Contents

pyPortMidi

pyPortMidi

build on Linux

ubuntu

test on 64 bit ubuntu Gutsy (7.10 x64) machine. Probably also works on 32 bit and ubuntu/debian friends.

go to the root directory of the pyPortMidi download

change line 357 of pypm.pyx to read:

        while(Pm_Poll(self.midi) != pmNoError):

apt-get install python-pyrex python-dev libportmidi-dev timidity freepats libasound2-dev
sudo python setup.py install

build on OS X

notes

successful test on Leopard OSX 10.5 Jan 12, 2008
between unsuccessful builds of pyPortMidi, delete the build directory or the rebuild will not be complete

instructions

download and build portmidi
test with virtual midi keyboard
download Pyrex
for Pyrex 0.9.6.4 at least you need to edit Pyrex/Mac/DarwinSystem.py. Line 21 should read:
```
os.environ["MACOSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET"] = "10.5" 
```
build Pyrex
download pyPortMidi 0.0.3
replace portmidi.h, porttime.h, and OSX/libportmidi.a with the same named files in the portmidi download/build
copy libporttime.a from the portmidi build into pyPortMidi's OSX directory

change line 357 of pypm.pyx to read:

        while(Pm_Poll(self.midi) != pmNoError):

change line 52 of pyPortMidi's setup.py file to read:

                  libraries = ["portmidi", "porttime"],

build: sudo python setup.py install
test: python test.py

build on WinXP

notes

There are 2 ways to go:
- build with MSVC - Microsoft's free tools. You need to use compiler v.7.1
- build with MinGW - GNU's open-source compiler which magically emulates msvc v7.1 at the right moments (no I don't get it). Apparently the optimizations aren't quite as good as with MSVC.
I did testing with midiyoke and virtual midi keyboard

instructions: PyPortMidi built using MinGW

successful test on WinXP/Python 2.6

set up MinGW

install MinGW. I used the automated installer and told it to install make and C++.
add \MinGW\bin to your path

build portmidi (MinGW)

download latest portmidi. I used release 200 dated 2010-01-11 from here
download this Makefile and put it in the main portmidi directory
edit the Makefile to add -DNEWBUFFER in line 5. Comment out line 23 so it now reads # pmdlllib = pm_win/libpmdll.a
from a terminal window, change to the main portmidi directory and build: mingw32-make
test: pm_test/test

build pyPortMidi (minGW)

build Pyrex
download PyPortMidi 0.0.3
replace portmidi.h, porttime.h with the same named files in the portmidi download/build
delete everything in the win32 directory
copy the following files into the win32 directory: libpmdll.a, libportmidi.a, libporttime.a

change line 357 of pypm.pyx to read:

        while(Pm_Poll(self.midi) != pmNoError):

change line 34 of pyPortMidi's setup.py file to read:

                  libraries = ["portmidi", "porttime", "pmdll", "winmm"])

build and install: python setup.py build -cmingw32 install --skip-build
test: python test.py
distribute binary: python setup.py build -cmingw32 bdist --skip-build --format=wininst

resulting files (MinGW)

self-installing executable: pyPortMidi 0.0.3a for Python 2.5.x/Win32

instructions: pyPortMidi built using MSVC

I couldn't get this to work. This is currently abandoned

build portmidi (MSVC)

successful

download and install Visual C++ Express from Microsoft (free download. Takes up 1.1G of disk space).

download latest portmidi. I used svn from cygwin:

svn co https://portmedia.svn.sourceforge.net/svnroot/portmedia/portmidi/trunk portmidi

open portmidi.sln with Visual C++ Express. If Visual C++ Express wants to convert the files for the latest version, let it.
choose project -> pm_dll properties -> configuration manager and switch to the release version
choose build -> batch build and build all the portmidi files
find pm_dll.dll and copy it to c:\windows\system32
test using test.exe

build pyPortMidi (MSVC)

unsuccessful

download and build Pyrex
download pyPortMidi 0.0.3
replace portmidi.h, porttime.h, win32/portmidi.lib and win/porttime.lib with the same named files in the portmidi download/build

change line 357 of pypm.pyx to read:

        while(Pm_Poll(self.midi) != pmNoError):

change line 52 of pyPortMidi's setup.py file to read:

                  libraries = ["portmidi", "porttime"],

build: sudo python setup.py install. Failing:

extensions must be built with a compiler than can generate compatible binaries.
Visual Studio 2003 was not found on this system. If you have Cygwin installed,
you can try compiling with MingW32, by passing "-c mingw32" to setup.py.

References

Troubleshooting/Misc notes and stuff

pm_dll.dll: copy this to your \windows\system32 directory
midiBuffer.py: handles scheduling if you want to send midi events out of order