Important Concept: The most important thing that Jitter objects communicate to each other is a name, referring to a matrix—a place in memory where data is stored. (We'll explain the meaning of the word "matrix" in more detail in the next tutorial chapter.) Jitter objects output a message that only other Jitter objects understand. That message is the word jit_matrix followed by a space and the name of a matrix where data is stored. This message is communicated from one Jitter object to another through a patch cord in the normal Max manner. (But, just as MSP objects' patch cords look different from other Max patch cords, the patch cords from Jitter obejcts' outlets that send the jit_matrix message have their own unique look.) The receiving Jitter object receives the message in its inlet (most commonly the left inlet), gets the data from the specified place in memory, modifies the data in some way, and sends the name of the modified data out its left outlet to all connected Jitter objects. In this way, tasks are performed by each object without necessarily knowing what the other objects are doing, and each object gets the data it needs by looking at the appropriate place in memory. Most Jitter objects don't really do anything until they get a jit_matrix message from another Jitter object, telling them to look at that matrix and do something with the data there.

In many cases a Jitter object will generate a unique name for its matrix on its own. In other cases, it is possible (and even desirable) to tell an object what name to use for a matrix. By explicitly naming a matrix, we can cause objects to use that same memory space. You will see examples of this in future tutorial chapters.