Ableton Colorado User Group in conjunction with DJNSM/Datamafia** are proud to implement a free and open source repository of Ableton patches!

For those who don’t want to read and only want the patches – click HERE and download a *.zip

I really am not clear on that GitHub logo yet... CLICK TO DOWNLOAD!

Is this a first? Hard to say – a search of the repo brings up results, all sorts!

So what is GitHub?

GitHub is a hosted SAAS based on Git. Git is a popular version control system for programming (or nearly any digital data). Git was written by Linus Torvalds (creator of Linux) with the desire to increase the quality of version control software.

Version control is very common and popular in the programming arena. As software is created a “commit” action is performed where the current state of the software is placed into a repository (as a binary file typically). That “version” is now available for download. Later (minutes, hours, days, or weeks) another version is “committed”. This allows the user to retrieve the earlier version as well as the new version. Simple huh?

In other words, this is like saving before the mob boss in a video game. If you fail you just load up your earlier “save point” (aka commit) and start over again.

This is a very minimal explanation of Git and repositories. I have already seen people glaze over.  No need. Click here and “download” a *.zip.

A time moves on and new versions are added, old versions can be accessed (downloaded) and the full history is kept with the iterations.

Some other coolness on version control:

Binary differential : As you go from version A to Version B the repository (by nature) only “stores” the differential between the commits. An example:

File A contents “ABBA”

File B contents “ABBAC”

The commit for File B reads  “File A and add a C on the end”.

In the example that does not seem like an efficient way to go. When you have thousands of lines of code it is awesome. In this system are the tools to debug and improve code that a modern application can not live without!

Fork and parallel development : In many cases developers can fork a repository and develop independently.  These new developments can be merged back into the master trunk. This is how people build ideas into programs. I am not going to get too deep on the various minutia of version control. In short, everyone reading this article, as well as 99% of human existence uses something that is developed in version control.

Some links on GIT:

• http://git-scm.com/ : The main point of entry for the project
• Wikipedia entry also good reading distributed revision control
• GitHub

The benefits are grand for people who need to log and analyze software developments. I really don’t have enough time or patience to explain all of my love.

Drawbacks : There are a few – let’s focus on the general user who knows little on the topic:

• Command Line Based : There are GUI’s, they are slower – better to learn commands and commit and manage directly
• Way more friendly on Linux and Mac (*nix kernels)
• Need to know how to manage your data very well.
• Not for a casual user looking to create back-ups
• Not a back up system

So far  we have patches from Mark Mosher, Chase Dobson, and me. They include some Deadmau5 Operator patches, some sound design patches for live performance, glitch effects, and more.

DOWNLOAD

Check out the wiki introduction, pages, and download.

** I credit myself as I keep the lights on (I pay for my accounts), write the wiki, test the patches, and maintain the repo. Help is welcome. Let me know!