danapple@media-lab.MEDIA.MIT.EDU (Daniel I. Applebaum) (03/30/91)
An ALPHA versino of Galatea 2.5 is now available via anonymous ftp from media-lab.media.mit.edu (Internet 18.85.0.2). Feel free to take a copy of this software. I would most appreciate any bug reports, as I hope to create a more solid version in the next month or so. This version does *not* have up-to-date man pages or documentation, so not all of the command available in Glib or gman are documented. I don't believe that any preexisting interfaces have changed, so there shouldn't be any gross errors. If you have previously installed Galatea on your system, you should have no problems updating. The protocol is backward compatible. In other words, any old clients should work perfectly with a new server, although clients compiled with the new Glib may not work with a 2.4 server. I don't believe there are significant bugs, but I don't want to promise anything. A list of changed between Galatea 2.4 and Galatea 2.5 follows Daniel I. Applebaum [danapple@media-lab.media.mit.edu] ========= This is a list of changes noting the major differences between Galatea 2.4 and Galatea 2.5 (3/12/91) + Server now additionally supports the NEC PC-VCR. + G_INT32 is now the primary unit of communication for Galatea. Glib is now more portable to architectures with non-32-bit int's. + The mount and unmount calls now take an extra "options" argument. + PostScript client interface for use with NeWS clients. (Glib.ps) + New Glib call GGetSpeed() + New Glib call GPlaySequence() + New Glib call GOpenedHost() + New Glib call GDub() (Not in Glib.ps, yet.) + New Glib call GVideoCopy() (Not in Glib.ps, yet.) + New Glib call GErrorString() (Not in Glib.ps, yet.) + Some errors while opening devices are now non-fatal. + Changed GPlaySeg() to accept CURRENT_FRAME for start frame. + Speed argument for GPlaySeg() is now automatically corrected for direction. + GConfigure() now takes VIDEO_CHAN to support video muting. + Added async request forwarding, but this is as yet untested. + Server will no longer hang on incomplete client data. New internal functions serv_full_read(), serv_acceptint(),serv_acceptstring() and tunable MAX_BLOCK handle timeouts on reading from clients. + Running the server with the -devices option will cause the server to print out the supported devices, then exit. + Created new subdirectory under 'server' called 'dcm' which contains all of the device dependent "Device Control Modules" for the Galatea server. Adding a new DCM involves modifying the Makefile and models.h in server/dcm, adding the code for the new DCM to that directory, and recompiling the server. + Added an extension mechanism to Galatea which is compatible with all old clients and servers. It exists in a subdirectory of 'server' called 'ext'. + Added a new command to gman to handle the playing of sequences with the new GPlaySequence() library call. + gman is a lot easier to use, with better prompting and script capability. + greset will try to use GRebuild() to do a reset if the kill(2) does not work. Changes by Russ Sasnett: + Server now supports the Pioneer LDV-4200. + rpd structure now contains an extension element. + Build operation has been extensively improved. See documentation. + Corrected errors in Sony and VDP50 drivers for variable speed playback. Sony now plays reverse segments. + Corrected UNIX domain socket code in Glib and server. + Added RETURN_NOW_WITH_SPEED flag to GPlaySeg().
rthomson@mesa.dsd.es.com (Rich Thomson) (04/01/91)
In article <5564@media-lab.MEDIA.MIT.EDU> danapple@media-lab.MEDIA.MIT.EDU (Daniel I. Applebaum) writes: >An ALPHA versino of Galatea 2.5 is now available via anonymous ftp from >media-lab.media.mit.edu (Internet 18.85.0.2). Feel free to take a copy >of this software. I would most appreciate any bug reports, as I hope to >create a more solid version in the next month or so. Gee, sounds great. What does it do? A common oversight when announcing new versions of FTPable software on the net is to not include a short description of the capabilities of the software. This was recently done on comp.windows.x with the announcement of the new XPM library. For future reference, please include a description of the software along with the new capabilities of the latest release. For the benefit of others, I'll include the "galatea.announce" file I found on the media-lab machine. -- Rich =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- The Galatea Network Video Device Control System is a package for controlling and managing video resources in a distributed workstation environment. The system handles the control of video devices, such as analog video disc player/recorders and analog video routing switches. Galatea runs on 4.3BSD and System V UNIX on 32 bit workstations. A Mac II client library is in the works, so a UNIX server will be able to serve a cluster of Mac's. Galatea is available for the public under the same copyright restrictions as the X Window System. Any person may copy and use Galatea for any purpose, as long as the M.I.T. copyright is maintained on all copies of the distributed software. To obtain a copy of Galatea, anonymous ftp can be used to media-lab.mit.edu (Internet 18.85.0.2). The Galatea distribution, tar(1) format, as well as PostScript and line printer copies of the documentation are available in the subdirectory 'galatea' The documentation is present in the distribution, so there is no need to grab both. If you cannot form an ftp(1) connection to media-lab.mit.edu, I would be happy to send mail containing uuencoded versions of either the documentation or the distribution. If you don't specify whether you want the PostScript or lineprinter version of the documentation, I will send the lineprinter version. I don't have the time or energy to send any of this information via US mail. I can send the documentation non-uuencoded, if that is better. There is no official support for Galatea, although I try to keep things going and I respond to complaints about bugs. If you wish to use the system, feel free, but the responsibility is in your hands. I want to hear about real bugs in the system, and take efforts to correct them. As I will graduate in two months, the future of Galatea development is uncertain. As the Media Laboratory is not a product development or support organization, Galatea is only being offered unofficially by me, not by the lab. Currently, Galatea supports Sony and Digital Equipment Corporation video disc players and the Panasonic write-once units, Akai Digital Patch Panels and many switches produced by Presentation Environments. Work is being done at MIT Project Athena to add support for the Pioneer video disk player. I welcome any device driver software that other users develop and would be more than happy it to add to the distribution. The system runs on 4.3BSD, Ultrix, Interactive 386/ix, HP-UX and Sun OS. The client library is device independent, so the clients never need to be aware of the type of device under control. In addition, the physical location of a device is hidden from a client, so in a distributed environment, a video disc player may be anywhere. Galatea servers can communicate to each other to share resources. There need not be a single server, but a hierarchy can be created, allowing the use of "office-wide", "department-wide", and "building-wide" resources by the same user without the client software or the user being aware of the distinction. Some applications of Galatea have included the recording of computer generated animations onto write-once video discs (CALTECH CCSF), image archive retrieval (Image Concepts, MIT VLW), educational applications (MIT Project Athena) and off-line video editing prototypes (MIT Interactive Cinema). Mailing lists: To be added to the galatea-users or galatea-bugs list or to request documentation or distributions: galatea-request@media-lab.mit.edu To send mail to other users of Galatea: galatea-users@media-lab.mit.edu To report a Galatea bug: galatea-bugs@media-lab.mit.edu Daniel I. Applebaum Interactive Cinema M.I.T. Media Laboratory danapple@athena.mit.edu danapple@media-lab.mit.edu =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- -- ``Read my MIPS -- no new VAXes!!'' -- George Bush after sniffing freon Disclaimer: I speak for myself, except as noted. UUCP: ...!uunet!dsd.es.com!rthomson Rich Thomson ARPA: rthomson@dsd.es.com PEXt Programmer
danapple@media-lab.MEDIA.MIT.EDU (Daniel I. Applebaum) (04/03/91)
In article <1991Mar31.192850.17304@dsd.es.com>, rthomson@mesa.dsd.es.com (Rich Thomson) writes: > For future reference, please include a description of the software > along with the new capabilities of the latest release. For the > benefit of others, I'll include the "galatea.announce" file I found on > the media-lab machine. Thanks, Rich. Just for completeness, I've included the newest Galatea announcement file, as there a slight changes. I wasn't sure what was appropriate as far as reposting info that I had posted some months ago, so I guess I erred on the vague side. This is probably overdoing it, but at least it's not a flame war... Anyway, I'm not trying to force this stuff down anyone's throat, but I do want to make sure that it's existence is known. As always, all comments except "Why didn't you implement dynamic rebinding of virtual outputs?" are perfectly welcome. Also, there is probably a tremendous overlap in readership between comp.multimedia and comp.ivideodisc. As Galatea is really a video device control and management system, not a multimedia package or platform, it probably makes sense to deal with it only on comp.ivideodisc, so this is the last crosspost I'll do. Daniel I. Applebaum [danapple@media-lab.media.mit.edu] ("Excellent!" - Bill S. Preston, Esq.) ======= The Galatea Network Video Device Control System is a package for controlling and managing video resources in a distributed workstation environment. The system handles the control of video devices, such as analog video disc player/recorders and analog video routing switches. Galatea runs on 4.3BSD and System V UNIX on 32 bit workstations. Galatea is available for the public under the same copyright restrictions as the X Window System. Any person may copy and use Galatea for any purpose, as long as the M.I.T. copyright is maintained on all copies of the distributed software. To obtain a copy of Galatea, anonymous ftp can be used to media-lab.mit.edu (Internet 18.85.0.2). The Galatea distribution, in tar(1) format, as well as PostScript and line printer copies of the documentation are available in the subdirectory 'galatea' The documentation is present in the distribution, so there is no need to grab both. If you cannot form an ftp(1) connection to media-lab.mit.edu, I would be happy to send mail containing uuencoded versions of either the documentation or the distribution. If you don't specify whether you want the PostScript or lineprinter version of the documentation, I will send the lineprinter version. I don't have the time or energy to send any of this information via US mail. I can send the documentation non-uuencoded, if that is better. There is no official support for Galatea, although I try to keep things going and I respond to complaints about bugs. If you wish to use the system, feel free, but the responsibility is in your hands. I want to hear about real bugs in the system, and take efforts to correct them. As I have graduated, the future of Galatea development is uncertain. As the Media Laboratory is not a product development or support organization, Galatea is only being offered unofficially by me, not by the lab. Currently, Galatea supports Sony, Pioneer and Digital Equipment Corporation video disc players, the Panasonic write-once units, the NEC PC-VCR, Akai Digital Patch Panels, and many switches produced by Presentation Environments. I welcome any device driver software that other users develop and would be more than happy it to add to the distribution. The system runs on 4.3BSD, Ultrix, Interactive 386/ix, HP-UX, SVR4 and Sun OS. The client library is device independent, so the clients never need to be aware of the type of device under control. In addition, the physical location of a device is hidden from a client, so in a distributed environment, a video disc player may be anywhere. Galatea servers can communicate to each other to share resources. There need not be a single server, but a hierarchy can be created, allowing the use of "office-wide", "department-wide", and "building-wide" resources by the same user without the client software or the user being aware of the distinction. Some applications of Galatea have included the recording of computer generated animations onto write-once video discs (CALTECH CCSF), image archive retrieval (Image Concepts, MIT VLW), educational applications (MIT Project Athena) and off-line video editing prototypes (MIT Interactive Cinema). For more information on Galatea and its encompassing project, see the paper "Light Table: Interface to Visual Information Systems" in the MIT Press book "The Electronic Design Studio", published in 1990. The Galatea Network Video Device Control System is not a product of or in any way associated with Sun Microsystems, Inc. It is a project that I am continuing to expand from my previous work at the M.I.T. Media Lab. Mailing lists: To be added to the galatea-users or galatea-bugs list or to request documentation or distributions: galatea-request@athena.mit.edu or galatea-request@media-lab.mit.edu To send mail to other users of Galatea: galatea-users@athena.mit.edu or galatea-users@media-lab.mit.edu To report a Galatea bug: galatea-bugs@athena.mit.edu or galatea-bugs@media-lab.mit.edu Daniel I. Applebaum Interactive Cinema M.I.T. Media Laboratory danapple@athena.mit.edu danapple@media-lab.mit.edu