1. First steps in Reaktor Core - Native Instruments

Normal floating point signals of 32 and 64 bit precision are fully compatible
with each other and can be freely interconnected. OBC signals
of different precision are not compatible with each other (because you
cannot have storage that is simultaneously 32 and 64 bit). Also, for
OBC signals ‘default’, ’32 bit’ and ’64 bit’ settings are all considered
different and incompatible, because the effective default precision can
be changed by changing the properties of one of the owning macros.
The input and output modules of top-level structures of core cells always
send and receive 32 bit floats, because that is the type of the signal
used for Reaktor primary-level event and audio connections.
7.2. Integer signals
There is another data type commonly supported by modern CPUs, and actually
this one is more fundamental to the digital world than floats. It is the integer
type. Integer numbers are represented and processed with infinite precision.
Although the precision of integers is infinite, the range of representable integer
values is limited. For 32 bit integers the values can go up to more than 10 9 .
Infinite precision for storage and processing of integer values is
possible because they don’t have any decimal digits after the
period, so you can write them using a finite number of digits.
Let’s write down the number of seconds in an hour: 3, 6, 0,
0, done. It’s that easy. If you try to write down the value of π
you cannot do it completely: 3, 1, 4, 1, stop. Not complete, OK
let’s write a couple more digits: 5, 9, stop. Still not complete,
and so on. With an integer number you can do it completely and
precisely: 3600, that’s it.
While floating point is a natural choice for values that are changing continuously,
as are audio signals, for discretely changing values (for example, counters)
integers may be a more appropriate choice.
Many Reaktor Core modules can be switched to integer mode, in which case
they expect integer signals at their inputs; they process them as integers (that
means with infinite precision); and they produce the integer outputs. Examples
of such modules include arithmetic modules like adder, multiplier, or subtractor.
There are even some modules that can be used only on integers.
Minimum 32 bit length is guaranteed for Reaktor Core integer values.
112 – REAKTOR CORE