This page provides installation instructions for Strasheela, a constraint-based computer aided composition environment. To install Strasheela on either Linux, Windows, or MacOS X conduct the following installation steps.
However, please note that Strasheela's feature set on Windows is severely limited. (Selection constraints cannot be installed, see below. As a result, music theory models like Strasheela's harmony model are not available.)
On Linux Emacs is probably already there.
The Emacs pre-installed by MacOS X is less suitable, due to its missing graphical interface. A highly recommended alternative is Aquamacs. Alternatively, there are also the Carbon Emacs Package and Emacs on Aqua. Note: Emacs on Aqua is only suitable for pre-10.4 Macs (based on Emacs version 20.7 instead of 21.* or 22.*).
For Windows, follow the instructions in the Mozart Installation Manual on Obtaining and Installing GNU Emacs. The Emacs installer provided at the Mozart site is already dated, check out the GNU Emacs FAQ For Windows for a more recent version: Where can I get precompiled versions?.
Simply get a package ready to install from the Download Mozart page. In case of troubles or for compiling from source consult the Mozart Installation Manual.
Note that in November 2011 the binary Mozart 1.4.0 releases was updated (e.g., earlier the compilation of certain Strasheela packages did not work on recent Apple machines with 64 architecture, but that works fine now). Make sure you get a recent installation in case you installed Mozart before.
On Windows, it might be a good idea to install the former Mozart version 1.3.1. Selection constraints (see below) cannot be installed on more recent versions on Windows, and Strasheela's harmony model depends on this extension.
A usual Windows problem is that Mozart does not find Emacs if it has to be invoked with a different name (e.g., runemacs.exe as the Win-Emacs-Version recommended above). In that case, set the environment variable OZEMACS to the path of your Emacs application (e.g., C:\Program Files\emacs-22.1\bin\runemacs.exe) as described here.
After successfully installing Mozart, you may want to test the installation. At a commandline (a terminal or a DOS box) type oz. This starts the Oz Programming Interface (OPI), which runs inside Emacs. The initial window is split in two text buffers (Oz and *Oz Compiler*). In the upper buffer type the following.
{Browse 'hello'}
Select this text line with the mouse, then go to the Oz menu and select 'Feed Region'. This feeds the selected code to the system (i.e. executes it): it opens a window called Oz Browser which shows 'hello'. Note that the newly created window may be behind the exiting window.
Some Strasheela functionality makes use of Oz extensions which is not part of plain Oz itself. Installing these extensions is recommended, because several Strasheela contributions depend on them. The installation is very easy on Linux and MacOS, but can be problematic on Windows (see below).
Selection constraints provide powerful constraints for selecting list elements. Several Strasheela extensions use selection constraints in the background, for example the harmony model (HS) and some Pattern constraints.
Please note that you need a C++ compiler in order to install these constraints. The GNU C++ compiler is usually already installed on Linux. On MacOS X, install Apple's developer tool Xcode (available either from your MacOS installation CDs, or from here if this online version is newer). On Windows, you may consider installing this compiler under Cygwin. You can install the selection constraints by typing (of course, you do not type the leading promt yourself, here $).
$ ozmake --install --package=http://www.mozart-oz.org/mogul/populate/duchier/select/duchier-select__1.3.0__source__1.8.pkg
NB: Unfortunately, it has been found that ozmake on Mozart since version 1.3.2 hangs when invoking the GNU compiler on Windows.4
IOzSeF provides search engines which can solve complex constraint problems more efficiently. For example, all IOzSeF solvers support adaptive recomputation — a technique saving memory (see Programming Constraint Services).
Strasheela integrates IOzSeF for convenient score search (see SDistro). You can install IOzSeF by typing
$ ozmake --install --package=mogul:/tack/TkTreeWidget $ ozmake --install --package=mogul:/tack/iozsef
You can either obtain a Strasheela release or a development snapshot (releases are done at irregular intervals whenenver some development stage was finished). Both are tar.gz archive files, which must be unpacked.5
Alternatively, you can check out the Subversion repository with the following command (this option allows for easy updates later, but requires installing Subversion).
$ svn co https://strasheela.svn.sourceforge.net/svnroot/strasheela/trunk/strasheela/ strasheela
You can then later update your Subversion repository by moving into the strasheela top-level directory and typing this.
$ svn update
The steps in this section result only in a bare-bones Strasheela installation which is of limited practical use. Only the installation steps in the sections below this section bring Strasheela to life (e.g. they are essential for hearing Strasheela output). The examples provided with Strasheela assume that all the following installation steps have been conducted.
On a UNIX-like system (i.e. Linux or MacOS), you need a C++ compiler besides an Oz installation for compiling Strasheela with all its contributions. On Linux it is likely already installed, on MacOS you should first install Apple's developer tool Xcode, available on the MacOS installation CDs.
Then, open a shell, and run the commands given below (naturally, you have to replace the path with the path on your system, and you do not enter the leading promt, here $).
$ cd /path/to/Strasheela/scripts $ ./install-all.sh
BTW: on MacOS, you can enter the path of the directory using drag and drop: grap the Strasheela scripts directory with the mouse and let it go over the terminal window. This script outputs some warnings which you can savely ignore.
In case you later somehow changed Strasheela2 and want to update the installation then run (again in the folder Strasheela/scripts1)
$ ./update-all.sh
On Windows, you compile and install Strasheela and most of its contributions by opening a DOS command prompt window and typing the following (naturally, you have to replace the path with the path on your system, and you do not enter the leading promt, here >).
> cd C:\path\to\Strasheela\scripts > install.bat
You can enter the path of the directory using drag and drop: grap the Strasheela scripts directory with the mouse and let it go over the terminal window.
The batch file install.bat installs only those parts of Strasheela which do not require a C++ compiler installed (e.g., Midi file input is not supported in this case). If you have a C++ compiler installed (and Mozart version 1.3.1), you may install all Strasheela contributions by using the batch file install-all.bat instead of install.bat.
In case you later somehow changed Strasheela2 and want to update the installation then run (again in the folder Strasheela/scripts) either
> ./update.bat
or (with a C++ compiler )
> ./update-all.bat
An alternative method installs the core of Strasheela (in Strasheela) and each of its extensions (in Strasheela/contributions/*/*) separately. It uses ozmake, a tool for installing Mozart packages (the above mentioned scripts internally call ozmake as well).
Open a shell (or a DOS promt) and move into the directory Strasheela/contributions/tmp/Path/. Then type
$ ozmake --install
On Windows, you may need to enter ozmake.exe. Then, move into the top-level Strasheela directory and call ozmake again. Continue likewise with all Strasheela constributions in Strasheela/contributions/ (e.g., Strasheela/contributions/anders/Pattern).
You will usually want to load Strasheela automatically whenever you start Oz. For this purpose, please edit the Oz initialisation file. Strasheela provides the initialisation file template Strasheela/_ozrc.3 A special template Strasheela/_WindowsOZRC is provided for Windows which demonstrates how Windows pathes are entered (this template still requires editing according to your system). Also, a special template Strasheela/_MacOSOZRC is available with typical MacOS settings.
In any case, you must edit these template files according to your system.
More specifically, you must set the directory (or directories) into which Strasheela should saves files (e.g., MIDI files, Csound files, Lilypond scores). Also, you must the the paths to the applications which Strasheela should call (e.g., Csound, Lilypond, see below). If these paths are not set correctly, then you cannot output any results created with Strasheela.
Nevertheless, please leave all paths starting with x-ozlib:// untouched. These are platform-independent paths, which don't require any changes. Also, you better don't change any code, unless you know what you are doing :)
On Linux and MacOS X, you can save your initialisation file as ~/.ozrc or ~/.oz/ozrc (for Mac users unfamiliar with UNIX conventions: ~ indicates your home directory, e.g., /Users/yourself). On Windows, it is easiest to set the environment variable OZRC to the path of your initialisation file. A description how to manage environment variables on MS Windows XP can be found here. Note that aftern changing environment variable, you should open a new DOS box / restart Emacs in order to see its effect.
Also, you may want to add the Oz applications (e.g., the Strasheela tutorial) to your PATH environment variable, so that you can call them directly at the commandline. For example, on MacOS or Linux add the following line to your ~/.profile file. You may need to replace 1.3.2 with the mozart version you are using (just check how your subdirectory of ~/.oz is called).
export PATH=~/.oz/1.3.2/bin/:$PATH
You can test your PATH setting by executing the following at the commmand line (first logout/login again or at least open a new terminal).
$ StrasheelaTutorial
This section discusses how to update from an old to a new Strasheela version. In case your old Strasheela source folder contains no personal files, you can simply replace your old folder with the new one. If your old folder contains personal files (e.g., personal contributions), then you better first copy them to the new Strasheela version :)
You then upgrade simply by running the script Strasheela/scripts/upgrade-all.sh (on MacOS or Linux), Strasheela/scripts/upgrade.bat (on Windows), or Strasheela/scripts/upgrade-all.sh (on Windows with a C++ compiler installed).
Strasheela exports its scores into various formats, for instance, to produce sheet music or sound output.
A number of output formats are already predefined. Most formats are supported by all Strasheela platforms (e.g. Linux, MacOS X, and Windows). Because, output formats are relatively easy to define, further output formats will be added later (or can be defined by the user).
sndplay on Linux) or some sound editor (e.g. Audacity).Strasheela provides an extension for music constraint programming in realtime, see the documentation of the RT (realtime) and the OSC (Open Sound Control) functor for details. OSC is presently only supported on UNIX systems, and has so far been tested only on MacOS version 10.4.
The OSC interface calls an X11 application (namely xterm). MacOS versions before 10.5 must be configured first to make that possible. Add the following to your ~/.profile file.
export DISPLAY=:0.0
Additionally, make sure that xterm is in your path. On MacOS, this is not necessarily the case, and you may want to add something like the following line to your ~/.profile file.
export PATH=/usr/X11R6/bin/:$PATH
We highly welcome contributors of packages which simplify the Strasheela installation. For example, RPM files for SUSE Linux can be found here (thank you Toni!).
Strasheela tries to simplify the package creation process. The above-mentioned script install-all supports all options of ozmake. For exammple, you can specify an installation directory with the option --prefix (default ~/.oz). The Strasheela functors are installed in <PREFIX>/cache/x-ozlib (most stuff goes into /cache/x-ozlib/anders/strasheela/, but there are additional folders created for user contributions). Mozart must find these installed files. For a 'global' installation, you may give the Mozart installation directory $OZHOME as prefix (recommended). Any other directory is possible as well, but then you must tell Mozart to search in this directory by setting the environment variable $OZLOAD (or OZ_SEARCH_LOAD) to a suitable value. For example, if Mozart should first look into the user's home directory, then into some folder given as prefix to ozmake during the Strasheela installation, and finally into the Mozart installation folder you specify the following.
OZLOAD=cache=${HOME}/.oz/cache:cache=$(MYNEWCACHE):cache=$(OZHOME)/cache
Per default, Mozart first searches in the home directory, and then in the Mozart installation folder — which means that the user can shadow files installed in the Mozart installation folder.
Strasheela applications (e.g., the interactive StrasheelaTutorial and the OzServer) are per default installed in <PREFIX>/bin. This can be changed with the install-all.sh option --bindir. You may want to add this directory to the PATH environment variable. However, these applications should always be started from the commandline (as feedback is given at stdout / stderr): if you want to add a menu entry for the StrasheelaTutorial, please run them in a terminal nevertheless. BTW: OzServer on the other hand usually requires commandline parameters (e.g., a port number) and is therefore less suited for a menu entry.
In case you are building your package in a chroot (e.g., to model some specific target system which differs from your running system), then some additional configuration is necessary. The ozmake calls by the script install-all.sh must find the compiled *.ozf files during the installation process. So, for the build process please specify your build root for Mozart via the environment variable $OZLOAD (see above), for example, as following (thanks to Toni Graffy for pointing this out).
export INSTALLDIR=/usr/local # your installation prefix export BUILDROOT=/var/tmp/strasheela # your build root export PATH=$INSTALLDIR/mozart/bin:$PATH # adding the mozart executables export OZHOME=$INSTALLDIR/mozart # NB: include BUILDROOT in OZLOAD export OZLOAD=cache=${BUILDROOT}$OZHOME/cache:cache=$OZHOME/cache scripts/install-all.sh \ --prefix=${BUILDROOT}${INSTALLDIR}/mozart \ --bindir=${BUILDROOT}${INSTALLDIR}/mozart/bin
The Strasheela documentation (scattered across the Strasheela source files..) is not installed automatically. However, it can be extracted from the source with the script extract-doc.sh in Strasheela's scripts directory.
Strasheela provides output to various formats, and therefore relies on other applications. Please add dependencies to Csound, midicsv, Lilypond, a sound file player, a midi file player, and a pdf file viewer. Also, make sure that you edit the provided OZRC template file appropriatedly according to your target system, before you save it as Oz initialisation file. In particular, in this initialisation file set the Strasheela environment variables (using Init.putStrasheelaEnv, see the template) to the right values where output files will be stored, where you installed applications like Csound, midicsv, Lilypond, and the player/viewer for sound/midi/pdf files, and possibly their right flags. Make sure that you set the operating system environment variable $OZRC to point to the (edited) global initialisation file. If a user later wants to add private settings, she can change the value of $OZRC for her account.
In case of any questions concerning packaging Strasheela, please to not hestitate to ask via email (e.g., on the Strasheela mailing list).
If you report your Strasheela package, then I am most happy to announce it at the Strasheela website (together with acknowledgments of course).
Have fun with Strasheela!
1. The folder Strasheela/ denotes the relative path of the Strasheela source on your system.
2. For example, you added your own extensions in the folder Strasheela/contributions/yourName/yourContribution together with a corresponding makefile.oz in that folder (cf. ozmake, or simply copy and edit the makefile.oz of one of the already existing contributions).
3. You can load Strasheela manually as well by manually feeding the (edited) content of _ozrc to Oz.
4. See http://www.ps.uni-sb.de/pipermail/mozart-users/2006/015298.html. Nevertheless, the selection constraints have been installed successfully on Windows with earlier Mozart versions (cf. the installation of the XMG - eXtensible MetaGrammar).
5. In order to reduce the file size of the release archive, the release does not contain the sound files which are part of the documentation of the examples (the sound files blow up the size to an archive 10 times as big!). For running Strasheela these missing sounds don't make any difference, and these files are always available as part of the online documentation of Strasheela. Nevertheless, if you do not have a permanent network connection, you may consider using a development snapshot or the Subversion repository, because these contain also the sound files of the documentation examples.