From d4c6eb670d0a2a0a4e7c3b3af224cb7c76c72dcf Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: benfry Date: Mon, 27 Sep 2004 18:59:05 +0000 Subject: [PATCH] fixing things up for the release --- build/shared/bugs.txt | 110 +++++++++++++++----------- build/shared/readme.txt | 168 ++++++++++++++++------------------------ todo.txt | 58 +++++++------- 3 files changed, 165 insertions(+), 171 deletions(-) diff --git a/build/shared/bugs.txt b/build/shared/bugs.txt index b02876d9e..40a81b0aa 100644 --- a/build/shared/bugs.txt +++ b/build/shared/bugs.txt @@ -7,7 +7,49 @@ and since only a handful of things change between releases .................................................................. -COMMON PROBLEMS (NOT BUGS) +PROCESSING WON'T START! NOTHING HAPPENS WHEN I HIT "RUN"! + +- on windows, processing probably won't work if you install it inside + a folder with non-ascii characters in its name. for instance, if the + name of your user folder uses japanese text, or it has an umlaut or + cedilla or anything else fancy, and processing is on the desktop, or + somewhere inside that folder, you're gonna have trouble. the fix is + to place processing inside the root level of your C:\ drive (or + whatever drive you use) and it'll be ok again. this will be fixed in + the future. + http://processing.org/discourse/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=Proce55ing_software_bugs;action=display;num=1062794781 + http://processing.org/discourse/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=Proce55ing_software_bugs;action=display;num=1067764732 + +- windows.. if you have lots of garbage in your CLASSPATH environment + variable, that might cause trouble starting up a sketch. you might + get "Couldn't find package xxx.xxx" errors. clean things up (avoid + spaces and quotes) + http://processing.org/discourse/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=BugFixes;action=display;num=1096302833;start=0 + +- windows.. in general, perhaps avoid having spaces in the folder name + that contains processing. this is because of windows' awesome + hokiness and its not-as-distant-as-it-should-be ancestor DOS. + http://processing.org/discourse/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=Proce55ing_software_bugs;action=display;num=1094148057 + +- windows.. if you're still having trouble, disable any overly + protective virus scanning software. it might be holding things up. + +- windows.. you might also try using run.bat to start processing. lots + of people seem to have a better time with this method. + +- on 50% of machines, there still seems to be a bug that causes the + application to hang completely when something that uses a library + (or a code folder) is run. symptom will be a non-responsive applet + that either never shows up, or shows up but never draws (perhaps + until you hit stop) or draws three frames and then dies. this will + only happen with applets that have a "coffee cup" icon in the + window (that's how you know it's running externally). + + +.................................................................. + + +COMMON ISSUES (NOT BUGS) things that are often perceived as bugs, which means maybe they'll be changed in the future, but for now, they're not actually 'broken'. @@ -31,8 +73,6 @@ changed in the future, but for now, they're not actually 'broken'. - 'export to application' remains unimplemented, though it's closer, and should be ready before beta. -- 'preferences' will get better in a future release - - on macosx, the error message: ## Component Manager: attempting to find symbols in a component alias of type (regR/carP/x!bt) @@ -54,11 +94,22 @@ changed in the future, but for now, they're not actually 'broken'. QUICKTIME FOR JAVA / VIDEO PROBLEMS -- quicktime for java is still required on windows. it's required on - macosx too, but it's installed there by default. the requirement - will be removed in a later release for people who don't want to use - video, but the fix is more difficult than anticipated, so it will - probably happen after the initial beta release. +- windows.. you must make sure that "QuickTime for Java" is + installed. + +- windows.. in order for camera input to work, you'll need to install + a quicktime-compatible video digitizer (VDIG). we've had reasonable + luck with WINVDIG: http://www.vdig.com/WinVDIG/ + +- windows.. sometimes a full uninstall/reinstall of quicktime will do + the trick. + +- on windows, if you're having trouble with video examples crashing + processing or locking up your system, you should try placing the + processing folder into the root level of your C:\ drive, or at least + inside a set of folders that have no spaces in the name. we haven't + determined if this is a quicktime for java or processing bug yet, + but it's been a problem for lots of people. - on windows, if you can't install quicktime for java yourself, all you really need is a copy of QTJava.zip from the quicktime install, @@ -68,34 +119,18 @@ QUICKTIME FOR JAVA / VIDEO PROBLEMS to find out what it's set to (prolly something like C:\windows on windows xp/me/98 or c:\winnt on windows 2000). -- on macosx 10.2.x (jaguar), quicktime for java was missing from the - initial release of quicktime 6.4 on the mac. an upgrade to quicktime - 6.4 that includes qtjava is now available from software update. or - you can download it from versiontracker, since software update - doesn't show the update on some machines: - http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/21302 - you can also upgrade to panther (macosx 10.3) which doesn't have - this problem. - - video sometimes likes to crash the application completely on windows. this seems to be due to problems with quicktime for java (since we shouldn't be able to write code that crashes using java.. heh right). so this is probably outside of our control. - -.................................................................. - - -NETWORKING API BUGS - -- net is fairly horked, you should probably just use the java networking - api until we get a chance to fix it. - -- network examples haven't been updated for the latest api, so they - will likely break in releases 60 and higher. - -- net needs work, it's currently sending unicode, instead of ascii or - UTF-8, data. this can cause problems with other programs. +- on macosx 10.2.x (jaguar, or jagwyre if you like black turtlenecks), + quicktime for java was missing from the initial release of quicktime + 6.4 on the mac. an upgrade to quicktime 6.4 that includes qtjava is + now available from software update. or you can download it from: + http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/21302 + you can also upgrade to maosx 10.3.x (panther) which doesn't have + this problem. .................................................................. @@ -148,23 +183,10 @@ list, see the bboard for more, and inside ben's head for others. it draws (like a weird flat line at the end of a shape, or areas that are less than smooth). -- on windows, if you hit 'run' and no display window comes up, it probably - means that you have processing inside a folder with non-ascii characters - in its name. for instance, if the name of your user folder uses japanese - text, or it has an umlaut or cedilla or anything else fancy, and processing - is on the desktop, or somewhere inside that folder, you're gonna - have trouble. the fix is to place processing inside the root level of - your C:\ drive (or whatever drive you use) and it'll be ok again. - http://processing.org/discourse/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=Proce55ing_software_bugs;action=display;num=1062794781 - - jikes is ~9 megabytes in size, which is a bit obnoxious. it doesn't hurt anything but we plan to put it on a diet for a future release. http://processing.org/discourse/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=Proce55ing_software_bugs;action=display;num=1062581723 -- sound doesn't always stop when the 'stop' button is hit (i.e. the - mixer example seems broken). for now, you have to first quit - processing to stop it. - - the horizontal scroller for the text area has some weirdness, this may not be fixed until after beta, depending on how bad it is. diff --git a/build/shared/readme.txt b/build/shared/readme.txt index b07c19817..e2dcb6e9e 100644 --- a/build/shared/readme.txt +++ b/build/shared/readme.txt @@ -6,24 +6,18 @@ PROCESSING DEVELOPMENT ENVIRONMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -RELEASE NOTES & DEVELOPER SOAPBOX - -herein follows lots of random notes about the alpha releases of -processing. more up-to-date details can be found in "revisions.txt" -which has notes about individual releases. +FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS, INFO ABOUT PLATFORMS, & DEVELOPER SOAPBOX 'revisions.txt' contains more information about the specific updates and fixes in this release. -you'll have to pardon the chatty detail in some spots, as this will -also serve as a response to many of the 'frequently asked questions' -that we have. +'bugs.txt' has up-to-the-second information about our favorite bugs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -GETTING STARTED +HOW DO I GETTING STARTED? double click the 'Processing' application, and select something from the examples menu: File -> Open -> Examples. hit the 'run' button @@ -35,16 +29,11 @@ lather, rinse, repeat as necessary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -THANKS TO... +WHAT'S WITH THE VERSION NUMBERS? -thanks to the many people who have been helping us out. -it's huge. i'll get a nice long list of y'all in here soon. - - -. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - - -REVISIONS & ROADMAP +this is not 1.0 software.. it's buggy and may kill people. that's part +of why we make everyone sign up to download, so that we know that care +enough to bother. at least until the final "1.0" version, we'll be using four digit numbers for the release. we're calling revision "0043" the first @@ -72,20 +61,18 @@ of bugs. hopefully this is not a *long* ways off, but... I FOUND A BUG! -a cultured software elite such as yourself should use the gentleman's -term "issue." +haven't we all? -first, be sure to check under the notes for your specific platform to -make sure it isn't a known issue or that there isn't a simple fix. +NOTE! avoid the urge to just email us, especially sending mail to ben +or casey directly. while you may prefer the privacy of an email, it's +much quicker for you to ask the whole gang, who are super helpful. we +also what we use to keep track of bugs, so we may just ask you to use +the bboard anyway. -note! avoid the urge to just email us at processing@media.mit.edu, -or sending mail to ben or casey directly. while you may prefer the -privacy of an email, it's much quicker for you to ask the whole gang, -who are super helpful. we also what we use to keep track of bugs, so -we may just ask you to use the bboard anyway. +first, read the bug.txt file to see if your problem is found there. -ok where was i.. next, check the bboard to see if something related -has been reported, or if there is already a workaround. +next, check the bboard to see if something related has been reported, +or if there is already a workaround. best method is to post to the bulletin board at: http://processing.org/discourse/ @@ -97,7 +84,7 @@ if you want to go straight to the bugs page, it's: http://processing.org/discourse/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=Proce55ing_software_bugs when reporting this "bug" please include information about -1. the revision number (i.e. 0048) +1. the revision number (i.e. 0070) 2. what operating system you're using, on what kind of hardware 3. a copy of your code--the smallest possible piece of code that will produce the error you're having trouble with. @@ -114,7 +101,7 @@ out what's going on. useful things when reporting: - we want the minimum amount of code that will still replicate the bug. the worst that can happen is we get a report that says "problem!" along with a three page program. sure, everyone likes a - puzzle, but simpler code will be a faster response. + puzzle, but simpler code will receive a faster response. - occasionally we may need you to pack up a copy of your sketchbook or something similar so that we can try and replicate the weirdness on @@ -129,25 +116,6 @@ out what's going on. useful things when reporting: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -GOODIES & SEMI-HIDDEN FEATURES - -- shift-click on the 'run' button to go straight to 'present' mode - -- for quick renaming, just click on the sketch title - -- inside the 'lib' folder is a 'pde.properties' file, which contains a - handful of settings for your app and how it's set up. you can change - the coloring of things, or even change your sketchbook location - inside this file. a second file with a similar title but that - includes "windows" or "macosx" etc in the name is for tweaks - specific to your platform. for instance, we use the macosx-specific - properties file to set the font size a little differently than on - windows. - - -. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - - PLATFORMS the processing development environment is tested most heavily on: @@ -156,25 +124,25 @@ the processing development environment is tested most heavily on: 1. Windows XP 3. Fedora Core (Linux) -windows is the superior platform for running java applications. it's -not because we like windows the best, (sorry to the zealots in all -other corners of the machine space) but that's just how it is. the vm -for mac os x is really quite good (especially when compared to apple's -previous efforts), but it's still a bit behind. we think os x will be -a great bet for the future, and apple is putting all their feeble -weight behind it, so hopefully it will evolve somewhere. +windows is by far the superior platform for running java +applications. it's not because we like windows the best but that's +just how it is. the vm for mac os x is really quite good (especially +when compared to apple's previous efforts), but it's still clunky and +behind. we think os x will be a great bet for the future, and apple is +putting all their feeble weight behind it, hopefully it will evolve +somewhere. developing the version for mac os 9 was a big headache, we badly wanted to support it, since so many people use it, but it had to be discontinued for lack of time to work on it. windows 95/98/ME is a piece of crap, but since lots of people (are -often forced to) use it, we'll try and support. early alpha versions -seem to be having trouble with 95/98/ME, but it'll run better in the -future. +often forced to) use it, we'll do our best to support it. early alpha +versions seem to be having trouble with 95/98/ME, so if possible, we +*strongly* recommend using Windows 2000 or XP. for the linux version, you guys can support yourselves. if you're -enough of a hacker weenie to get a linux box setup, you oughta know +enough of a hacker weenie to get a linux box set up, you oughta know what's going on. for lack of time, we won't be testing extensively under linux, but would be really happy to hear about any bugs or issues you might run into. actually, we don't get happy that you're @@ -250,8 +218,8 @@ a fix someday. WINDOWS -win2k and winxp are used as the primary development platforms, so the -release will likely work best on either platform. +winxp is used as the primary development platforms, so the release +will likely work best there. win95/98/me seem to have some trouble, but we think it's just with the .exe that we use, so that'll get fixed in the future. you can try @@ -300,13 +268,6 @@ on a redhat 9 box, and sun's jre 1.4.2 is included with the download. replacing (or making a symlink to) the contents of the 'java' folder will let you tie in a preferred jvm for your machine. -jikes.. just as 58 was being released, we ran into a problem where -jikes (the java compiler used by p5) couldn't be found by the -application on linux. faced with the deadline, we decided to put up an -error message saying it wasn't found. you should make sure jikes -version 1.18 (we strongly recommend this specific version!) is -installed on your machine and in your path. - serial.. this release uses rxtx-2.1_6 (just like macosx). you may get error message spew to the console when starting the application saying "Permission denied" and "No permission to create lock file" and to @@ -321,7 +282,7 @@ root will get rid of the errors (not a great solution). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -WHAT IS SKETCHBOOK? +WHAT IS THE SKETCHBOOK? we think most "integrated development environments" (microsoft visual studio, codewarrior, jbuilder) tend to be overkill for the type of @@ -337,7 +298,6 @@ coding to be a lot more like sketching. the sketchbook and the WHY JAVA? OR WHY SUCH A JAVA-ESQUE LANGUAGE? - We didn't set out to make the ultimate language for visual programming, we set out to make something that was: @@ -363,12 +323,13 @@ should be easier. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -EXTERNAL FILES / FONTS / READING DATA FILES - +HOW DO I USE EXTERNAL FILES? if you want to use external files, like images or text files -or fonts, they should be placed in a folder called 'data' inside: -sketchbook -> default -> SKETCH_NAME +or fonts, they should be placed in a folder called 'data' inside your +sketch folder. + + starting with version 44, there are several functions that make dealing with data in files much easier (loadFile, loadStrings, @@ -380,7 +341,6 @@ splitStrings, etc) so file i/o should be fun! WHY IS IT CALLED "PROCESSING"? - at their core, computers are processing machines. they modify, move, and combine symbols at a low level to construct higher level representations. Processing allows people to control these actions and @@ -392,31 +352,44 @@ and the website presents fragments of projects and exposes the concepts behind finished software. "Proce55ing" is the spelling we originally used for the url. even -though it's a combination of numbers and letters, it is simply pronounced -"processing." having acquired the processing.org domain name, we are no -longer using the name "Proce55ing". though we still use "p5" as a +though it's a combination of numbers and letters, it was simply +pronounced "processing." casey and i saved our pennies and had a can +drive so now we've acquired the processing.org domain name. as a +result we are no longer using the name "Proce55ing". when we see it +with the 55's it annoys us and we want to punch people in the face. or +punch ourselves in the face for using it in the first place. actually, +we don't care that much but we're trying to kill off the previous +naming. however, to make it more confusing, we still use "p5" as a shortened version of the name. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -PROCESSING IS FREE TO DOWNLOAD / FREE TO USE +HOW MUCH DOES PROCESSING COST? we think it's important to have Processing freely available, rather than selling it for a million dollars under some godawful yearly contract update scheme. to that end, we encourage people to distribute the word widely and refer them to the site: http://processing.org -on most of our own projects, we usually list them as "Built with -Processing" or something similar, with a link back to the site. of -course this isn't a necessity, but it makes us happy when you do. + +. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . + + +DO WE HAVE TO CITE PROCESSING? CAN WE DISTRIBUTE OUR SKETCHES? + +we like it when people include a "built with processing" note with a +link back to the site, since it helps create interest / brings in more +people to the project. we don't/can't/shouldn't require it, but it +makes us happy because the project is free and this is our way of +getting advertising and generating interest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -SOURCE CODE / OPEN SOURCE / GPL BLAH BLAH +IS PROCESSING OPEN SOURCE? we plan for this project to be "open source", everyone's favorite phrase that means that you'll be able to get your grubby little mitts @@ -434,27 +407,20 @@ people to share anyway). more information about the gnu public license can be found here: http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html -processing also includes other open projects, namely the oro matcher, -the kjc compiler, and the jedit syntax package. the oro tools are -distributed under a bsd style license as part of the apache jakarta -project, and the kjc compiler is part of the kopi suite of tools, -which is released under the gpl. so in fact, if the final, publicly -available version of processing still uses kjc, the code for -processing will have to be released gpl. more about the oro tools is -at: http://www.savarese.org/oro/ and the home for kopi/kjc is here: -http://www.dms.at/kopi/ - -kjc is being phased out in favor of the jikes compiler from ibm: +processing also includes other open projects, namely the older version +of the oro matcher (http://www.savarese.org/oro/), the jikes compiler, +and the jedit syntax package. the oro tools are distributed under a +bsd style license as part of the apache jakarta project, and jikes is +covered by the ibm public license: http://oss.software.ibm.com/developerworks/opensource/jikes/ -which is covered by the ibm public license. we're sorry that our source code isn't available just yet, we're cleaning and scrubbing it, it was a decision between getting the alpha out to people to try versus taking a few more weeks to clean up the -project and deal with the technology licensing departments at mit and -ivrea. these things are far more difficult and time consuming than -they would appear. +project and deal with the technology licensing departments at +mit. these things are far more difficult and time consuming than +they initially appeared. our plan is to have the code available with the first "beta" release, which will be the first release that is publicly available and -downloadable from the site. +downloadable from the site. \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/todo.txt b/todo.txt index bcd2d0f9a..c353a5283 100644 --- a/todo.txt +++ b/todo.txt @@ -196,39 +196,45 @@ X add "archive" option since history is gone 040927 morning X change how library path is setup (make simpler) +040927 afternoon +X write revisions.txt and readme.txt +X update readme with notes from bboard about "built with processing" +X go through the board and move messages +X a garbage filled classpath can cause trouble +X http://processing.org/discourse/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=BugFixes;action=display;num=1096302833;start=0 +X processing won't start.. +X people with non-ascii chars in the folder name +X http://processing.org/discourse/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=Proce55ing_software_bugs;action=display;num=1062794781;start=0 +X http://processing.org/discourse/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=Proce55ing_software_bugs;action=display;num=1067764732 +X other errors with spinning and not doing much +X run.bat often works fine +X http://processing.org/discourse/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=Proce55ing_software_bugs;action=display;num=1094148057 +X or with spaces in the folder name, causes problems for serial +X quicktime full uninstall/reinstall +X installing winvdig +X code folder problems - antivirus or firewall +X add to "common problems" +X junk in the classpath can often cause trouble +X http://processing.org/discourse/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=Proce55ing_software_bugs;action=display;num=1094871304 +X history is not implemented in this version + _ macosx - check to see if new linemetrics stuff is working better -README -if you're having trouble with video examples crashing processing or locking up your system, you should try placing the processing folder into the root level of your C:\ drive, or at least inside a set of folders that have no spaces in the name. we haven't determined if this is a quicktime for java or processing bug yet, but it's been a problem for lots of people. -_ write revisions.txt and readme.txt -_ go through the board and move messages -_ make the whole thing an html file? -_ cut out some of the chatter -_ a garbage filled classpath can cause trouble -_ http://processing.org/discourse/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=BugFixes;action=display;num=1096302833;start=0 -_ processing won't start.. -_ people with non-ascii chars in the folder name -_ at least try to catch this? is that possible? -_ http://processing.org/discourse/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=Proce55ing_software_bugs;action=display;num=1062794781;start=0 -_ http://processing.org/discourse/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=Proce55ing_software_bugs;action=display;num=1067764732 -_ other errors with spinning and not doing much -_ run.bat often works fine -_ http://processing.org/discourse/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=Proce55ing_software_bugs;action=display;num=1094148057 -_ or with spaces in the folder name, causes problems for serial -_ quicktime full uninstall/reinstall -_ installing winvdig -_ code folder problems - antivirus or firewall -_ update readme with notes from bboard about "built with processing" -_ add to "common problems" -_ junk in the classpath can often cause trouble -_ http://processing.org/discourse/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=Proce55ing_software_bugs;action=display;num=1094871304 -_ history is not implemented in this version - ...................................................................... +_ properly handle non-ascii chars in p5 folder name +_ or at least warn the user to install somehwere else +_ track down the cause of the processing.exe not starting bugs +_ http://processing.org/discourse/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=Proce55ing_software_bugs;action=display;num=1062794781 +_ http://processing.org/discourse/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=Proce55ing_software_bugs;action=display;num=1067764732 +_ http://processing.org/discourse/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=Proce55ing_software_bugs;action=display;num=1094148057 + +_ talk to creas about making html files for bugs, readme, revisions. +_ or how they should relate to the 'faq'.. readme -> faq? + _ different name for 'lib' folder because of libraries folder _ get linux version for 0071