Installation hints (#165).

playpen/README.md

@@ -7,18 +7,20 @@ http://michaelgogins.tumblr.com
 This computer music playpen is an integrated development environment for 
 algorithmic music composition. 
 
-The objective is provide the simplest possible system with the maximum 
+The playpen is designed to provide the simplest possible system with the greatest 
 possible power, and to minimize the time involved in moving through the "edit, 
 render, listen; edit, render, listen;..." cycle of this style of composition 
-without, however, compromising the musical possibilities of the software.
+without, however, compromising in _any_ way the musical possibilities of the 
+software.
 
 Python and the GTK framework are "glue" that binds everything together. The 
 playpen provides a simple code editor, an interactive form builder for 
-creating graphical user interfaces to control pieces, an HTML window for 
+creating graphical user interfaces to control performances, an HTML window for 
 presenting visual music, and online help.
 
 It is possible to write a piece in Python using algorithmic composition 
-libraries such as Rick Taube's musx or my CsoundAC; to write a Csound 
+libraries such as Rick Taube's [musx](https://github.com/musx-admin/musx) 
+or my [CsoundAC](https://github.com/gogins/csound-extended); to write a Csound 
 orchestra to render the piece; to write JavaScript for creating visual music 
 in HTML5; to interactively build a fully-featured graphical user interface for 
 controlling the audio and video of the piece using Glade; to instantly preview 
@@ -34,8 +36,39 @@ an external score-generating program directly from Csound using the <CsScore>
 other composition software is needed to generate a score that is then sent to 
 Csound or some other synthesizer for rendering.
 
+The playpen can edit and automatically render pieces written in Python, Csound, 
+HTML5, or Javascript. By writing a little extra Python code, pieces can be 
+written in any programming language.
+
 ## Getting Started
 
+Install the following software requirements, each according to its own 
+instructions. Below are links to installation instructions for each 
+package. Note that the instructions are often different for different 
+operating systems.
+
+1. [Python 3.9](https://www.python.org/downloads/) or, for Ubuntu Linux, 
+   follow [these instructions](https://linuxize.com/post/how-to-install-python-3-9-on-ubuntu-20-04/).
+3. [GTK 3](https://www.gtk.org/docs/installations/), note that GTK 4 is now 
+   the current version but it is the previous version, GTK 3, that is used here.
+4. [GStreamer 3](https://gstreamer.freedesktop.org/documentation/installing/index.html?gi-language=c).
+5. [WebKit2 4.0 development libraries]; on Ubuntu Linux this is done by 
+   executing `sudo apt install libwebkit2gtk-4.0-37` or a compatible version.
+6. [WebKit2 GNU introspection libraries]; on Ubuntu Linux this 
+   is done by executing `sudo apt install gir1.2-webkit2-4.0`.
+6. [Glade](https://wiki.gnome.org/Apps/Glade); on Ubuntu Linux it may be 
+   better to execute `sudo apt install glade`.
+2. [PyGObject](https://pygobject.readthedocs.io/en/latest/getting_started.html) 
+   which automatically generates Python bindings for GTK, GStreamer, and WebKit 
+   based on their introspection libraries.
+7. [Csound](https://csound.com/download.html), on Linux it is best to build 
+   from source code.
+8. The playpen itself is part of csound-extended. Clone the 
+   [csound-extended](https://github.com/gogins/csound-extended) repository to 
+   your local filesystem. Change to the `csound-extended/playpen` directory. 
+   Execute `python3 playpen.py` and then open and run the `drone.py` example 
+   to check that everything is working.
+
 ## User's Guide
 
 ## A Few Examples

playpen/playpen.glade

@@ -44,11 +44,24 @@
                 <property name="homogeneous">True</property>
               </packing>
             </child>
+            <child>
+              <object class="GtkToolButton" id="open_button">
+                <property name="visible">True</property>
+                <property name="can_focus">False</property>
+                <property name="tooltip_text" translatable="yes">Open a file</property>
+                <property name="label" translatable="yes">Open,,,</property>
+                <property name="use_underline">True</property>
+              </object>
+              <packing>
+                <property name="expand">False</property>
+                <property name="homogeneous">True</property>
+              </packing>
+            </child>
             <child>
               <object class="GtkToolButton" id="save_as_button">
                 <property name="visible">True</property>
                 <property name="can_focus">False</property>
-                <property name="tooltip_text" translatable="yes">Save as...</property>
+                <property name="tooltip_text" translatable="yes">Save the file under a new name</property>
                 <property name="label" translatable="yes">Save as...</property>
                 <property name="use_underline">True</property>
               </object>

playpen/playpen.py

@@ -17,25 +17,23 @@
 
 Gst.init(sys.argv)
 
-title = sys.argv[0].split(".")[0]
+title = "Playpen"
 print("title:", title)
-glade_file = title + ".glade"
 
 builder = Gtk.Builder()
-builder.add_from_file(glade_file)
-
-
+builder.add_from_file("playpen.glade")
 
 main_window = builder.get_object("main_window")
 main_window.connect("destroy", Gtk.main_quit)
 html_window = builder.get_object("html_window")
 webview = WebKit2.WebView() 
-webview.load_uri("http://csound.com/") 
+webview.load_uri("http://csound.com") 
 html_window.add(webview);
 help_window = builder.get_object("help_window")
 helpview = WebKit2.WebView() 
 helpview.load_uri("https://github.com/gogins/csound-extended/tree/develop/playpen") 
-help_window.add(helpview);
+help_window.add(helpview)
+main_window.resize(1200, 800)
 main_window.show_all() 
 
 Gtk.main()