Greetings.
I get a strange message on loading the ide (after typing "newlisp-edit") on terminal command line:
(java:3058): Gtk-WARNING **: Unable to locate theme engine in module_path: "pixmap",
It doesn't seem to harm anything. I am merely curious, and don't know the first thing about java. Distro is Ubuntu 11.10.
Do not run the Java which come on the standard UBUNTU install. Instead load down Java SE or Java RTE from:
http://java.com/en/download/index.jsp
click on Download and get the "Linux (self extracting file)"
then install it in /usr/local
then make a symbolic link from /usr/local/jre.x.x.x-java/bin/java to /usr/bin/java.
Instead of the JRE (Java Runtime Environment) you can also get the full JDK (Java Development Kit)
For information:
I never got around to replacing the java that comes with Ubuntu. Then I upgraded from Ubuntu 11.10 to 12.04 a few days ago. After the upgrade, the java error messages no longer appear when loading newLISP GS IDE server. Saved me the trouble.
After Ubuntu Precise Pangolin solved the java GTK message problem, it was otherwise a very pleasant upgrade for me. The Unity loader works without problems now, but what's really great is the new Heads Up Display replacing menus. I click the Windows key, and the HUD overlays the desktop in transparency, displaying recent apps, recent files, and recent downloads. Typing "GI" offers me the Gimp's Icon, a click loads it.
I downloaded an app called Main Menu from the Software Center. Using that I added Newlisp to Unity. It was simple: enter the "newlisp-edit" command in the right input box, fill in the other details in the dialog, click on the icon in the dialog and browse to /usr/share/newlisp to select the newLISP icon & close. Then, pressing the Windows key and entering "Ne" brought up the newLISP icon. I think Ubuntu has really stolen a march on both Windows and Apple for ease of use here. I really don't enjoy too much clicking around endless menus with a mouse (and use a tablet instead of mouse when I can), so this ability to type (without needing to load a terminal first) is a steal to me. Speaking of which, I just plugged in my Wacom Bamboo tablet to this Ubuntu 12.04 (it's an HP laptop) computer, and it works straight off without a hitch. Win 7 struggled with that, and then downloaded a driver, which didn't work first time, but it eventually did the second time. I'm impressed.
Thanks for the note. I also just installed 12.04 in VirtualBox on Mac OSX Lion. And the Java installed on this version of UBUNTU works fine. Only the main menu in the newLISP-GS IDE was hardly visible because of the dark colors in the default UBUNTU theme. But switching to the "Radiance" theme solved the problem.
But I still have problems with the sound for midi-demo.lsp and midi2-demo.lsp. Even after installing "soundbank-mid.gm", it was not able to do a gs:midi-init with that file. Perhaps you find a solution for this ;-)
ps: also just updated http://www.newlisp.org/modules/various/plot.lsp.html with a new function for XY plots.
ps: and updated again ... clear your browser cache.
Thanks to you too. I had not noticed a problem, but checked now to find I had already switched to "radiance".
As to sound, I have always struggled with both midi demo programs, and in fact with sound on Ubuntu, throughout the years. I will give them a try, and report back.
Without making any changes since upgrading, both newLISP midi demos at least now do something.
midi-demo.lsp brings up a message box
gs:midi-patch - instrument not known
When I press OK, it then plays the programmed scale sequence, on a piano. But maybe the piano is a default.
midi2-demo.lsp does the same thing, but after pressing ok, it plays only a few of the programmed sounds. Without ever doing anything with midi and synthesizers, I don't know why this is happening as it is, but I am wildly thrilled at getting any kind of sound at all!