Erlang hints for an OO junkie

[Vlad Dumitrescu]

Hi,

You can always describe things as records, and when/if they become animate, then
that record can be used to spwn a process. And when it "dies", the state can be
stored as a record again in the database (or whatever).

I have a similar problem, about whether to use processes to implement windows.
Having to handle processes linked to each other in several overlapping
hierarchies is not fun at all, and I split the functionality in several smaller
parts, the simpler ones being just data in an ets table with one managing
process. This way I can have the top loop is significantly simpler. Maybe
something similar can be done for your application - for example have a "sound
manager" that just keeps track of where everyone is, and dispatches any sounds.

Just a thought: you could look at mdisp, an application written by ulf Wiger, to
be found among the user contributions on erlang.org. It could fit well in your
setting.

regards,
Vlad