wija and its plug-ins are written in Java language (J2SE; Java 2 Standard Edition)*1. You will need to install JDK (J2SE Development Kit) to develop programs using J2SE (bundled with OS in case of Mac OS X). We assume that ant tool is used for builds.
The versions of all software (including wija and its plug-ins) and web sites developed and distributed by Media Art Online are managed using Perforce software. It is a commercial software, but Perforce has agreed to grant free licenses for 40 users in Media Art Online only in the case where those licenses are used for development in open source projects. Also, since the client software for Perforce is free, anyone can obtain the latest source code using the software even if they do not intend to participate in development at Media Art Online.
We have prepared the wija-devel-en mailing list (the English-only version of wija-devel) to share those licenses and to discuss issues in the development of wija and its related software. For each member of wija-devel-en list, a writing-enabled Perforce user account is allocated.
If you are interested in joining wija-devel-en, please let us know at the following
The members of wija-devel-en can try out the latest software or documentation by receiving a review message by Perforce right after a modification is made to the development items in which they are interested.
However, what you can obtain from Perforce is source code, so that you will need to build the softare using the development tools in order to actually try them out. It could be too complex for people who do not normally develop software.
Therefore, an internal release is made almost nightly, so that people who do not wish to use the development tools can still check changes when they are made.
This internal release is made in the early morning (JST) of the next day following a new modification (the procedure will be automated in future, but for the time being, it is manually done, which may make the timing rather unpredictable). The following URL is reserved for the internal releases.
@ At the beginning., the internal releases themselves will be notified by review messages.
An internal release is provided in the form of a compressed archive file whose name contains the latest Perforce change number.
wija-change#.zip
Likewise, you will need to build help pages on your computer from their source code written in "OmniDocument?" format. To do so, you will need to use one of our development tools (help page generator).
However, Media Art Online staff (a software robot in future) will always build help pages on our second web server whenever a modification is made to the documentation. This will let you browse the updated pages on the following URL after sometime:
If no one sees a problem in the updated documentation, the modification will be propagated to the published site at http://www.media-art-online.org/wija/ .
Perforce is a software to help people physically distributed in many distant locations, using different computers, to develop the same software and/or documentation using the Internet. Perforce lets you manage versions of each file of which a software or a documentation consist.
Why Perforce:
There are a lot of versioning software available in the market other than Perforce. CVS (Concurrent Versions System) is perhaps the most well-known example of such software, being free, and is used broadly for development of free software. The reasons why Media Art Online uses Perforce include 1) it is faster, 2) it is well-designed, 3) it provides more minute control over accessing the files.
The following environment variables may have to be set. How to do so depends on the platform you are using.
Name | Meaning | Setting |
P4CLIENT | Client name | Used for identifying the workspace the user uses |
---|---|---|
P4EDITOR | Editor | The editor software the user usually uses |
P4PASSWD | Password | The password notified to you |
P4PORT | Server name:port | perforce.media-art-online.org:1666 |
P4USER | User name | The user name notified to you |
The following is a suggestion for naming the clients.
computerName_scm <- client name to identify a software development space computerName_wcm <- client name to identify a document development space
(SCM stands for Software Configuration Management. WCM stands for Web Content Management.)
Because p4 software always lets you specify the client name by -c option, you do not need to set P4CLIENT, especially if you intend to use multiple clients all the time.
A p4 command takes the following form ($ is a prompt, which may be different in your environment).
$ p4 command [option...] [argument...]
Global options (such as -c) are specified before the command name.
$ p4 -c client command [option...] [argument...]
The following is the list of popular p4 commands.
Command | Function |
p4 add | Adds files |
---|---|
p4 client | Creates/edits/deletes a client |
p4 clients | Lists existing clients |
p4 delete | Deletes files |
p4 edit | Opens files for editing |
p4 resolve | Resolves conflicts of editions |
p4 revert | Cancels modifications before submitting |
p4 submit | Submits additions/editions/deletions to the depot |
p4 sync | Updates the workspace by obtaining files from the depot |
p4 user | Creates/edits/deletes a user |
p4 users | Lists existing users |
The Perforce application system in Media Art Online is called MAO WSCM (Media Art Online Web/Software Configuration Management). The following is an overview of the depot in MAO WSCM.
Path | Description |
//depot/wcm/... | Media Art Online Web site (including wija help pages) |
//depot/scm/... | Media Art Online software (including wija) |
//depot/docs/... | Media Art Online publications (papers and presentation materials) |
wija-devel(-en) mailing list members are configured to review //depot/wcm/... and //depot/scm/... by default (meaning that they will receive review messages when changes are made; the configuration can be changed by the members themselves). Those wija-devel(-en) members who are also members of Murai Lab. are configured to review //depot/docs/... by default as well.
The publications p4 submitted will be automatically accessible from the following URL.