Fwd: [gnuspeech-contact] Some indications about portability

[Marcelo Matuda]

Hi, I forgot to reply to the list...

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Marcelo Matuda <address@hidden>
Date: Sat, Mar 5, 2011 at 6:50 PM
Subject: Re: [gnuspeech-contact] Some indications about portability
To: Felipe Castro <address@hidden>


Hi Felipe,

On Fri, Mar 4, 2011 at 11:02 AM, Felipe Castro <address@hidden> wrote:
> Hi David,
>
> 2011/2/27 David Hill <address@hidden>
>>
>> Thanks for the two emails regarding gnuspeech, including the information
>> about installing on a Debian system under GNUStep, and the useful links.
>> Interesting that you had an undefined variable "false" in the "Synthesizer"
>> compilation. Given that "Synthesizer" is basically a very initial version, I
>> suppose I should be pleased there were not worse problems. The App still
>> requires a fair amount of work -- graphs that are simply stubs and that sort
>> of thing, uncontrolled creation of unused file handles until it crashes in
>> certain conditions, and a lot of removal of redundant, unused code . But it
>> does run correctly enough to give a feel for the tube model, and how the
>> output varies as you vary the basic parameters. These things are on my "to
>> do" list.
>
> Yes, ok, I could feel what the Sinthesizer is, I just didn't feel
> comfortable with the spectral analysis, because I felt the resolution not so
> good. Well, I know I should practice it much more... Maybe it could be
> thought of visualizing the generated waveform too.

If you use Jack (jackaudio.org), you can connect Synthesizer to
another spectral analysis program (like JAAA).

> So, are you working in your local repository without updating the remote one
> (at Savannah)? Because I see the last update there dates from 2009 (am I
> wrong?).
>
>>
>> Please keep us in touch on how you make out with the various components.
>> There's an official release of the software coming up soon so your input
>> will be very useful.
>
> Ok, I have read the docs about the process and understand the general
> approach. I'm very interested in the articulatory method, because we don't
> see it in other part, at least in the free software world. I'm brazilian
> (sorry my poor English), and here people seems to be using only
> contatenation and formant synthesis. And my first goal is not related to
> Portuguese, but Esperanto.
>
>>
>> Any good documentation concerning the compilation and use of the suite of
>> software (Monet, Synthesizer, TTSServer, etc) under Debian GNU/Linux GNUStep
>> would be of great interest.
>
> I have found some annoying bugs in the GNUStep system here, like
> unresponsiviness of some widgets, but maybe it is related to the alpha state
> of gnuspeech.

There are many bugs, but check if you have a too old libffi in your system.

> Anyway, I'll try to document my efforts, hopefully it will be useful for
> someone else.
>
> In order to study ObjC and GNUStep, I tried to launch the Project Center,
> but it was stuck at an unusable way. Today I'll see it again, in order to
> test if the infamous machine-restart works for me. :-)
> I also installed WindowMaker, but no success then.

I don't know if Project Center will work with Gnuspeech.

>> You are probably aware that the whole system is still under development.
>> Monet needs the editing stubs expanding so that it can again be used to
>> develop the databases needed for different languages (the tools, such as
>> Monet and Synthesizer, in the software suite, are what we used for the
>> current databases that provide TextToSpeech for English). Marcelo Matuda did
>> most of the port from the Mac version to the GNU/Linux version,but I haven't
>> heard from him for a while.
>
> Yes, I tried to use Monet, but didn't get much of it here.

Did you read README.GNUstep?

> So you work on OSX firstly and after that update the GNUStep part?
> So, if sometime I succeed to help on the code, I should first wait for the
> updates in the OSX, to port them to the GNUStep?

The GNUstep port is more or less synchronized with the OS X port, but
it doesn't have the speech server and Synthesizer in GNUstep is in a
very different state.

>> There is a fair amount of documentation to provide understanding of the
>> system. Please let me know if you have any questions.
>
> I didn't go through all the documentation of Monet, because I couldn't play
> with it. But I noticed differences in the interface for the new port. Just
> couldn't see any Inspector window, for example. Is this such a stub to be
> reimplemented?
>
>
>>
>> If you have access to a NeXT system you can install the NeXT version of
>> the TextToSpeech kit on that and see how the complete system works. It is
>> useful for assisting in the port, since any aspect can be checked directly
>> with a complete, bug-free (?) system.
>
> Unfortunately, it will be very difficult for me to see that kind of
> hardware, here in Brazil... :-)
>
> Well, I'll try hard to understand that code, because I really wants to play
> with the system... But for that, I have first to take a look at ObjectiveC
> tutorials, because what I only know for now is C.
>
> Kind regards,
> Felipe.
>

Regards,
Marcelo