Tools/audiopy/README

audiopy - a program to control the Solaris audio device.

Contact: Barry Warsaw
Email:   bwarsaw@python.org
Version: 1.0

Introduction

    Audiopy is a program to control the Solaris audio device, allowing
    you to choose both the input and output devices, and to set the
    output volume.  It can be run either as a standalone command-line
    script, or as a Tkinter based GUI application.

    Note that your version of Python must have been built with the
    sunaudiodev module enabled.  It is not enabled by default however!
    You will need to edit your Modules/Setup file, uncomment the
    sunaudiodev module spec line and rebuild Python.

    Using audiopy, you can select one of three possible input devices:
    the microphone, the line-in jack, or the CD in.  These choices are
    mutually exclusive; you can only have one active input device at
    any one time (this is enforced by the underlying device).  Some
    input devices may not be supported on all Solaris machines.

    You can also choose to enable any of the three possible output
    devices: the headphone jack, the speakers, or the line-out jack.
    You can enable any combination of these three devices.

    You can also set the output gain (volume) level.

Running as a GUI

    Simply start audiopy with no arguments to start it as a Tkinter
    based GUI application.  It will pop up a window with two sections:
    the top portion contains three radio buttons indicating your
    selected input device; the middle portion contains three
    checkboxes indicating your selected output devices; the bottom
    portion contains a slider that changes the output gain.

    Note the underlined characters in the button labels.  These
    indicate keyboard accelerators so that pressing Alt+character you
    can select that device.  For example, Alt-s toggles the Speaker
    device.  The Alt accelerators are the same as those you'd use in
    as the short-form command line switches (see below).

    Alt-q is also an accelerator for selecting Quit from the File
    menu.

    Unsupported devices will appear dimmed out in the GUI.  When run
    as a GUI, audiopy monitors the audio device and automatically
    updates its display if the state of the device is changed by some
    other means.  With Python versions before 1.5.2 this is done by
    occasionally polling the device, but in Python 1.5.2 no polling is
    necessary (you don't really need to know this, but I thought I'd
    plug 1.5.2 :-).
    
Running as a Command Line Program

    You can run audiopy from the command line to select any
    combination of input or output device, by using the command line
    options.  Actually, any option forces audiopy to run as a command
    line program and not display its GUI.

    Options have the general form

        --device[={0,1}]
        -d[-{0,1}]

    meaning there is both a long-form and short-form of the switch,
    where `device' or `d' is one of the following:

        (input)
            microphone -- m
            linein     -- i
            cd         -- c

        (output)
            headphones -- p
            speaker    -- s
            lineout    -- o

    When no value is given, the switch just toggles the specified
    device.  With a value, 0 turns the device off and 1 turns the
    device on.  Any other value is an error.

    For example, to turn the speakers off, turn the headphones on, and 
    toggle the cd input device, run audiopy from the command line like 
    so:

    % ./audiopy -s=0 -p=1 -c

    Audiopy understands these other command line options:

    --gain volume
    -g volume
        Sets the output volume to the specified gain level.  This must 
        be an integer between MIN_GAIN and MAX_GAIN (usually [0..255], 
        but use the -h option to find the exact values).

    --version
    -v
        Print the version number and exit

    --help
    -h
        Print a help message and exit
        


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