====== Integra Communication Protocol ======

Integra defines a very simple protocol that defines how messages may be passed between modules. 

===== Semantics =====

Messages are constructed using an Object-Attribute-Value syntax based on the following data:

  * The module's instance name
  * The attribute name
  * A value

Integra places no restriction on what the attribute name and the value represent. The **attribute name** is just a //namespace reference// that corresponds to an element in the module's interface definition. The **value** is an arbitrary piece of data, whose type corresponds to the module attribute's //type// in the module's interface definition. (see blah for module definition schema).

===== Syntax =====

The Integra protocol makes no assumptions about the underlying transport used to pass messages between modules. 

Currently the protocol only defines a syntax for sending OSC messages:

==== OSC ====

  /<module instance name>/<attribute name> <value>

Here are some other possible implementations of the procotol:

==== C/C++ ====

  void send_message(char *module_instance_name, char *attribute_name, void *value);

==== URI ====

  http://integra-server/<module instance name>/<attribute name>?<value>

==== Pd ====

  |<module instance name> <attribute name> <value>(
  |
  [s integra]


===== Scope =====

Integra modules can be grouped together in collections and collections can contain collections. To pass a message to a module inside a given collection, we must prepend the instance name with the collection instance name in all but the top-level collection (TLC) in which case it is optinal. Using the OSC syntax, the address string gets extended as follows:

  /<collection name>/<collection name>/.../<collection name>/<module instance name> <value>


===== Attribute Inheritance =====

Modules may inherit attributes from other modules. Inherited attributes are semantically and syntactically equivalent to 'standard' attributes. For example, if a Multi-tap delay inherits the attribute 'feedback' from a standard delay, the 'feedback' attribute is referenced as if it is an attribute of the Multi-tap delay:


Delay:
  <module instance name>/feedback
 
TapDelay: 
  <module instance name>/feedback