Module file: Encyclopedia II - Module file - Modules

Module file - Modules

Module files (MODs) are a class of file formats used to represent music on a computer. They store several patterns or pages of music data in a form similar to that of a spreadsheet. These patterns contain note numbers, instrument numbers, and controller messages. The number of notes that can be played simultaneously depends on how many tracks there are per pattern.

Module files also give a list of the order in which to play the patterns. However, the biggest advantage of MOD family over standard MIDI files is that MODs include their own audio samples and should sound exactly the same from one player to another barring interpolation methods and eventual errors in players.

Module files are often referred to as tracker modules, and composing modules is known as tracking, simply because the first ever module creating program was Soundtracker, created by Karsten Obarski in 1987. Soundtracker was cloned many times, with programs such as Noisetracker, and Protracker being direct descendants from the original Soundtracker code, and others such as MED/OctaMED and Oktalyzer being written from scratch. Such programs are called trackers in general.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Modules", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki