Hi Folks,

My goal is to install the abl-link~object successfully using Deken.

With a fresh install of pd on the raspberry pi zero, (used "sudo apt-get install puredata" and took what was given me). I've searched for "abl_link~" in the find externals box. The result is a list of various versions of Deken. I believe the significance of this is that the version of Deken currently installed can't cut it to install abl_link~ for me. I think what I have to do is install a newer version of Deken.

However, when I start this process off, Deken just downloads the new version of Deken to pi/home and thereafter I'm stuck.

I've tried searching for answers about how to manually install deken using this file, but unhelpfully the answers I can find all relate to the readme included with deken which talks about some do's and don'ts of manual installation without telling one how to actually go about it, and a lot of the other stuff I've found has been superseded at various points, (all of which is fair enough given that it's a free thing). Can someone point me in the direction of advice about how to manually install deken? Am I just saving it in the wrong place & it'll just work if I bung it in the right directory?

Thanks for any help, sorry for being dim.

Andrew

@frenziedcurtain It is [abl_lnk~] and not [abl-link~].
Here....... http://cdm.link/2016/11/free-jazz-now-ableton-link-sync-works-pure-data/ for osx and no mention of windows or RPI, but it says that it is available through Deken for OSX..... so hopeful.
The question will be whether it has been compiled for your version of Pd on your operating system and been "made available" to Deken.
The link above can also take you to https://github.com/libpd/abl_link but it only mentions Android and ios.
I have it for Windows 32-bit.
Try the underline instead of the hyphen first with Deken, and if it is not there then you could build the external from the GitHub link.
David.
PS @francis666 has compiled and uploaded for stretch lite and Pd0.47...... https://forum.pdpatchrepo.info/topic/11733/abl_link-for-rpi

@whale-av I'll try again, checking my spelling .

Not sure if I was trying the hyphen or underline at the time (I'm away from the pi at the moment). Hopefully it was as dumb as that and it'll be easy...

Thanks for the assistance and I'll report back in 8-10 hours or so. (I fear I will be doing some headscratching if I have to try to compile it myself.)

@frenziedcurtain oops checked the @francis666 link. I'll try that at need.

No good here. I was searching for abl_link~ without success in the raspberry pi installation. I downloaded @francis666's version as compiled for stretch lite but at the moment I resemble a small child attempting to wrangle a square block into a round hole. I don't even know where to find the externals folder into which I should fling the compiled .pd object! Unfortunately searching for details on this is full of wrong turns for me. Thanks for trying I need to learn more about using GitHub, compiling stuff and where on earth anything is on the Pi. again thanks for trying. I'll have to come back when the dumb is a little less strong in me.

What might help is something that gives basics on manual installation of objects and libraries for pd-vanilla in the raspberry pi version. I have looked at information for various deprecated methodologies for this on several other platforms, but there's so much out there that isn't helpful that it is rather difficult to get started. I'll keep looking.

@frenziedcurtain It is not certain that it wil work if your operating system or Pd version is different.
Externals can be put in the Pd/extra folder and many will then work, as Pd automatically looks there as it loads. However, some, like zexy and cyclone are more fussy and have to be added with the -lib flag at startup. That flag, something like -lib zexy.... can be added by opening "edit" "preferences" "startup" from the Pd menu..... but Deken makes all that much easier.

I doubt that will be necessary for [abl_link~]
If all else fails put abl_link~.pd_linux in the Pd/bin folder. That is where the Pd executable is and Pd will definitely find it there.
If it will not create then it is wrong for your system.

What is the os on your Pi-zero and which version of Pd do you have?
David.
I just checked Deken. I don't see abl_link~ for arm6 processor (Pi-zero) so you are out of luck.
Searching the web now, and will let you know if I find anything useful.

@frenziedcurtain This will help......

Gather your courage, take some notes of what you need to do from the video, and give it a go.
The GitHub is as above...... https://github.com/libpd/abl_link
You will not need to do the "install" at the end.
Look for abl_link~.pd_linux once it is compiled, and move it to the extra folder.
Good luck...!
David.

@whale-av I can't wait to have a go. Thank you so much for taking the time to go into this for me. I'll look up the versions of the OS and pd when I get home later today in 6 hours or so. I was able to use apt-get to update/upgrade to whatever the currently-approved version of pd is on the Raspberry Pi repository, and as far as the OS, it's just whatever Noobs currently had me install. I realize that's not very informative so I'll check up shortly. Thanks again for your generosity and patience.

@frenziedcurtain I eventually gave up on the pi zero for this. I got a regular Raspberry Pi Zero and used the ARM7 release put together by mzero and antlrs. Thank you for the help!

I never was able to manually resolve this myself, but I did eventually find that someone had kindly put together an ARM6 version of abl_link~ as part of the software for the excellent terminal tedium. You can find it here: https://github.com/mxmxmx/terminal_tedium/blob/master/software/externals/abl_link/abl_link~.pd_linux

I threw it into the bin folder (thanks for the tip whale-av!) for Pd (v0.52 IIRC) on my pi zero w, and it is working a bit. I sometimes need to wiggle the networks a bit to get all the peers to see each other, but it's running, which is a start.

@frenziedcurtain If it is talking between machines it's a good idea to fix their ip addresses on the network..... then they will always be found.
In the Wi-Fi (or Ethernet if they are cabled together) choose static instead of DHCP for all the machines and give them an individual address that will stay fixed.
It's a bit (very small) of a PITA if you travel with your laptop and join other networks...... i.e. in hotels.... because you will need to go back to dhcp as they will probably not use the same network range as your home router.
My home and work routers have 50 addresses reserved for static IP's..... that way the router doesn't try to hand them out to other machines.
David.