Opus+ v1.0 README (June 28th 2011)
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Opus+ v1.0 has two release kits: opuslib and opusgui. Each are independent components and contain all binaries pre-built as stand-alone, executable JAR files, all the source code and all relevant documentation.
At this stage of its development Opus+ is primarily a java library. To get the best from Opus+ it's necessary to control details of the generated composition by choosing your own constraints and parameter settings. For this you'll need to write a java program that uses the Opus+ API. Developers should therefore download the opuslib which has a jar file ready to include in your own projects built with debug symbols so it's easy to step into using the debugger, and includes javadocs and several java code examples that use the library to help get you started.
In this first version of Opus+ there is also the Neos interface. The Opus Neos GUI is very simple, and is just enough to give non-programmers a taste of what Opus+ can do. It currently offers four buttons which create four different types of music. These buttons use different constraint values to change the behaviour of the CRG algorithm. Others will be added as development progresses.
All users are encouraged to read the 'Opus+ Conceptual Overview' documentation to get a better understanding of the ideas - such as CRG - that underpin Opus+, and of course the 'Opus+ Installation Guide' prior to installing Opus+ on their machine.
Opus+ creates LilyPond markup files. It is recommended that LilyPond be installed first before Opus+. LilyPond can be found at http://lilypond.org. Once LilyPond is installed on your machine, and can be run from the command line, installing Opus+ is simply a matter of unzipping files into a directory of your choice; typically this would be the directory from which you intend to use Opus+.
Please note: Opus+ does NOT change anything on your computer without your knowledge. For example it does not read the Windows registry, set environment variables or in any way communicate across the web to other websites. It does not look for updates, or push you into upgrades. You can remove it from you system if you decide you don't want it by simply deleting everything that you unzipped
See our website http://opusplus.org for more information and our FAQ. At this stage of development please send an email to opusplus.org for help and/or support.
