Recent changes to Virtual_Sound_Decoder

Virtual_Sound_Decoder modified by TwinDad

TwinDad — Tue, 20 May 2014 02:00:00 -0000

--- v11
+++ v12
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@

 The sound models themselves are stored in a "VSD File", which is conceptually similar to a Digitrax SPJ file in that respect. The user can select one of several different sets of sounds, play sounds for multiple locomotives, and so on. 

-The VSD project isn't even far enough along to call it "Alpha" code yet, and hasn't been included in a JMRI release, though it's in the SVN repository, if you like. 
+The VSD product is still very much "Alpha" code. It's buggy, junky, and generally doesn't work very well. But it _does_ work, and I hope it will grow into something very useful. 

 ### Sneak Peak

Virtual_Sound_Decoder modified by TwinDad

TwinDad — Tue, 20 May 2014 02:00:00 -0000

--- v10
+++ v11
@@ -50,11 +50,6 @@
   * [Bugs](https://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=26788&atid=388313)
   * [Feature Requests](https://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=26788&atid=388316)

-Please keep in mind that the jmri.jar file included in this "sneak peek" is a fairly random grab from the current SVN tree. There are likely to be bugs and broken things all over the place. Please restrict your use of this sneak peek to evaluation of the VSD function ONLY, and do not expect it to operate flawlessly in any of the other aspects of JMRI usage. 
-
-  
-
-
 ### The VSD File

 The VSD file is simply a ZIP archive. You can examine its contents by un-archiving it. There is a config.xml file that describes how the sounds are to be used, plus a sounds directory that holds the actual WAV file clips. All of the sounds included in the example have been released under the GNU GPL2 license.

Virtual_Sound_Decoder modified by TwinDad

TwinDad — Tue, 20 May 2014 01:59:59 -0000

--- v9
+++ v10
@@ -10,19 +10,9 @@

 ### Sneak Peak

-If you'd like to take an AT YOUR RISK sneak peak of the function, I've taken a semi-random snapshot of the jmri.jar file and posted it here. There's likely to be all kinds of bugs and problems, and it may crash. Nevertheless, you may have some fun, and I'd appreciate constructive feedback. 
+Good news! Virtual Sound Decoder has been included as a "Debug" feature in JMRI 2.14 and JMRI 3.0 and future release! No need for an "at your own risk" test version. Just go to [the JMRI website](http://www.jmri.org) and download whichever version you prefer. 

-_**WARNING: DO NOT USE THIS CODE TO PROGRAM LOCOMOTIVES OR DO ANYTHING ELSE POTENTIALLY DAMAGING **_
-
-This code is NOT an official JMRI release, and may well be unstable. Use only in a "clean" environment, and ONLY to try out the Virtual Sound Decoder feature along with JMRI or hardware throttles. Any other use my screw up things you've spent months or years setting up (panels, rosters, operations, etc.). **USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!**
-
-I also strongly recommend you make a backup of your JMRI configuration files. The location of these files varies based on your Operating System. Refer to the [JMRI documentation](http://jmri.sourceforge.net/help/en/html/apps/DecoderPro/Files.shtml) for details. 
-
-#### Sneak Peek Installation
-
-  1. Download and install the latest test build of JMRI from the [JMRI "Jenkins" build tool](http://builds.jmri.org/jenkins/job/Packager/ws/jmri/dist/release/). 
-    * Note that you can "install" it into a separate directory from your "usual" install if you like. 
-  2. That's all! 
+Note that the 2.x version of JMRI is now "old" and I won't be doing any future development in it, so all the new goodies (when I get around to creating them) will be in version 3.1 and future. 

 #### Running the Sneak Peek

@@ -40,7 +30,7 @@

 You can either play the bell and horn from the "sounds" tab, or by pressing "F1" or "F2" on your throttle. Hardware throttle buttons will not work on NCE cabs, unfortunately. They should work for Digitrax throttles, or for WiThrottle and EngineDriver smart-phone throttles. 

-There is no "off" button yet. To kill the sounds, you'll have to stop DecoderPro entirely. 
+Use the "Mute" button to temporarily silence the sound, or close the VSD window to kill the decoder entirely. 

 ### Bugs and Feature Requests

Virtual_Sound_Decoder modified by TwinDad

TwinDad — Tue, 20 May 2014 01:59:59 -0000

--- v8
+++ v9
@@ -68,3 +68,5 @@
 ### The VSD File

 The VSD file is simply a ZIP archive. You can examine its contents by un-archiving it. There is a config.xml file that describes how the sounds are to be used, plus a sounds directory that holds the actual WAV file clips. All of the sounds included in the example have been released under the GNU GPL2 license. 
+
+The Definition of the VSD file is described on the [VSD_File_Definition] page.

Virtual_Sound_Decoder modified by TwinDad

TwinDad — Tue, 20 May 2014 01:59:59 -0000

--- v7
+++ v8
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@

 #### Sneak Peek Installation

-  1. Download and install the JMRI 2.13.1 release from the [JMRI "Jenkins" build tool](http://builds.jmri.org/jenkins/job/Packager/ws/jmri/dist/release/). 
+  1. Download and install the latest test build of JMRI from the [JMRI "Jenkins" build tool](http://builds.jmri.org/jenkins/job/Packager/ws/jmri/dist/release/). 
     * Note that you can "install" it into a separate directory from your "usual" install if you like. 
   2. That's all!

Virtual_Sound_Decoder modified by TwinDad

TwinDad — Tue, 20 May 2014 01:59:59 -0000

--- v6
+++ v7
@@ -20,14 +20,9 @@

 #### Sneak Peek Installation

-  1. Download and install the JMRI 2.12 release on your computer. 
+  1. Download and install the JMRI 2.13.1 release from the [JMRI "Jenkins" build tool](http://builds.jmri.org/jenkins/job/Packager/ws/jmri/dist/release/). 
     * Note that you can "install" it into a separate directory from your "usual" install if you like. 
-  2. Rename the "jmri.jar" file in your JMRI 2.12 installation to something else (e.g. jmri.jar.bak). 
-  3. Download vsd_peek.zip from [my Files area](https://sourceforge.net/projects/searchlight2/files/VSD/). 
-  4. Unpack the ZIP file. 
-  5. Put the jmri.jar from the vsd_peek.zip archive into your JMRI 2.12 install directory. 
-  6. Put the example_vsd.zip file somewhere convenient. 
-    * JMRI by default will look in the resources/vsdecoder folder under your JMRI install folder. You can put it anywhere you like. 
+  2. That's all! 

 #### Running the Sneak Peek

Virtual_Sound_Decoder modified by TwinDad

TwinDad — Tue, 20 May 2014 01:59:59 -0000

--- v5
+++ v6
@@ -12,10 +12,11 @@

 If you'd like to take an AT YOUR RISK sneak peak of the function, I've taken a semi-random snapshot of the jmri.jar file and posted it here. There's likely to be all kinds of bugs and problems, and it may crash. Nevertheless, you may have some fun, and I'd appreciate constructive feedback. 

-_**WARNING: DO NOT USE THIS CODE TO PROGRAM LOCOMOTIVES OR DO ANYTHING ELSE POTENTIALLY DAMAGING **_ This code is NOT an official JMRI release, and may well be unstable. Use only in a "clean" environment, and ONLY to try out the Virtual Sound Decoder feature along with JMRI or hardware throttles. Any other use my screw up things you've spent months or years setting up (panels, rosters, operations, etc.). **USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!**
+_**WARNING: DO NOT USE THIS CODE TO PROGRAM LOCOMOTIVES OR DO ANYTHING ELSE POTENTIALLY DAMAGING **_

-  
+This code is NOT an official JMRI release, and may well be unstable. Use only in a "clean" environment, and ONLY to try out the Virtual Sound Decoder feature along with JMRI or hardware throttles. Any other use my screw up things you've spent months or years setting up (panels, rosters, operations, etc.). **USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!**

+I also strongly recommend you make a backup of your JMRI configuration files. The location of these files varies based on your Operating System. Refer to the [JMRI documentation](http://jmri.sourceforge.net/help/en/html/apps/DecoderPro/Files.shtml) for details. 

 #### Sneak Peek Installation

Virtual_Sound_Decoder modified by TwinDad

TwinDad — Tue, 20 May 2014 01:59:59 -0000

--- v4
+++ v5
@@ -11,6 +11,11 @@
 ### Sneak Peak

 If you'd like to take an AT YOUR RISK sneak peak of the function, I've taken a semi-random snapshot of the jmri.jar file and posted it here. There's likely to be all kinds of bugs and problems, and it may crash. Nevertheless, you may have some fun, and I'd appreciate constructive feedback. 
+
+_**WARNING: DO NOT USE THIS CODE TO PROGRAM LOCOMOTIVES OR DO ANYTHING ELSE POTENTIALLY DAMAGING **_ This code is NOT an official JMRI release, and may well be unstable. Use only in a "clean" environment, and ONLY to try out the Virtual Sound Decoder feature along with JMRI or hardware throttles. Any other use my screw up things you've spent months or years setting up (panels, rosters, operations, etc.). **USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!**
+
+  
+

 #### Sneak Peek Installation

Virtual_Sound_Decoder modified by TwinDad

TwinDad — Tue, 20 May 2014 01:59:59 -0000

--- v3
+++ v4
@@ -17,11 +17,10 @@
   1. Download and install the JMRI 2.12 release on your computer. 
     * Note that you can "install" it into a separate directory from your "usual" install if you like. 
   2. Rename the "jmri.jar" file in your JMRI 2.12 installation to something else (e.g. jmri.jar.bak). 
-  3. Click on the "Files" link at the top of this page. 
-  4. Click on the "VSD" folder, then download vsd_peek.zip (or the most recent version there). 
-  5. Unpack the ZIP file. 
-  6. Put the jmri.jar from the vsd_peek.zip archive into your JMRI 2.12 install directory. 
-  7. Put the example_vsd.zip file somewhere convenient. 
+  3. Download vsd_peek.zip from [my Files area](https://sourceforge.net/projects/searchlight2/files/VSD/). 
+  4. Unpack the ZIP file. 
+  5. Put the jmri.jar from the vsd_peek.zip archive into your JMRI 2.12 install directory. 
+  6. Put the example_vsd.zip file somewhere convenient. 
     * JMRI by default will look in the resources/vsdecoder folder under your JMRI install folder. You can put it anywhere you like.

 #### Running the Sneak Peek

Virtual_Sound_Decoder modified by TwinDad

TwinDad — Tue, 20 May 2014 01:59:59 -0000

--- v2
+++ v3
@@ -42,6 +42,29 @@

 There is no "off" button yet. To kill the sounds, you'll have to stop DecoderPro entirely. 

+### Bugs and Feature Requests
+
+Please note that this is very early-development code. It will crash, it will do odd things, it will _not_ do things you think it should, and it will _do_ things that it shouldn't. The transitions between sound elements (say, from notch to notch on the engine) will be very, very rough. Many of the example sounds are simply placeholders waiting for more appropriate noises. 
+
+Still, I think/hope there is enough here for you to get the general idea. 
+
+To log a Bug or a Feature Request, you can either use [my Tracker Page](https://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=344040) or the official JMRI Tracker pages: 
+
+My Tracker: 
+
+  * [Bugs](https://sourceforge.net/tracker/?atid=1439608&group_id=344040&func=browse)
+  * [Feature Requests](https://sourceforge.net/tracker/?atid=1439611&group_id=344040&func=browse)
+
+JMRI Tracker: 
+
+  * [Bugs](https://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=26788&atid=388313)
+  * [Feature Requests](https://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=26788&atid=388316)
+
+Please keep in mind that the jmri.jar file included in this "sneak peek" is a fairly random grab from the current SVN tree. There are likely to be bugs and broken things all over the place. Please restrict your use of this sneak peek to evaluation of the VSD function ONLY, and do not expect it to operate flawlessly in any of the other aspects of JMRI usage. 
+
+  
+
+
 ### The VSD File

 The VSD file is simply a ZIP archive. You can examine its contents by un-archiving it. There is a config.xml file that describes how the sounds are to be used, plus a sounds directory that holds the actual WAV file clips. All of the sounds included in the example have been released under the GNU GPL2 license.