A: Users can create athenaCL-generated eventLists (scores) with any number of parameter values, allowing the use of external Csound instrument definitions of any complexity.
A: If you are a developer and wish to contribute code, add new features, or fix bugs in athenaCL, contact Christopher Ariza via email.
A: athenaCL is a free and open source software project. There is no cost or licensing fee associated with this software.
A: Report it: the athenaCL interpreter features an integrated bug-reporting system. When quitting athenaCL while an internet connection is available, users may anonymously submit the bug-report.
A: athenaCL is a tool for computer-aided algorithmic composition, producing outputs for Csound, MIDI, and various other formats.
A: Python is a programming language. Python is a high-level, object-oriented language that is cross-platform, free, and open source.
A: athenaCL is an interactive command line program, which means that instead of using windows, buttons, and the mouse to get things done, the user enters commands and sees text displays. athenaCL is interactive in that, rather than having to give commands with complicated arguments and flags, users are prompted for each entry needed. Unix programs such as Pine and FTP are also interactive command-line programs. Users of UNIX-like operating systems will be familiar with this interface, whereas users of GUI-based operating systems such as Macintosh and Windows may find this interface challenging at first. The athenaCL system is designed to be as intuitive and user friendly as possible; knowledge of programming, UNIX, or other command-line programs, although helpful, is in no way required.
A: The athenacl Google Group is for users and developers of athenaCL, and can be used to ask questions, get help, or discuss issues related to athenaCL. Users can view and/or subscribe to this list here: http://groups.google.com/group/athenacl. All questions are welcome. Alternatively, users may contact Christopher Ariza directly.
A: Every distribution download of athenaCL comes with a complete copy of the source code. Since Python is an interpreted language, the source code can be run "live": there is no executable or binary of athenaCL, the source-code simply runs in the Python interpreter. Developers can get (with SVN) the most recent source at Google Code (http://code.google.com/p/athenacl/). An athenaCL.exe installer is available; this installs athenaCL as a Python package.
A: To uninstall an athenaCL distribution, in most cases all that is necessary is to delete the athenaCL folder. Windows users who have used an athenaCL installer (athenaCL.exe) will be able to remove athenaCL with the Windows "Add or Remove Programs" Control Panel. On POSIX (UNIX-like) operating systems such as Linux, BSD, and Mac OSX, athenaCL may write a standard configuration file in the user's home directory: ~/.athenaclrc; if an error has occurred during an athenaCL session, a log may be stored in the user's home directory: ~/.athenacl-log; and if the user selected to install the optional athenaCL launcher tool, a script will be found in /usr/local/bin: /usr/local/bin/athenacl. All of these can be removed py using the setup.py script with the argument "uninstall".
A: Csound is only required for rendering audio with athenaCL's built-in library of Csound instrument; MIDI files, as well as other output formats, can always be produced without Csound. Csound is a free, cross-platform tool that renders audio based on instrument definitions in a "orchestra" file and music definitions in a "score" file. As athenaCL provides an integrated library of Csound instruments, no knowledge of Csound is required to use athenaCL.
A: Python is required for athenaCL to run, and is not distributed with athenaCL. Python is free, runs on every platform, and comes in easy-to-use installers. Many advanced operating systems (UNIX-based operating systems including GNU/Linux and MacOS X) ship with Python installed. Visit www.python.org for more information and downloads.
A: Because of the cross-platform foundations of the Python programming language, athenaCL runs on every modern platform that Python runs on. This includes Mac OSX, Windows, Linux, BSD and all UNIX-based systems.
A: There is no .exe file. Rather than having an executable binary, athenaCL runs in the Python interpreter. Python is a free programming language available at http://www.python.org. After installing Python, you can launch athenaCL simply by double clicking the file "athenaCL.py"; for more information see the file "README.txt" in the athenaCL directory.