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How long did it take to code, for example, something like Apple's Logic Studio or Pro Tools?

Yi Jiang
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avon_verma
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3 Answers3

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Reaper 1.0 was released in 2005, and has been developed by 2 or 3 prolific (IMO) devs since then (iirc). A very small development investment by most standards, considering what they've accomplished.

The apps you've mentioned have been around over 20 years each so... it's taken 'hundreds of man-years' for them to get where they are now. a broad estimate, but it may help you understand the scope of the project.

justin
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Pro Tools was started as a graduate project, which probably didn't take too long to code. Logic, too, had similar humble beginnings. However, the subsequent iterations (over 10 in the case of Pro Tools, and 9 in the case of Logic) of the software took many years, and many large teams of coders, to refine. Pro Tools was built to run on proprietary hardware, too, which had to be built during Avid's development process.

So, in a word, if you want to make something to compete with this software, the answer is a long time. I'm sure a simpler DAW could be made in a shorter space of time.

Sparkles
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Ardour had it's first release in late 2004 and it is an open source DAW. Perhaps making contributions the project would be a better investment of your efforts.

andyzweb
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