GDVP License

Hosts

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Standalone & Hosts

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GDVP's engine is the same in every form; what differs is who owns audio I/O, transport and the UI. This page covers the three operator-facing forms. Sources: standalone/, proxy/, client/.

Standalone

GDVP_Standalone.exe (standalone/src/main_standalone.c) is a self-contained host. On launch it:

  1. Initialises cross-platform paths (gdvp_paths).
  2. Validates licence — if none is found it runs in DEMO mode:

    ⚠️ In demo mode, audio is interrupted with noise after 60 seconds. A valid licence unlocks full, uninterrupted operation.

  3. Opens the audio device via miniaudio, asking the OS for its native sample rate (the engine adapts; 44.1 kHz is the reference). Output is stereo float at the device; the engine works in 16-bit PCM internally.
  4. Starts hardware MIDI input (gdvp_standalone_midi.c, Win32 backend client_hw_midi_win32.c).
  5. Sets up IPC shared memory and spawns the CRT client (gdvp_client.exe) as a separate process, connected over that shared memory (--ipc "Local\\GDVP_Standalone_IPC").

So in standalone use, the host process does sound + MIDI and the client process does the UI; they communicate lock-free over shared memory (proxy/include/gdvp_ipc_shm*.h). Transport (tempo/PPQN clock) is internal — set tempo in-app; the arpeggiator and LFO key-sync run off this clock.

VST3 plug-in

The VST3 form lives in proxy/ (gdvp_vst3_processor.cpp, _controller.cpp, _factory.cpp, bridged to the C engine via gdvp_vst3_bridge.c). Here the DAW is the host:

  • The DAW owns audio I/O and the sample rate / block size.
  • The DAW owns transport — play state and BPM follow the DAW timeline, so tempo-synced features align to the project (subject to the LFO transport-sync status note). The header-bar tempo readout is dimmed and tagged DAW while hosted: it reports the project tempo but cannot set it. Set tempo in your DAW. See Tempo & transport.
  • Automation arrives as parameter changes through the same bridge the MIDI map feeds, using the canonical parameter IDs.

The plug-in uses the same IPC/shared-memory and tri-buffer visualisation plumbing (gdvp_viz_tribuf.h) as standalone for any out-of-process UI/metering.

The client (front panel)

gdvp_client.exe is the front-panel UI and runs under both forms above. It renders the active Part's compiled graph, edits parameters and topology, browses and saves .gvp patches, and shows the oscilloscope. It holds no audio engine of its own — it drives the engine in the host process over IPC.

Which form for what

  • Sketching, hardware-MIDI jamming, no DAW: Standalone.
  • In a session, with automation and project tempo: VST3 in your DAW.
  • Either way you get the identical deterministic engine and the same patches.

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