Hello there,

Could maybe someone explain the order of operations of my [sel] objects on both left and right. 1473000944963-1-working-2-not-working.pd Eventually, I want them to do the same thing, but 3 examples work very differently. (1) Works perfectly (2.1) and (2.2.) do not work in the same way as (1) does, although I am only omitting a few things, and without them I think it should still work in the same way.

I am new to PD, so I really want to understand everything that's going on, and I think that if I don't it will harm my future patching.

There are two problems with the third one that I can see.

First, the bottom [f], which stores the number for final output, is loaded only after the 1/0 check.

Second, the [=== ] will always check the previous number that [random] generated, even if the previous number was a rejected one. To solve this, you need to have the "check" float fed from the end of the chain, rather than in the middle. So I suggest something like this:

Two other things:

1. Your option number two had the additional fault where the second outlet of [sel] went to the [random]. But the second outlet of [sel] will give a float, which [random] does not accept. You fixed this in your third option, so I suppose you knew this already. However:

2. It would be best to use [bang], [t b] or [bang( here, instead of the [bng] GUI object. GUI objects are inefficient because they receive mouse data, so they will slow the patch down. This doesn't really matter for beginners, but just so you know.

@LiamG Thank you for your reply. I do understand now that float doesn't produce a bang and pd that's why PD gives me "no method for 'float'"

However, it is extremely difficult for me to understand the difference from let's say my 3rd patch that didn't work, and your suggested one with a modification [t f f] at the very end. Although I see that it affect the order of operation, when I start manually producing the chain of events in my head, I get really lost and don't see the difference - especially when it comes to [==] which compares same numbers over and over again (let's say [random 2] spits out 0 3 times in a row - how does it differ? my mind gets lost in the chain of events) :///

Put a [print] object on the outlet that connects to the right inlet of [==] and you'll see the difference. Your option 3 will print a new number every time the [random] object is hit (which could be several times for one cycle), whereas mine will print a new number only when the process is finished.

@LiamG Thank you - I finally got it!