VisualAp is a visual framework for building applications and emulate systems. VisualAp is cross-platform

Cross-platform

In computing, cross-platform, or multi-platform, is an attribute conferred to computer software or computing methods and concepts that are implemented and inter-operate on multiple computer platforms...

 as it is a 100% Java

Java (programming language)

Java is a programming language originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems' Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++ but has a simpler object model and fewer low-level facilities...

 application.

This application is able to perform audio processing, image processing

Image processing

In electrical engineering and computer science, image processing is any form of signal processing for which the input is an image, such as a photograph or video frame; the output of image processing may be either an image or, a set of characteristics or parameters related to the image...

, text and other process-driven emulation. VisualAp provides a visual framework based on lightweight visual components (proclets) that implements specific tasks.

Users can extend the capabilities of VisualAp via user-written proclets. Custom analysis and processing proclets can be developed using Eclipse

Eclipse (software)

Eclipse is a multi-language software development environment comprising an integrated development environment and an extensible plug-in system...

.

Features

The user can create an application/system by selecting the components from a toolbox, configuring the parameters (via the Javabeans

JavaBeans

JavaBeans are reusable software components for Java. Practically, they are classes written in the Java programming language conforming to a particular convention. They are used to encapsulate many objects into a single object , so that they can be passed around as a single bean object instead of as...

 framework), and connecting the components together in order to set-up communication channels between the components.

From the application menu the user can:

• create, load and save a system
• check the correctness of the current system
• run process simulation of the current system

Inside the main window the user is able to:

• istantiate a component
• move a component
• edit parameters defining the behavior of the component
• connect/disconnect a component to another

Components

The following visual components are included in version 1.1 of VisualAp:

• add echo effect
• delay audio stream
• split stereo audio in two mono audio streams
• filter an image: blur, invert, sharpen, edge
• transform an image: rotate, scale, shear, translate
• inspect type information
• record an audio stream from the microphone
• generate stereo audio stream from two mono audio input streams
• read a text file, audio file or image file
• play the incoming audio stream
• display input data
• generate an audio tone
• write data (text, audio stream, image) to a file

New components, based on
Javabean conventions, can be created to enrich the current library, using a Java software development platform.

Dataflow programming

The programming language used in VisualAp to describe a system is a dataflow programming language. Execution is determined by the structure of the graphical block diagram on which the programmer connects different components by drawing connectors. These connectors propagate variables and any component can execute as soon as all its input data become available. Internally the VisualAp programming language is based on XML.

VisualAp uses multi-thread

Thread (computer science)

In computer science, a thread of execution is the smallest unit of processing that can be scheduled by an operating system. The implementation of threads and processes differs from one operating system to another, but in most cases, a thread is contained inside a process...

execution whenever multiple components are ready for execution simultaneously.