[fluid-dev] Small extension of Fluidsynth's capabilities?

[Edenyard]

I've been pondering over an extension to Fluidsynth that I'd very much like to 
see made.

At the moment, I use Fluid with an application that wants 48 MIDI channels. I 
start Fluid with the '-K 48' parameter and it opens 3 MIDI ports, which I then 
patch through to 3 virtual MIDI sources driven by my other application. That all 
works well.

However, I do have another application that I'd very much like to get going with 
Fluid but it has a problem. It similarly wants 48-channel capability but it's an 
external piece of hardware and it only has one MIDI connection to the PC. On the 
face of it, that limits it to just 16 channels, which is hopelessly inadequate. 
But I have an idea for a solution:

Would it be possible to add a function to Fluid so that we could use one of the 
unused/special/whatever commands from the MIDI instruction set to say to Fluid 
in effect, "Until further notice, all incoming MIDI data is to be received into 
MIDI port x." (x provides 16 MIDI channels). When the data for those 16 channels 
has been sent into the MIDI port, we use the special instruction to switch Fluid 
so that subsequent data gets directed to MIDI input y  - a further 16 channels. 
In essence, instead of Fluid opening multiple MIDI ports to the outside world 
(parameter -K), it only opens one but splits that into a number of ports inside 
itself, the 'internal' port in use being selected by the new special instruction.

What does anyone think to this? Is it feasible or am I just a dangerous heretic? 
And if it is though feasible, could it be done for us?

Waiting nervously for a response....

Gerald.