Live hot-swap — replacing a running pattern or voice definition live without stopping audio — is the single most portable concept in the registry

Live hot-swap is the core livecoding action across all three paradigms: Strudel evaluate() re-eval, Glicol LCS graph-diff-on-save, Tidal d1 $ ... re-fire, ChucK Machine.replace, Sonic Pi live_loop redefine-at-boundary, SuperCollider Ndef/Tdef re-eval, Punctual <> crossfade. It is the one action that unifies all three paradigms (cyclic, graph, imperative) and every engine — the definition is the same: replace a running definition live, without audio interruption. This makes it the foundational performance primitive of livecoding regardless of language. It is both an L0 liveness fact (the rig is hot-swappable) and an L2+ performance action.

Examples

Strudel: re-evaluate a code block while audio plays — the next cycle starts with the new definition. Sonic Pi: redefine a live_loop — the new code runs from the next iteration. Both continue audio without a gap.

Assessment

Explain how live hot-swap is realized differently in Strudel vs ChucK, and what they have in common despite the different mechanisms. Why is this called the most portable concept?