contains  other
     state  information:  whether  the	sample	file  needs  to be byte-swapped,
     whether sox_seek() will work, its suffix, its file stream pointer, its for-
     mat pointer, and the private structure for the format .

     The private area is just a preallocated data array for the  format  to  use
     however  it  wishes.   It should have a defined data structure and cast the
     array to that structure.  See voc.c for the use of  a  private  data  area.
     Voc.c has to track the number of samples it writes and when finishing, seek
     back  to  the  beginning of the file and write it out.  The private area is
     not very large.  The ``echo'' effect has to malloc() a much larger area for
     its delay line buffers.

     A format has 6 routines:

     startread		 Set up the format parameters, or read in a data header,
			 or do what needs to be done.

     read		 Given a buffer and a length: read up to that many  sam-
			 ples,	transform  them  into  signed long integers, and
			 copy them into the buffer.  Return the number	of  sam-
			 ples actually read.

     stopread		 Do what needs to be done.

     startwrite 	 Set  up  the  format  parameters,  or	write out a data
			 header, or do what needs to be done.

     write		 Given a buffer and a length: copy that many samples out
			 of the buffer, convert them from signed  longs  to  the
			 appropriate  data,  and  write them to the file.  If it
			 can't write out all the samples, fail.

     stopwrite		 Fix up any file header, or do what needs to be done.

EFFECTS
     Each effect runs with one input and one output stream.  An effect's  imple-
     mentation comprises six functions that may be called to the follow flow di-
     agram:

     LOOP (invocations with different parameters)
       getopts
       LOOP (invocations with the same parameters)
	 LOOP (channels)
	   start
	 LOOP (whilst there is input audio to process)
	   LOOP (channels)
	     flow
	 LOOP (whilst there is output audio to generate)
	   LOOP (channels)
	     drain
	 LOOP (channels)
	   stop
       kill

     Notes: For some effects, some of the functions may not be needed and can be
     NULL.   An  effect  that is marked `MCHAN' does not use the LOOP (channels)
     lines and must therefore perform multiple channel processing inside the af-
     fected functions.	Multiple effect instances may be processed (according to
     the above flow diagram) in parallel.

     getopts		 is called with a character string argument list for the
			 effect.

     start		 is called with the signal parameters for the input  and
			 output streams.

     flow		 is  called  with input and output data buffers, and (by
			 reference) the input and output data buffer sizes.   It
			 processes  the input buffer into the output buffer, and
			 sets the size variables to the numbers of samples actu-
			 ally processed.  It is under no obligation to read from
			 the input buffer or write to the output  buffer  during
			 the  same  call.  If the call returns SOX_EOF then this
			 should be used as an indication that this  effect  will
			 no  longer  read  any data and can be used to switch to
			 drain mode sooner.

     drain		 is called after there are no more input  data	samples.
			 If  the  effect wishes to generate more data samples it
			 copies the generated data into a given buffer	and  re-
			 turns the number of samples generated.  If it fills the
			 buffer,  it will be called again, etc.  The echo effect
			 uses this to fade away.

     stop		 is called when there are no more input samples  and  no
			 more  output  samples to process.  It is typically used
			 to release or close resources (e.g. allocated memory or
			 temporary files) that were set-up in start.  See echo.c
			 for an example.

     kill		 is called to allow resources allocated by getopts to be
			 released.  See pad.c for an example.

LINKING
     The method of linking against libsox depends on how SoX was built	on  your
     system.  For a static build, just link against the libraries as normal. For
     a dynamic build, you should use libtool to link  with  the  correct  linker
     flags. See the libtool manual for details; basically, you use it as:

	libtool --mode=link gcc -o prog /path/to/libsox.la

BUGS
     This manual page is both incomplete and out of date.

SEE ALSO
     sox(1), soxformat(7)

     example*.c in the SoX source distribution.

LICENSE
     Copyright 1998-2011 by Chris Bagwell and SoX Contributors.
     Copyright 1991 Lance Norskog and Sundry Contributors.

     This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it un-
     der  the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published by the
     Free Software Foundation; either version 2.1, or (at your option) any later
     version.

     This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT
     ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or  FIT-
     NESS  FOR	A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU Lesser General Public License
     for more details.

AUTHORS
     Chris Bagwell (cbagwell@users.sourceforge.net).  Other authors and contrib-
     utors are listed in the ChangeLog file that is distributed with the  source
     code.

libsox				February 19, 2011			  SoX(3)

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