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MMProgRef - Memory Playlist Commands

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Reprint Courtesy of International Business Machines Corporation, © International Business Machines Corporation

Multimedia Programming Reference
  1. Introduction
  2. What's New...
  3. MCI Functions
  4. High-Level Macro Service Functions
  5. Subsystem Messages
  6. Notification Messages
  7. MCI Command Messages
  8. String Commands
  9. Memory Playlist Commands
  10. Graphic Button Control
  11. Secondary Window Functions
  12. MMIO Functions
  13. MMIO Messages
  14. CODEC Messages
  15. DIVE Functions
  16. Real-Time MIDI Functions
  17. SPI Functions
  18. Data Stream State Table
  19. SMH Messages
  20. DDCMD Messages
  21. VSD Commands
  22. SHD Messages
  23. SHC Messages
  24. Data Types
  25. Types of MIDI Messages
  26. Multimedia Specification Overview
  27. Resource Interchange File Format
  28. Multimedia File Formats
  29. RIFF Compound Files and Elements - Sharing and Access
  30. Return Codes
  31. Notices
  32. Glossary

A memory playlist is a data structure in your application. It contains an array of simple, machine-like instructions, or commands, each of which has a fixed format consisting of a 32-bit operation code and three 32-bit operands.

Using playlist instructions, you can play audio objects in succession from one or more memory buffers. Instructions include branching to and returning from subroutines within the playlist. In addition, the playlist can be modified dynamically by the application while it is being played.

The MCI_OPEN_PLAYLIST flag is specified for the MCI_OPEN command message to indicate that the *pszElementName* field in the MCI_OPEN_PARMS data structure is a pointer to a memory playlist. The following table lists and describes the playlist instructions.

Command Description
BRANCH_OPERATION Transfers control to another instruction in the playlist.
CALL_OPERATION Transfers control to the instruction specified in Operand 2, saving the number of the instruction following the CALL_OPERATION for use on a RETURN_OPERATION.
CUEPOINT_OPERATION Causes a cue-point data record to be entered into the data stream.
DATA_OPERATION Specifies a data buffer to be played from or recorded into.
EXIT_OPERATION Indicates the end of the playlist.
LOOP_OPERATION Controls iteration in a playlist.
MESSAGE_OPERATION Returns a message to the application during playlist processing. MESSAGE_OPERATION statements can be used by the application to trace specific points during the execution of the playlist processor.
NOP_OPERATION Used as a placeholder.
RETURN_OPERATION Transfers control to the playlist instruction following the most recently executed CALL_OPERATION.
SEMPOST_OPERATION Causes the playlist processor to post an event semaphore. The playlist processor will call DosWaitEventSem.
SEMWAIT_OPERATION Causes the playlist processor to wait on a semaphore. The playlist processor will call DosWaitEventSem.

Playlist Instructions and Operands

The commands and their descriptions (including operand information) follow:

BRANCH_OPERATION
Transfers control to another instruction in the playlist.
  • Operand 1: Ignored.
  • Operand 2: The absolute instruction number in the playlist to which control is being transferred. Because the playlist is defined as an array of structures (instruction, operation, and operand values) its first instruction is referenced as array element, index 0. Therefore, the first instruction in the list is 0, the second instruction is 1, and so on.
  • Operand 3: Ignored.
Branching out of a subroutine is not prohibited; however, it is not recommended because an unused return address is left on the stack maintained by the playlist processor.
An application can enable or disable a BRANCH_OPERATION by exchanging it with a NOP_OPERATION. Operands for a NOP_OPERATION are ignored.
CALL_OPERATION
Transfers control to the absolute instruction number specified in Operand 2, saving the number of the instruction following the CALL for use on a RETURN instruction.
CALL instructions may be nested up to 20 levels.
  • Operand 1: Ignored.
  • Operand 2: Absolute instruction number in the playlist to which control is being transferred.
  • Operand 3: Ignored.
CUEPOINT_OPERATION
Causes a cue-point data record to be entered into the data stream. Note that the cue point is relative to the DATA_OPERATION that follows it.
  • Operand 1: User-defined parameter to be returned as the low word of MsgParam1 in the MM_MCICUEPOINT message.
  • Operand 2: Offset in MMTIME units for the actual time the CUEPOINT message should be generated.
  • Operand 3: Ignored.
The MM_MCICUEPOINT message is returned to the application as soon as possible after the cue-point data record is encountered in the data stream. The message is sent to the window handle specified when the device was originally opened.
Note: The CUEPOINT instruction is ignored when used in a recording operation.
DATA_OPERATION
Specifies a data buffer to be played from or recorded into.
  • Operand 1: long pointer to a buffer in the application.
  • Operand 2: Length of the buffer pointed to by Operand 1.
  • Operand 3: Current position in the buffer. This operand is updated by the system during a recording or playback operation. For a playback operation, it is the number of bytes that have been sent to the output device handler. For a recording operation, it is the number of bytes that have been placed into a user buffer.
The current position in the buffer is particularly important after a recording operation, because this field contains the number of bytes of recorded data. The remaining bytes in the buffer are not valid.
The buffer indicated by the DATA instruction must only contain the raw data bytes from the device and cannot include any header information. For example, a buffer for a sequencer device can contain only MIDI multibyte messages, as defined by the International MIDI Association. Therefore, the precise meaning or format of the data is dependent on the current settings of the media device. For example, a wave audio data element is assumed to have the format PCM or ADPCM, number of bits per sample, and so on, that is indicated by the settings of the audio device.
The address range of a DATA statement cannot overlap the address range of any another DATA statement. However, the same DATA statement can be repeated.
EXIT_OPERATION
Indicates the end of the playlist.
  • Operand 1: Ignored.
  • Operand 2: Ignored.
  • Operand 3: Ignored.
LOOP_OPERATION
Controls iteration in a playlist. It is the responsibility of the application to initialize the current iteration. The current iteration is reset to zero following loop termination.
  • Operand 1: Number of times the loop is to be executed.
  • Operand 2: Target instruction to branch to, when the loop condition fails.
  • Operand 3: Current iteration.
The last instruction in a loop is a branch back to the LOOP_OPERATION. The operation of the LOOP_OPERATION instruction is as follows:
1. If Operand 3 is less than Operand 1, control is transferred to the playlist instruction following the LOOP instruction, and the iteration count in Operand 3 is incremented.
2. Otherwise, the iteration count is reset to zero and control is passed to the instruction specified in Operand 2.
Typically, the application sets the iteration count to zero when the playlist is passed to the device, but this is not required. The loop instruction merely compares the loop count with the iteration count. If the iteration count is set to a value other than zero when the playlist is passed in, it is as if the loop has been executed that number of times. Also, if a playback operation is stopped, and then the same playlist is loaded again, the loop iteration count is not initialized by the playlist processor.
It is the application's responsibility to see that iteration count values are what is required when switching from play to record, record to play, and when changing settings for the data (for example, *bitspersample*, *samplespersec*, and so on) with the set command. These commands cause the playlist stream to be destroyed and re-created, and the playlist to be reassociated as a new playlist with the playlist processor.
MESSAGE_OPERATION
Returns a message to the application during playlist processing.
  • Operand 1: Ignored.
  • Operand 2: ULONG that is returned to the application in the MM_MCIPLAYLISTMESSAGE message MsgParam2.
  • Operand 3: Ignored.
Each time the playlist processor encounters a MESSAGE instruction, MM_MCIPLAYLISTMESSAGE is returned to the application. MESSAGE instructions can be used by the application to trace specific points during the execution of the playlist processor.
Note: This function is not intended to be used for timing of data production or consumption identified by previously interpreted instructions.
NOP_OPERATION
Used as a placeholder.
  • Operand 1: Ignored.
  • Operand 2: Ignored.
  • Operand 3: Ignored.
RETURN_OPERATION
Transfers control to the playlist instruction following the most recently executed CALL instruction.
  • Operand 1: Ignored.
  • Operand 2: Ignored.
  • Operand 3: Ignored.
SEMPOST_OPERATION
Causes the playlist processor to post an event semaphore. The playlist processor will call DosWaitEventSem.
  • Operand 1: Contains the semaphore to post.
  • Operand 2: Ignored.
  • Operand 3: Ignored.
SEMWAIT_OPERATION
Causes the playlist processor to wait on a semaphore. The playlist processor will call DosWaitEventSem.
  • Operand 1: Contains the semaphore to perform the wait on.
  • Operand 2: Amount of time the semaphore should wait.
  • Operand 3: Boolean value indicating whether or not the semaphore should be cleared before waiting.
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