Pure Data
Pure Data community
Pure Data (Pd) is an open-source visual data-flow programming environment for real-time audio, video, and graphics. Patches are built by connecting object boxes; the standard Pd-vanilla distribution provides core audio and MIDI processing, with extensions (cyclone, ELSE, GEM, IEM ambisonics) adding higher-level functionality. Widely used in academic research, sound installation, and live electroacoustic composition.
History & Background
Developed by Miller Puckette and a wide community contributor base; conceptually a free, open-source counterpart to Max. The puredata.info site is hosted by IEM (Institute of Electronic Music and Acoustics, Graz). Distributed under a BSD-style licence. Forks and distributions include Pd-extended (deprecated), Purr Data, and plugdata (Pd as a plug-in).