Author Topic: New Software  (Read 24213 times)

Offline rrowan

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Re: New Software
« Reply #30 on: November 28, 2010, »
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Do you have instructions for loading xlights on linux.  I am running Ubuntu and i would love to not have to swap out hard drives to windows just to run my show.

You need to setup svn and get xlights here You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login

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After much trial and error I was able to compile it in Debian


At the moment its really DIY software on Linux

Have fun and good luck

Rick R.
Light Animation Hobby - Having fun and Learning at the same time. (21st member of DLA)
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Offline csf

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Re: New Software
« Reply #31 on: November 28, 2010, »
This is the current instructions for building xlights, its in the svn.
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Offline rrowan

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Re: New Software
« Reply #32 on: November 28, 2010, »
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Do you have instructions for loading xlights on linux.  I am running Ubuntu and i would love to not have to swap out hard drives to windows just to run my show.

Have you tried Virtualbox to have a virtual windows machine on your Ubuntu computer?

I have a headless debian server with virtualbox running windows xp as my show computer. It works great

Cheers

Rick R.
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Offline Arvin

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Re: New Software
« Reply #33 on: November 28, 2010, »
Let me see if I've got this right...csf is recreating the grid as groups through MIDI, castortiu is doing a GUI for the masses, ptone is doing a python scripting language for the techies....

Man those all sound good to me....any thing but do all those channels with just a grid.

Any of you thought about putting it all together? A gui to do midi groups with a window to write a python script that would seamlessly integrate with the rest sounds like the best of all worlds!

And please, please, make your file structures interchangeable!

If the all together can't be done then at least I could use the GUI to make my shell of a show then use a keyboard to use outside to fix it all up and then write some scripts that would do what I couldn't do any other way!

In other words....Be nice...play well together, and write, write, write!!! I want it all! NOW....at least SOON!

Thank you all for all the effort.
Arvin

Offline csf

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Re: New Software
« Reply #34 on: November 28, 2010, »
Quote
Let me see if I've got this right...csf is recreating the grid as groups through MIDI, castortiu is doing a GUI for the masses, ptone is doing a python scripting language for the techies....

Man those all sound good to me....any thing but do all those channels with just a grid.

Any of you thought about putting it all together? A gui to do midi groups with a window to write a python script that would seamlessly integrate with the rest sounds like the best of all worlds!

And please, please, make your file structures interchangeable!

If the all together can't be done then at least I could use the GUI to make my shell of a show then use a keyboard to use outside to fix it all up and then write some scripts that would do what I couldn't do any other way!

In other words....Be nice...play well together, and write, write, write!!! I want it all! NOW....at least SOON!

Thank you all for all the effort.
Arvin

I agree is all is very exciting, check out the video of Prancer if you have not scene it yet, looks really great.

One thing I believe you got wrong though is my program has no plan for MIDI right now, thats ptone's scripting program program.

Right now Prancer is exporting to vixen and xlights supports vixin files. So there should be no issue between Prancer, Vixen, and Xlights.

As far as for ptone's scripting program program I am not sure if it will export files of actually timings / channels. Or if the scripts them selves will be the actually files, generating all the lights on the fly.

Offline rrowan

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Re: New Software
« Reply #35 on: November 28, 2010, »
Hi Guys,

Is there a cheat sheet or examples of scripts besides the default one?

Thanks

Rick R.

Sorry I met to post this in Xlights topic  <fp.
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Offline csf

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Re: New Software
« Reply #36 on: November 28, 2010, »
There are 8 test scripts in here that may help you understand mini basic
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Offline ptone

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Re: New Software
« Reply #37 on: November 28, 2010, »
Basic, really, basic.  There are so many choices out there, just surprised you'd pick something that still has "GOTO 2000" in these times.  One of the sample scripts is the lunar lander program written in the mid 70's.

Well, I'm sure the interpreter was drop in simple, and it looks like you are only using scripting for basic playlist tweaking - but please don't let BASIC become the powertool for xlights.

-Preston
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Offline rrowan

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Re: New Software
« Reply #38 on: November 28, 2010, »
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Basic, really, basic.  There are so many choices out there, just surprised you'd pick something that still has "GOTO 2000" in these times.  One of the sample scripts is the lunar lander program written in the mid 70's.

Well, I'm sure the interpreter was drop in simple, and it looks like you are only using scripting for basic playlist tweaking - but please don't let BASIC become the powertool for xlights.

-Preston


I was a little taken back by it. I haven't seen line numbers in basic for a LOOONG time

Cheers

Rick R.
Light Animation Hobby - Having fun and Learning at the same time. (21st member of DLA)
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Offline csf

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Re: New Software
« Reply #39 on: November 29, 2010, »
We wanted to make scripting as easy as possible to people that may not necessarily be programmers, and though this was a really good way to go.  

Now that being said right now scripts are  not designed to give xlights new big features, but to give the user a way to access features already in the program.

Such as in the scheduler, the scheduler is not run by scripts but the scripts can be used to do minor tings with the scheduler that we did not program in to the main scheduler.  Like script wizard were the first or last song is only played once.

Being open source, and really only relying on wxwidgits for any external libraries makes it easy enough that most people with some programing experience can probably modify the actually program fairly easily to add a big new feature.  

Now maybe in other parts of the program we will find that the scripting engine is not advanced, or faster enough for what we want it to do and will have to use some thing else. But I think we will cross that bridge if / when we get to it.

Do you guys see the basic scripts as being easier for none coders to pick up as compared to some thing like python? Do you see any other issues that may arise besieds for possibly speed that we are not seeing?
« Last Edit: November 29, 2010, by csf »

Offline rrowan

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Re: New Software
« Reply #40 on: November 29, 2010, »
Hi Csf,

To be honest I am not a python user but it would seem more up to date than mini basic. I looked at a few beginner python scripts and it was easy enough for me to understand.

So far xlights is doing what I need (hoping the future versions add some features), just my opinion that while easy, mini basic just seems backwards and dated.

Maybe a poll showing a mini basic example and python example and ask the users. Just make the examples do the same thing and be about light or channel example, ie: turning channel 1 on or first seq in the list, something like that.

Good/Bad idea?

Thanks

Rick R.
Light Animation Hobby - Having fun and Learning at the same time. (21st member of DLA)
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Offline dowdybrown

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Re: New Software
« Reply #41 on: November 29, 2010, »
I am open to suggestions, I will start a new thread to capture everyone's input.

Matt
Matt Brown
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Offline csf

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Re: New Software
« Reply #42 on: December 14, 2010, »
I know a few people where interested in helping with coding new features for xLights.

I have started to come up with a list of features to implement and some of the data structures needed to drive the features. 

If I was to post up some of the data structure layouts / what need to be accomplished for a new feature would any one be wiling to start coding them?

Or am I better off stating to cod them my self, document the code, and then you guys will jump in where you would like.

Right now I am particularly thinking about the virtual channel support since I have it fully laid out and am ready to start coding it. Also it needs to be done first since every thing else will build on top of it.

If some one wants to code the virtual channels then once I have them on there way I can start working on the groups, and then if some one else wanted to work on groups, I can start working on effects, and we can just continue the pattern until all coders are busy working on things. 

Offline rrowan

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Re: New Software
« Reply #43 on: December 14, 2010, »
I have very limited programming skills but I would like to volunteer to beta test if needed.

Cheers

Rick R.
Light Animation Hobby - Having fun and Learning at the same time. (21st member of DLA)
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Offline ptone

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Re: New Software
« Reply #44 on: December 14, 2010, »
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Right now I am particularly thinking about the virtual channel support since I have it fully laid out and am ready to start coding it. Also it needs to be done first since every thing else will build on top of it.

If some one wants to code the virtual channels then once I have them on there way I can start working on the groups, and then if some one else wanted to work on groups, I can start working on effects, and we can just continue the pattern until all coders are busy working on things. 

Just to clarify the platform, this is all C++ and wxwidgets correct?

I'm probably only able to contribute to architectural design decisions, being a interpreter bound guy - but a lot of the architectural challenges would be similar to what I've just been through, going through.  I can read the code, or just an outline in pseudocode.


-Preston
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budding channel wrangler