Polymorphic: a live-coding editor for the DSL

Open Polymorphic

Polymorphic is a live-coding editor for Noisemaker’s DSL. The shader fills the browser window, and the editor floats on top of it. Users type a program and see the result as they type. [M1]

The editor can evaluate the whole program or one block. Alt-drag on a number changes the number live. Snapshot history keeps the programs that compiled, so users can undo and redo them. [M1]

How it uses Noisemaker

PolymorphicRenderer wraps one CanvasRenderer. It loads the engine and the effect bundles from https://shaders.noisedeck.app/1. [M2]

PolymorphicRenderer.compile() runs these steps: [M2]

  1. If the program uses media(url: ...), remove the URL arguments. The engine does not accept them.

  2. Find the effect names with extractEffectNamesFromDsl().

  3. Load those effects with loadEffects().

  4. Compile the program.

  5. Upload a texture for each text() step.

  6. Bind each image URL to its media() step.

It returns { success: true }, or { success: false, error } with the compile error for the editor.

Text and images enter the program as textures: [M2]

  • Polymorphic draws each text() step on a canvas and uploads it as textTex_step_N with flipY: true.

  • For media(url: ...), Polymorphic loads image helpers from sharing.noisedeck.app at run time. The helpers upload each image as imageTex_step_N.

WebGL2 is the default backend. The ?backend=webgpu URL parameter selects WebGPU. If the browser has no WebGPU adapter, Polymorphic falls back to WebGL2. [M1] [M2]

When the browser loses the WebGL context, Polymorphic stops the render loop. When the browser restores the context, Polymorphic compiles the program again. A lost WebGPU device does not come back, so Polymorphic disposes the old pipeline and compiles on a new device. [M2]

The performance overlay shows the frame rate, frame time, pass count, and backend. [M1]

Work outside the engine

  • Live inputs: microphone, MIDI control changes and clock, webcam, and screen capture. [M1]

  • Scenes: up to 9 programs, which the number keys recall. [M1]

  • Tempo: tap tempo, or a clock from MIDI. [M1]

  • Recording: WebM video from the canvas, and PNG or JPG stills. [M1]

  • Output picker: preview and select one of the eight surfaces, o0 to o7. [M1]

  • Performance mode hides all controls for projection. [M1]

  • Polymorphic can import custom effects in the Portable Effects Format. [M1]

The Book of Polymorphic DSL

The book at polymorphic.noisedeck.app/book has one page for each included effect. A script imports the shipped effect bundles and makes each page’s program from the effect’s default values. The book leaves out effects that need a camera, a microphone, or a MIDI keyboard. It also leaves out effects that show nothing useful on their own, such as a blur on a field with no edges. Each page explains the effect and links to further reading. Readers can edit the program on the page or open it in Polymorphic. [M1]

Limits

  • The editor loads the shaders, the interface library, and the fonts from Noise Factor servers. A self-hosted copy still needs internet access. [M1]

  • Sharing, Noisedeck handoff, community feeds, and Seance use Noise Factor services. Image URLs in a program also need sharing.noisedeck.app. [M1] [M2]

  • Sync input and output need a local Sync installation. [M1]

  • Camera, microphone, and screen capture need browser permission, and HTTPS on any host other than localhost. [M1]

Sources

All links point to polymorphic revision 0dd6991.

[M1] (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16)

README.