Also, key shortcuts are implemented
for most commands. Another important consideration in the design of AL was the
desire to provide a reasonably open system, with the option for development of
third party plug-ins; thus avoiding the constraints imposed by a single type of
musical process. Currently, AL is distributed as free software, in conjunction
with ERWIN, a plug-in that applies the solutions of Schröedinger’s equation for
an atomic potential with radial symmetry (a well-known equation from Quantum
Mechanics) to the creation of granular clouds. Hopefully, future developments by
the author and others will implement a variety of compositional approaches in
addition to ERWIN.
Please note that AL comes
with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY; for details see
the GNU General Public License.(Adobe
Acrobat Format). This is free software and you are welcome to redistribute it under the
conditions detailed in the GNU
General Public License. For more
details, you can write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place -
Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA.
The GNU website is here.
Read the latest review in Electronic
Musician 1 Nov 2003
The author acknowledges the
support of :
The Arts and Humanities
Research Board,
which made possible the creation
of these programs.
The
Composers’ Desktop Project, for the technical advice and support provided
during the development of the software.
Minimum
Requirements
Processor
Pentium (Pentium III onwards recommended)
Operating System
Windows 98/ME/XP (AL was initially developed on Windows 2000 but the latest
version has not been tested in this environment)
Screen Resolution
Although AL can run on lower resolutions, a minimum of 1024x 768 pixels or
higher is recommended. The software will run on a smaller resolution but some
graphics components may not fit in the screen.
Microsoft DirectX 8 TM The
AL and ERWIN installation disk should install DirectX 8TM, if
required.
Soundcard
DirectX TM compatible (recommended).
NOTE
Rehearse and playback functions are
optimised to work with DirectX TM. There may be delays and crackles when using soundcards which are not DirectX TM compatible.
Installation
Instructions
1.
Download
the programme.
This should create a compressed,
self-extracting file (ALandERWIN103.EXE) in your computer.
2.
Double click on ALandERWIN103.EXE.
This will extract
all the files needed for installation, including a README file
3.
Double
click on the extracted Setup.EXE file.
4.
If
you have not installed Direct X TM or have version lower than 8, SETUP.EXE will
also install DirectX TM version 8 and may reboot your computer. If after rebooting the dialog for AL's installation does not
reappear, double click on SETUP.EXE again.
5.
Finally, the SETUP.EXE program may have to
load the install shield and reboot your computer again. If this happens and
the dialog for AL's installation does not reappear, double click on SETUP.EXE
one more time.
6.
After AL is installed, a shortcut on the
desktop and an item on the programs menu should appear (Algorithmic
Composition Environment).
If you experience problems
downloading large files and you still want to obtain a copy of AL and ERWIN,
you can get it on a CD for the price of postage and packaging (5 pounds) from
the Composers’ Desktop Project.
Updates History
17.7.03
Version 1.03 released
AL and ERWIN version 1.03 has the same
functionality as version 1.02. However, the latter had a bug which could
produce clicks when using certain kinds of audio sources, particularly in the
case of pitched material. This has been corrected in version 1.03.
