Configuring the User Environment

athenaCL has many configurable settings that are saved in a preference file and loaded for each athenaCL session. Some of these settings have default values; others will need to be configured the first time a command is used.

athenaCL writes files. Some of these files are audio file formats, and some are event list formats (scores, MIDI files). In most cases, athenaCL will write a file in a user specified “scratch” directory with an automatically-generated file name. This is convenient and fast. To set the scratch directory, enter the APdir command, for AthenaPreferences directory. (Replace “/Volumes/xdisc/_scratch” with a complete file path to a suitable directory.)

Setting the scratch directory with APdir

pi{b}ti{} :: apdir
select directory to set: scratch or audio. (x or a): x
/Users/ariza/_x/src/athenaCL
................................................................................
.cvsignore      .DS_Store       __init__.py     __init__.pyc    __init__.pyo    
athenacl.py     athenacl.pyc    athenaObj.py    athenaObj.pyc   athenaObj.pyo   
CVS             demo            docs            libATH          setup.py        
tools     
select a scratch directory:
to change directory enter name, path, or ".."
cancel or select? (c or s): /Volumes/xdisc/_scratch
/Volumes/xdisc/_scratch
................................................................................
.DS_Store       a.mid           
select a scratch directory:
to change directory enter name, path, or ".."
cancel or select? (c or s): s
user scratch directory set to /Volumes/xdisc/_scratch.

The command PIh, for PathInstance hear, allows the creation of a MIDI file from a single Path specification. In this case, athenaCL writes the MIDI file in the user-specified scratch directory. After the file is written, athenaCL opens the file with the operating system. Depending on how the operating system is configured, the MIDI file should open in an appropriate player. The athenaCL system frequently works in this manner with the operating system and external programs and resources.

Creating a MIDI file with PIh

pi{b}ti{} :: pih
command.py: temporary file: /Volumes/xdisc/_scratch/ath2010.07.01.16.12.52.xml 
PI b hear with TM LineGroove complete.
(/Volumes/xdisc/_scratch/ath2010.07.01.16.12.52.mid)

Numerous types of graphical aids are provided by athenaCL to assist in the representation of musical materials. Graphics are drawn directly in the output, below the command that produced them. Drag a graphic to pan it, scroll while holding Command (Control outside macOS) to zoom, and double-click to see all of it again; hovering shows the values under the pointer.

To test the production of graphic output, the TPmap command, for TextureParameter map, can be used:

Producing a graphical diagram with TPmap

pi{b}ti{} :: tpmap 100 ru
randomUniform, (constant, 0), (constant, 1)
TPmap display complete.