View source for PLOrk Software Repository.

PLOrk software, with some documentation on how to configure a laptop for PLOrk-insanity!
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=== Machine Configuration ===

First off, we work with MacBooks. Much of the ChucK code will probably work under Windows or LINUX, but you are on your own. This code and configuration has worked for us successfully under both Tiger and Leopard. If you know what you are doing, you can of course set things up differently, but don't yell at us if it doesn't work (please)!

'''1. Install RCEnvironment.''' This allows you to create environmental variables that both Terminal apps (ChucK) and normal GUI apps (Max/MSP, miniAudicle, etc...) can access. We've found it important to be able to define a couple environmental variables for networking and other stuff. 

[http://silvertone.princeton.edu/~skot/blork/RCEnvironment-1.3.X.dmg RCEnvironment-1.3.X.dmg]
or
[http://www.rubicode.com/Software/RCEnvironment/ at rubicode]

Download this program and save it to the desktop. Open the disk image and double-click on the RCEnvironment.prefPane. It will prompt you to install the preferences pane, which you should do. Now open your system preferences and open the Environment Variables pane.

'''2. Define two important environmental variables.'''
Your Environmental Variables Control Panel will initially be empty of actual variables. 
* Click on the + button in the lower left corner, and a new variable will appear in the list. For KEY, type NET_NAME. The VALUE field should be the same as your Sharing:Computer Name (e.g. "your_name"). ''Hit Save.''
* Again, click on the + button, and define a second variable; for KEY, type LOrk_PATH, and for VALUE, put the path for wherever you want to store the PLOrk Repository directory. We keep it at the top of the main user directory, so the path would be /Users/[yourusername]/PLOrk. You can, of course, put it elsewhere, and name the folder after your most awesome LOrk, as long as this variable contains the proper pathname. Again, ''hit save'', otherwise it won't, uh, get saved.

Your Environmental Variables control panel should look something like [http://music.princeton.edu/~dan/plork/repository/envvars.jpg this]. And your Network:Sharing control panel should like something like [http://music.princeton.edu/~dan/plork/repository/sharing.jpg this] (most important is that the top Computer Name be *exactly* the same thing as the NET_NAME environmental variable, and that it be a word without spaces).

'''3. Logout and then log back in''' (or reboot); this is necessary for these new variables to actually be initialized.

'''4. Open the Terminal application''' (in /Applications/Utilities). Type the following command:
* echo 'export PATH=$PATH:'$LOrk_PATH'/bin' >> ~/.bash_profile
(hit return), then
* echo 'export PATH=$PATH:'$LOrk_PATH'/autoget' >> ~/.bash_profile
(and again, hit return)
then try the command:

* more ~/.bash_profile

and make sure you see these lines (with your own user name, of course):

export PATH=$PATH:/Users/dan/PLOrk/bin
export PATH=$PATH:/Users/dan/PLOrk/autoget

close the terminal (when reopened, these paths will be active)
now, reopen the terminal and type:

* printenv

and you should see a bunch of stuff, including lines something like:

LOrk_PATH=/Users/[your user name]/PLOrk
NET_NAME=[your network sharing name]

done! only have to do this once, per machine. if you are unsuccessful with this, it 
would probably be best to get some help from someone with UNIX experience; the PLOrk
software needs these configuration specifications to work properly. 

=== The Repository ===

1.) In the Sharing System Preferences panel, make sure the "Computer Name" is a single word; "your_name" or some such. This is important for networking configuration.

2.) Create the following directories at the root level of the user directory:

   ~/ork (where ork is the name of the ensemble)
   ~/ork/users (in which each user maintains a dir with his/her files)
   ~/ork/bin (where executables like chuck, scripts, and other things can go)
   ~/ork/pieces (where finished pieces can reside)
   ~/ork/snd (a common directory for sound fonts and other shared soundfile resources)
   ~/ork/examples (a place to keep example and help files)
   ~/ork/misc (misc files related to the laptop ensemble) 

alternatively, you can download our basic directory structure (which is like the above, but includes lots of good files) and install it in ~/ork (or whatever root directory you want). link for this coming soon....

3.) The bin dir above needs to be added to the search path for executables, as follows:

echo 'export PATH=$PATH:~/ork/bin' >> ~/.bash_profile

This command will ensure that the new ~/ork/bin directory is included in the search path for executables. Store Chuck here, along with any scripts.

4.) Set an environment variable for the Computer Name of the machine, as set in Step 1. The easiest way to accomplish this is to install the following preferences pane:

[http://silvertone.princeton.edu/~skot/blork/RCEnvironment-1.3.X.dmg RCEnvironment-1.3.X.dmg]
or
[http://www.rubicode.com/Software/RCEnvironment/ at rubicode]

Download this program and save it to the desktop. Open the disk image and double-click on the RCEnvironment.prefPane. It will prompt you to install the preferences pane, which you should do. Now open your system preferences and open the Environment Variables pane.

Your window will initially be empty of actual variables. Now you will need to add an environment variable like the one above, except with the name of your machine. Click on the + button in the lower left corner, and a new variable will appear in the list. For KEY, type NET_NAME. The VALUE field should be the same as your Sharing:Computer Name (e.g. "your_name"). ''You will need to logout/login or restart for this to actually take effect''. 

Also, note that typical UNIX ways of setting environmental variables don't seem to work for GUI apps, so using SETENV or some such in the terminal will work for ChucK, but not the Miniaudicle or Max/MSP. Oh, the things we learn the hard way...