Setting up a Norns development environment

THIS REPO IS STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS

Discussions on lines.

Docker images in this repo

• norns-dev: base Docker image, provides the build and run-time dependencies.
• norns-test-dummy: runs jackd, crone, matron, and maiden, but only using a dummy audio out, instructions are also provided for sound output and grid connectivity on Linux.

Linux

Developer focused example coming soon, but for now see norns-test-dummy which provides instructions on connecting audio and grids.

OS X

Unsupported at the moment

Some tricky challenges here.

Firstly how to get the audio as glitch free as possible?

• Try to get NetJack2 working between Vagrant/Docker and the host?
• Try to run SuperCollider/Crone on the host and allow access via ws-wrapper to a guest in Vagrant/Docker?

How to get connect grids and other peripherals? Docker for Mac doesn't seem to allow for USB sharing, I think Vagrant does. The other alternative is to use the OSC protocol available in libmonome.

Development strategies

Maiden

Coming soon

Matron

Coming soon

Dust

Coming soon

Future plans

Screen / keys / encoders

Ideas:

• Add a conditional flag to open an X11 surface instead of directly accessing the framebuffer.
• Convert key presses from an X11 window to events in matron to simulate the keys and encoders.
• Convert the cairo surface to a PNG and send that to browser via maiden.
• Similarly allow maiden to send simulated key/encoder events to maiden.

X11 allows for remote display, so it can work with Docker and a virtual machine.

Other

• Add cross compilers to the norns-dev Docker image, as well as documentation to push build outputs to a device.
• Investigate using pi-gen to automate the building of full system images.