CoreMIDI Framework

This is a partially annotated list of some of the struct, typeref, function, and enum items contained in the CoreMIDI framework. In addition, there are also some references to classes and methods from other frameworks that are used with CoreMIDI. Click here to return to root page for BRossTools.).

The root of the CoreMIDI framework documention is at https://developer.apple.com/documentation/coremidi?language=objc. I also ran the CoreMIDI headers through Doxygen and the results are at CoreMIDI/html/index.html.

The legacy MIDI protocols are known as MIDI 1. MIDI 2 is in the process of being adopted and some of the changes to CoreMIDI are described here.

Many of the header files contain little or no documentation. Since the documentation contained in these headers are apparently the source of the documentation on the site, many of the functions are very poorly defined. See CoreMidiMapping.html for some ideas in using code from other applications to aid in documentating CoreMIDI.

For some information on various topics and related frameworks, see

• AVFAudio Framework
• AVFoundation Framework
• CoreAudio Framework
• Some information on the changes for MIDI 2.0,external devices, and virtual endpoints.

Core Foundation Framework

The documentation for the Core Foundation Framework is located on the Apple Developer Website. The names of the functions, classes, structs, etc. start with the letters NS, which stands for NextStep

Core Foundation functions, types, enums, and blocks: CF... : A D

CoreMIDI Framework

The documentation for the Core MIDI Framework is located on the Apple Developer Website. The names of the functions, classes, structs, etc. start with the letters NS, which stands for NextStep

Constants: kMIDI... : C I M N O P U W

CoreMIDI functions,types, enums, and blocks: MIDI... : 1 C D E G I M N O P R S T

Foundation Framework

The documentation for the Foundation Framework is located on the Apple Developer Website. The names of the functions, classes, structs, etc. start with the letters NS, which stands for NextStep

Foundation software Components: NS... : S

CoreMIDI constants

Start of kMIDIC,,,

• kMIDICVStatusNoteOff This is an enumeration case of MIDICVStatus and the value is 0x8
• kMIDICVStatusNoteOn This is an enumeration case of MIDICVStatus and the value is 0x9
• kMIDICVStatusPolyPressure This is an enumeration case of MIDICVStatus and the value is 0xA
• kMIDICVControlChange This is an enumeration case of MIDICVStatus and the value is 0xB
• kMIDICVStatusProgramChange This is an enumeration case of MIDICVStatus and the value is 0xC
• kMIDICVStatusChannelPressure This is an enumeration case of MIDICVStatus and the value is 0xD
• kMIDICVStatusPitchBend This is an enumeration case of MIDICVStatus and the value is 0xE

Start of kMIDII...

• kMIDIInvalidClient Value is -10830
• kMIDIInvalidPort

Start of kMIDIM...

• kMIDIMessageTypeData128 (macOS 11.0+)
• kMIDIMessageTypeChannelVoice2 (mac OS 11.0+)
• kMIDIMessageTypeChannelVoice1 (mac OS 11.0+)

Start of kMIDIN...

• kMIDINoConnection

Start of kMIDIO...

• kMIDIObjectType_ExternalEntity
• kMIDIObjectType_ExternalDestination
• kMIDIObjectType_ExternalMask -- This actually appears twice in the documentation page for MIDIObjectType
• kMIDIObjectType_ExternalSource
• kMIDIObjectType_Other
• kMIDIObjectType_Entity
• kMIDIObjectType_Destination
• kMIDIObjectType_Source

Start of kMIDIP...

• kMIDIPropertyDeviceID
• kMIDIPropertyDisplayNamme
• kMIDIPropertyDriverVersion
• kMIDIPropertyName Declaration: const CFStringRef kMIDIPropertyName; Indicates that the property is the name of a MIDI Object.
• kMIDIPropertyManufacturer
• kMIDIPropertyModel
• kMIDIPropertyOffline
• kMIDIPropertyUniqueID Declaration: const CFStringRef kMIDIPropertyUniqueID;
• kMIDIProtocol_1_0 Enumeration Case of MIDIProtocolID
• kMIDIProtocol_2_0 Enumeration Case of MIDIProtocolID

Start of kMIDIU...

• kMIDIUnknownEndpoint
• kMIDIUnknownPropertyType

Start of kMIDIW...

• kMIDIWrongEndpointType
• kMIDIWrongPropertyType

Start of Core Foundation...

Start of CFA...

• CFAllocator This class is used to allocate (malloc) memory without the need for an explicit call to the deallocation (free) function.
• CFAllocatorAllocate
• CFAllocatorContext ( More Information) The value used for CFAllocatorContext indicates the procedures to be used for allocating, deallocating, and reallocating blocks of memory. There are a number of predefined allocators with kCFAllocatorDefault being the default allocator which should be used unless special circumstances exist.
• CFAllocatorReallocate
• CFArray

Start of CFD...

• CFDictionary

CoreMIDI function, typedef, struct, enum, etc.

Start of MIDI1...

• MIDI1UPNoteOn This is a function that creates a MIDI packet for a NoteOn Message. It returns a MIDIMessage32 format packet. What does the UP stand for? (Universal Packet? Groups appears to be a MIDI 2 concept.)

Start of MIDIC...

• MIDIClientCreate
• MIDIClientCreateWithBlock -- See MIDINotifyBlock
• MidiClientDispose
• MIDIClientRef
• MIDICVStatus only available with MacOS 11.0+, iOS 14.0+

Start of MIDID...

• MIDIDestinationCreate (MIKMIDI Mapping) It is marked as deprecated and is on the deprecated symbols page.
• MIDIDestinationCreateWithBlock (MIKMIDI Mapping) -- This function creates a virtual destinationavailable. Although the documentation says that this is deprecated and MIDIDestinationCreateWithProtocol should be used instead, MIDIDestinationCreateWithProtocol is only available for macOS 11.0 and higher, the propriety of being deprecated is doubtful. See MIDIReadBlock
• MIDIDestinationCreateWithProtocol -- Creates a virtual destination for the client. See MIDIReceiveBlock. The URL for this page does not have the final letter l at the end of protocol. This is part of the additions for MIDI 2.0.
• MIDIDeviceGetEntity
• MIDIDeviceGetNumberOfEntities
• MIDIDeviceRef

Start of MIDIE...

• MIDIEndpointDispose
• MIDIEndpointGetEntity
• MIDIEndpointGetRefCons
• MIDIEndpointRef
• MIDIEndpointSetRefCons
• MIDIEntityGetDestination
• MIDIEntityGetDevice
• MIDIEntityGetNumberOfDestinations
• MIDIEntityGetNumberOfSources
• MIDIEntityGetSource
• MIDIEntityRef
• MIDIEventList - This is part of the additions for MIDI 2.0.
  • MIDIProtocolID protocol
  • UInt32 numPackets
  • MIDIEventPacket packet[1]
• MIDIEventListAdd - This is part of the additions for MIDI 2.0.
• MIDIEventListInit - This is part of the additions for MIDI 2.0.
• MIDIEventPacket -- (macOS 11.0+) This is a set of events having the same timestamp with the events using the UMP (Universal MIDI Packets) format. This is part of the additions for the MIDI 2.0 standard. It appears that there can be multiple MIDI messages in the same packet. Compare with MIDIPacket
  • MIDITimeStamp timeStamp (UInt64)
  • UInt32 wordCount
  • UInt32 words[64]
• MIDIEventPacketNext - This is part of the additions for MIDI 2.0.
• MIDIExternalDeviceCreate This is associated with the following.
  • MIDISetupAddExternalDevice
  • MIDISetupRemoveExternalDevice

Start of MIDIF...

• MIDIFlushOutput

Start of MIDIG...

• MIDIGetDestination
• MIDIGetDevice
• MIDIGetExternalDevice
• MIDIGetNumberOfDestinations
• MIDIGetNumberOfDevices
• MIDIGetNumberOfExternalDevices
  • Confusion over CoreMIDI Destinations, stackOverflow https://stackoverflow.com/questions/42301373/confusion-over-coremidi-destinations - Discusses virtual and external devices.
• MIDIGetNumberOfSources
• MIDIGetSource

Start of MIDII...

• MIDIInputPortCreate According to the developer documentation page, this function is deprecated. Use MIDIInputPortCreateWithProtocol instead.
• MIDIInputPortCreateWithBlock This is listed as deprecated, MIDIInputPortCreateWithProtocol is only listed as being available in macOS 11.0 and above. This function adds an input port to a client.
• MIDIInputPortCreateWithProtocol (macOS 11.0+) See MIDIReceiveBlock. Part of the additions for MIDI 2.0.
• MIDIIOErrorNotification

Start of MIDIM...

• MIDIMessage_128

Start of MIDIN...

• MIDINotifyBlock The address of this block is a parameter in MIDIClientCreateWithBlock
• MIDINotifyProc The address of this block is a parameter in MIDIClientCreate

Start of MIDIO...

• MIDIObjectFindByUniqueID
• MIDIObjectGetIntegerProperty
• MIDIObjectGetStringProperty
• MIDIObjectRef This is a generic pointer to a MIDI object. There are several subclasses, such as MIDIDeviceRef, MIDIEntityRef, and MIDIPortRef, etc.
• MIDIObjectType
  • kMIDIObjectType_ExternalEntity
  • kMIDIObjectType_ExternalDestination
  • kMIDIObjectType_ExternalMask -- This actually appears twice in the documentation page for MIDIObjectType
  • kMIDIObjectType_ExternalSource
  • kMIDIObjectType_Other
  • kMIDIObjectType_Entity
  • kMIDIObjectType_Destination
  • kMIDIObjectType_Source
• MIDIOutputPortCreate Creates an output port through which a client sends outgoing MIDI messages to any MIDI destination.
• MIDIOutputPortCreateWithProtocol - Creates an output port through which a client sends outgoing MIDI messages to any MIDI destination. Part of the additions for MIDI 2.0

Start of MIDIP...

• MIDIPacket Compare to MIDIEventPacket
  • MIDITimeStamp timeStamp
  • UInt16 lngth
  • Byte data[256]
• MIDIPacketList There appears to be a 32 bit unsigned integer at the start of the PacketList, with the rest of the PacketList structure being taken up by a number of variable length packets. With the total number of packets given by the integer in the first four bytes. This structure is only for use with MIDI 1 packets. Each packet can have multiple MIDI messages.
• MIDIPacketListAdd Replacement will be MIDIEventListAdd.
• MIDIPacketListInit
• MIDIPacketNext
• MIDIPortConnectSource The Apple documentation needs some reworking. For connRefCon, the text reads "The data passed to the port's MIDIReadProc or MIDIReadBlock to identify the source" where the list of items should read "MIDIReadProc, MIDIReadBlock, or MIDIReceiveBlock". For port, only MIDIReadProc is mentioned.
• MIDIPortDisconnectSource
• MIDIPortDispose
• MIDIPortRef
• MIDIProtocolID There are two possible values in this enum:
  • kMIDIProtocol_1_0 MIDI 1.0
  • kMIDIProtocol_2_0 MIDI 2.0

Start of MIDIR...

• MIDIReadBlock Although the documentation is in the Deprecated Symbols section of the web site, it was not marked as deprecated, although imany of the other items used with it are marked as deprecated. There seems to be some confusion with the connections between the MIDIReadBlock, MIDIReadProc, and MIDIReceiveBlock. The following items have the suffix WithBlock and seem to be associated with the MIDIReadBlock.
  • MIDIDestinationCreateWithBlock
  • MIDIInputPortCreateWithBlock
  
  
  It may be that C functions called by MIDIReadBlock have to be defined in header files so thar the client knows how to get to them. It is unclear if Objective-C methods can be called within a block.
  
  The MIDI client executes the MIDIReadBlock on a high-priority queue. A problem may be that some functions refuse to work on a high-priority queue or only work on the main queue. In this case, it may be necessary to set up some kind of message queue between the MIDIReadBlock block and instances of BRossToolsTextWindow that allows concurrent operation.
• MIDIReadProc The description is confusing. When I tried using MIDIReadProc, I had a message that a thread was started in the main queue and that that was not allowed. However, that seemed to start when a key was pressed. Although the documentation is in the Deprecated Symbols section of the web site, it was not marked as deprecated, although imany of the other items used with it are marked as deprecated. (MIKMIDI Mapping)
  • MIDIInputPortCreate
  • MIDIDestinationCreate
• MIDIReceiveBlock (macOS 11.0+) This is an Objective-C block used by the MIDIInputPortCreateWithProtocol and MIDIDestinationCreateWithProtocol functions. Although it is in the deprecated symbols part of the web site, it is not marked as deprecated. It seems like is is needed by other functions that have not been deprecated. The MIDIReceiveBlock is used with the MIDIInputPortCreateWithProtocol and MIDIDestinationCreateWithProtocol objects and is part of the additions for handling MIDI 2.0.
  • MIDIDestinationCreateWithProtocol
  • MIDIInputPortCreateWithProtocol
• MIDIReceivedEventList
• MIDIRestart

Start of MIDIS...

• MIDISend (MIKMIDI Mapping) Although the documentation says that this is deprecated and should be replaced by MIDISendEventList, MIDISendEventList is only avalable with macOS 11.0 and macOS 10.x is still supported. It is therefore inappropriate to remove it from the section marked deprecated symbols and removed from the currently supported list.
• MIDISendEventList MIDI 2.0
• MIDISendSysex Asynchronously sends a single SystemExclusive (SysEx) event. (Available with macOS 10.0+ according to documentation)
• MIDISetupAddExternalDevice - See MIDIExternalDeviceCreate
• MIDISetupAddRemoveExternalDevice - See MIDIExternalDeviceCreate
• MIDISourceCreate (MIKMIDI mapping ) Creates a virtual source attached to a client. The developer documentation indicates that this is deprecated, and the programmer should use MIDISourceCreateWithProtocol instead. However MIDISourceCreateWithProtocol is only available with macOS 11.0 and above so the attribute is misleading.
• MIDISourceCreateWithProtocol - Part of the additions for MIDI 2.0.
• MIDISysexSendRequest - Struct describing the message to be sent by MIDISendSysex (Available with macOS 10.0+ according to documentation)

Start of MIDIT...

• MIDITimeStamp

Foundation Framework

Functions: S T V W

Start of NSS...

• NSScrollView
• NSString

Start of NST...

• NSTextStorage
• NSTextView

Start of NSV...

• NSViewController

Start of NSW...

• NSWindow