Instant Audio Processing with Web Audio

Learn how to use the Web Audio API to implement audio effects such as loop stitching, audio ducking, and audio equalization through practical, hands-on recipes

Overview

• Learn something new in an Instant! A short, fast, focused guide delivering immediate results
• Implement audio stitching using Web Audio’s built-in scheduling API
• Learn Web Audio’s scripting abilities by building a broadcast-style audio ducking effect
• Build a 5-band equalizer using Web Audio’s built-in audio processing functionality

In Detail

Web Audio is an upcoming industry standard for web audio processing. Using the API, developers today can develop web games and applications with real-time audio effects to rival their desktop counterparts.

Instant Audio Processing with Web Audio How-to is your hands-on guide to the Web Audio API. Using clear, step-by-step exercises, this book explores the API and how to apply it to produce real-time audio effects such as audio stitching, audio ducking, and audio equalization.

This book is an in-depth study of the Web Audio API. Through a series of practical, step-by-step exercises, this book will guide you through the basics of playing audio all the way to the task of building a 5-band audio equalizer.

Along the way, we’ll learn how to utilize Web Audio’s scripting functionality to build real-time audio effects such as audio stitching and ducking. Then, we’ll use this knowledge to build a basic audio layer step-by-step which can be used in our web applications/games.

With its in-depth coverage of the Web Audio API and its practical advice on various audio implementation scenarios, Instant Audio Processing with Web Audio How-to is your ultimate guide to Web Audio.

What you will learn from this book

• Understand the fundamental design philosophy underlying the Web Audio API
• Explore the Web Audio interfaces in depth
• Detect and initialize a Web Audio context
• Play audio files from the Web and desktop
• Implement basic and advanced audio looping behaviors
• Build a 5-band sound equalizer using Web Audio’s processor nodes
• Make a reusable audio layer step by step

Approach

Filled with practical, step-by-step instructions and clear explanations for the most important and useful tasks. A concise, recipe-based approach to use Web Audio’s automation functionality to produce interesting audio effects such as audio stitching and ducking.

Who this book is written for

This book is designed for developers with some HTML and JavaScript programming experience who are seeking to learn about Web Audio. Experience with AJAX and web server installation/configuration is a plus but is not a necessity in order to follow the content of the book.

Chris Khoo

Chris Khoo has been an avid programmer since his first encounter with the personal computer in the 80s. Since then, he's evolved from a nerdy hobbyist programmer into a full-fledged software developer with over 15 years of industry experience in developing games at companies including Microsoft, Disney, Electronic Arts, and Nexon. To date, he has shipped over a dozen console, mobile, and online games including the FIFA series, the SSX series, Def Jam: FFNY, Tom and Jerry Online, and Hyper Grav. His unique combination of AAA console game programming experience and web development experience makes him uniquely qualified to pen a practical study of implementing audio using the Web Audio API.

Chris presently resides in Vancouver, BC, with his wife and two children. He is the founder and primary developer at Wappworks Studio, a 3-man indie game studio dedicated to online and mobile web games. When he's not busy at work, Chris enjoys playing board games and helping out with praise and worship at his local church.