Introduction into C++ (Part 3)

C++ OOP Mastery: The Power of Composition (Has-A)

In software architecture, there are two primary ways to connect objects: Inheritance (Is-A) and Composition (Has-A). While beginners often try to solve everything through inheritance ("An Oscillator is an Envelope"), professionals prefer composition: "A Synthesizer has an Envelope."

1. Why Composition?

Think of our synthesizer as a modular rack. Each module (Oscillator, Envelope) is an independent class. The SynthEngine acts as the chassis where these modules are plugged in.

  • Modularity: We can update the Envelope logic without touching a single line of the Oscillator code.

  • State Separation: The Envelope manages its own complex states (Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release). The Engine doesn’t care how the volume is calculated; it only cares about the result.

  • Reusability: We could easily add a second or third Envelope for different parameters later because the class is a self-contained unit.

2. The Signal Chain

Through composition, we build a "Signal Chain." Even in this basic version, data flows in a specific order:

  1. Oscillator → Generates the raw, continuous audio samples.

  2. Envelope → Acts as a "Gate," multiplying those samples by a volume level (0.0 to 1.0) based on how long a key has been held.

3. Full Reference Code (Basic Composition)

Below is the complete integrated code demonstrating the relationship between the Engine, the polymorphic Oscillator, and the ADSR Envelope.

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#ifndef OSCILLATOR_H
#define OSCILLATOR_H

#include <cmath>

class Oscillator {
protected:
    double frequency, amplitude, phase, sampleRate;

public:
    // Nur Deklarationen (Semikolon statt geschweifter Klammern)
    Oscillator(double freq, double amp, double sr);
    virtual ~Oscillator() {}

    virtual float getNextSample() = 0;
    void setFrequency(double freq);
};

// Unterklassen können hier im Header bleiben, wenn sie kurz sind
class SquareOsc : public Oscillator {
public:
    using Oscillator::Oscillator;
    float getNextSample() override; // Definition kommt in die .cpp
};

class SawOsc : public Oscillator {
public:
    using Oscillator::Oscillator;
    float getNextSample() override; // Definition kommt in die .cpp
};

class SineOsc : public Oscillator {
public:
    using Oscillator::Oscillator;
    float getNextSample() override; // Definition kommt in die .cpp
};

class TriangleOsc : public Oscillator {
public:
    using Oscillator::Oscillator;
    float getNextSample() override; // Definition kommt in die .cpp
};

#endif

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#include "Oscillator.h"

Oscillator::Oscillator(double freq, double amp, double sr)
    : frequency(freq), amplitude(amp), phase(0.0), sampleRate(sr) {}

void Oscillator::setFrequency(double freq) {
    frequency = freq;
}

float SquareOsc::getNextSample() {
    float sample = (sin(phase) > 0) ? 1.0f : -1.0f;
    phase += (2.0 * M_PI * frequency) / sampleRate;
    if (phase > 2.0 * M_PI) phase -= 2.0 * M_PI;
    return sample * (float)amplitude;
}

float SawOsc::getNextSample() {
    float sample = (float)(2.0 * (phase / (2.0 * M_PI)) - 1.0);
    phase += (2.0 * M_PI * frequency) / sampleRate;
    if (phase > 2.0 * M_PI) phase -= 2.0 * M_PI;
    return sample * (float)amplitude;
}

float SineOsc::getNextSample() {
    float sample = (float)sin(phase);
    phase += (2.0 * M_PI * frequency) / sampleRate;
    if (phase > 2.0 * M_PI) phase -= 2.0 * M_PI;
    return sample * (float)amplitude;
}

float TriangleOsc::getNextSample() {
    float sample = (float)((2.0 / M_PI) * asin(sin(phase)));
    phase += (2.0 * M_PI * frequency) / sampleRate;
    if (phase > 2.0 * M_PI) phase -= 2.0 * M_PI;
    return sample * (float)amplitude;
}

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#ifndef ENVELOPE_H
#define ENVELOPE_H

enum EnvelopeState { OFF, ATTACK, DECAY, SUSTAIN, RELEASE };

class Envelope {
private:
    double amplitude = 0.0;
    double attackTime = 0.05;  // 50ms fade in
    double decayTime = 0.1;   // 100ms settle
    double sustainLevel = 0.7; // Hold at 70% volume
    double releaseTime = 0.3;  // 300ms fade out
    double sampleRate;
    EnvelopeState state = OFF;

public:
    Envelope(double sr) : sampleRate(sr) {}

    void triggerOn() { state = ATTACK; }
    void triggerOff() { state = RELEASE; }

    float getNextAmplitude() {
        switch (state) {
            case ATTACK:
                amplitude += 1.0 / (attackTime * sampleRate);
                if (amplitude >= 1.0) {
                    amplitude = 1.0;
                    state = DECAY;
                }
                break;
            case DECAY:
                amplitude -= (1.0 - sustainLevel) / (decayTime * sampleRate);
                if (amplitude <= sustainLevel) {
                    amplitude = sustainLevel;
                    state = SUSTAIN;
                }
                break;
            case SUSTAIN:
                amplitude = sustainLevel;
                break;
            case RELEASE:
                amplitude -= sustainLevel / (releaseTime * sampleRate);
                if (amplitude <= 0.0) {
                    amplitude = 0.0;
                    state = OFF;
                }
                break;
            case OFF:
                amplitude = 0.0;
                break;
        }
        return (float)amplitude;
    }

    EnvelopeState getState() const { return state; }
};

#endif

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#include <SDL2/SDL.h>
#include <iostream>
#include <vector>
#include "Oscillator.h"
#include "Envelope.h"

// Shared visualization buffer for the oscilloscope
std::vector<float> visualBuffer(2048, 0.0f);

class SynthEngine {
public:
    // COMPOSITION: The Engine "has" these components
    Oscillator* osc;      // Pointer used for polymorphism (Inheritance)
    Envelope env;         // Direct instance (Composition)

    SynthEngine() : env(44100.0) {
        // Initialize with a default Square Wave
        osc = new SquareOsc(440.0, 0.2, 44100.0);
    }

    ~SynthEngine() {
        delete osc;
    }

    // AUDIO CALLBACK: The Real-Time Heartbeat
    static void AudioCallback(void* userdata, Uint8* stream, int len) {
        SynthEngine* engine = static_cast<SynthEngine*>(userdata);
        float* buffer = reinterpret_cast<float*>(stream);
        int length = len / sizeof(float);

        for (int i = 0; i < length; i++) {
            // Step 1: Generate Raw Sound (Oscillator)
            float sample = 0.0f;
            if (engine->osc != nullptr) {
                sample = engine->osc->getNextSample();
            }

            // Step 2: Shape Volume (Envelope / ADSR)
            // The engine "asks" its composed member for the current amplitude
            float currentVolume = engine->env.getNextAmplitude();
            float finalSample = sample * currentVolume;

            buffer[i] = finalSample;

            // Step 3: Record for Visualization
            if (i < (int)visualBuffer.size()) {
                visualBuffer[i] = finalSample;
            }
        }
    }
};

int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
    if (SDL_Init(SDL_INIT_AUDIO | SDL_INIT_VIDEO) < 0) return 1;

    SDL_Window* window = SDL_CreateWindow("C++ Synth: Composition Basics",
        SDL_WINDOWPOS_CENTERED, SDL_WINDOWPOS_CENTERED, 800, 400, SDL_WINDOW_SHOWN);
    SDL_Renderer* renderer = SDL_CreateRenderer(window, -1, SDL_RENDERER_ACCELERATED);

    SynthEngine engine;

    SDL_AudioSpec ds;
    ds.freq = 44100;
    ds.format = AUDIO_F32SYS;
    ds.channels = 1;
    ds.samples = 2048;
    ds.callback = SynthEngine::AudioCallback;
    ds.userdata = &engine;

    SDL_OpenAudio(&ds, NULL);
    SDL_PauseAudio(0);

    std::cout << "Controls:\n1-4: Change Waveform\nSPACE: Play Note (ADSR)\nESC: Exit" << std::endl;

    bool running = true;
    SDL_Event e;

    while (running) {
        while (SDL_PollEvent(&e)) {
            if (e.type == SDL_QUIT) running = false;

            if (e.type == SDL_KEYDOWN) {
                // Polymorphic Swap (Inheritance)
                Oscillator* nextOsc = nullptr;
                switch (e.key.keysym.sym) {
                    case SDLK_1: nextOsc = new SquareOsc(440.0, 0.2, 44100.0); break;
                    case SDLK_2: nextOsc = new SawOsc(440.0, 0.2, 44100.0); break;
                    case SDLK_3: nextOsc = new SineOsc(440.0, 0.2, 44100.0); break;
                    case SDLK_4: nextOsc = new TriangleOsc(440.0, 0.2, 44100.0); break;
                    case SDLK_ESCAPE: running = false; break;
                }

                if (nextOsc != nullptr) {
                    Oscillator* oldOsc = engine.osc;
                    engine.osc = nullptr; // Safety nullify for audio thread
                    delete oldOsc;
                    engine.osc = nextOsc;
                }
            }
        }

        // Triggering the Envelope via Spacebar
        const Uint8* state = SDL_GetKeyboardState(NULL);
        if (state[SDL_SCANCODE_SPACE]) {
            // Trigger Attack if we aren't already playing or releasing
            if (engine.env.getState() == OFF || engine.env.getState() == RELEASE)
                engine.env.triggerOn();
        } else {
            // Trigger Release if the key is lifted
            if (engine.env.getState() != OFF && engine.env.getState() != RELEASE)
                engine.env.triggerOff();
        }

        // Oscilloscope Rendering
        SDL_SetRenderDrawColor(renderer, 10, 10, 15, 255);
        SDL_RenderClear(renderer);
        SDL_SetRenderDrawColor(renderer, 0, 255, 150, 255);
        for (int x = 0; x < 799; x++) {
            int y1 = 200 - (int)(visualBuffer[x] * 150);
            int y2 = 200 - (int)(visualBuffer[x+1] * 150);
            SDL_RenderDrawLine(renderer, x, y1, x + 1, y2);
        }
        SDL_RenderPresent(renderer);
        SDL_Delay(16);
    }

    SDL_CloseAudio();
    SDL_DestroyRenderer(renderer);
    SDL_DestroyWindow(window);
    SDL_Quit();
    return 0;
}

We compile the file with a simple

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g++ -o synth main.cpp Oscillator.cpp `pkg-config --cflags --libs sdl2`

and can execute the program:

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./synth

Now, with the envelope implemented it really sounds like a true Synthesizer!!!

4. Conclusion

By using Composition, we’ve built a system that is easy to extend. The SynthEngine manages the high-level logic and the hardware interface, while the Envelope manages the mathematical intricacies of volume shaping.

This clean separation of concerns is what makes professional C++ applications robust. In the next chapter, we will add a Voltage Controlled Filter (VCF) to this chain using this exact same compositional approach!

Backward Introduction into C++ (Part 2) Prequel: Introduction to electronics Forward