Modernizing Legacy Audio Plugin Codebases
Lessons from FL Studio’s Plugin Suite
Join us for an in-depth look at transforming thirteen legacy audio plugins developed for FL Studio. This talk will take you through the journey of modernizing these plugins for cross-platform compatibility, supporting multiple formats (VST2, FL, AU).
Key topics include:
- Project Overview: Comprehensive update of a legacy C++ codebase, focusing on readability, maintainability, and compatibility with modern toolchains and platforms.
- Project Phasing: Backlog triage and consolidation, breaking down the modernization effort into manageable phases. This structured approach enabled efficient prioritization, clear milestones, and incremental delivery of improvements across the plugin suite.
- Codebase Refactoring: Adoption of C++17, strict compiler settings. Replacement of deprecated APIs with modern system calls. Source code management strategies. MSVC and Xcode project management.
- Debugging and Logging Strategies: Available Tools, Automated Validation, Logging.
- Vectorial GUI Modernization: Pitfalls of integrating a new editor with legacy engine.
- CI/CD and Nightly Builds: Implementation of continuous integration and delivery pipelines, supporting nightly builds and automated testing and installer generation for all platforms.
This talk is designed for audio developers interested in best practices for transforming legacy codebases, modernizing plugins, and leveraging automation and CI/CD in audio software development. Whether you are a student, a new developer, or an industry expert, you will gain practical insights into the challenges and solutions involved in audio plugin modernization.
Tomas Medek
Tomas Medek is an audio software developer at Image Line, where he works on plugins and maintains the build system for FL Studio. Tomas holds a master’s degree from the Faculty of Applied Sciences at the University of West Bohemia. His background includes roles at Audified, where he worked on a customizable, network-controlled audio engine framework and its GUI. He also contributed to life-critical medical software for Medtronic, gaining experience with rigorous safety and security development processes.
As a musician, Tomas has performed film music on keyboards with orchestras across Europe. He has also composed music for documentaries and created orchestral arrangements for live performances. Tomas is part of the core organizing team for Composers Summit Prague.