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https://github.com/projectm-visualizer/frontend-sdl-cpp

Standalone application based on libSDL that turns your desktop audio into awesome visuals. Available on most platforms supported by both libprojectM and libSDL.
https://github.com/projectm-visualizer/frontend-sdl-cpp

milkdrop music-visualizer projectm sdl visualizer

Last synced: 5 days ago
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Standalone application based on libSDL that turns your desktop audio into awesome visuals. Available on most platforms supported by both libprojectM and libSDL.

Awesome Lists containing this project

README 

        
# ProjectM SDL2 Frontend



This is a reference implementation of an applicatiaon that makes use of the projectM music visualization library.



It will listen to audio input and produce mesmerizing visuals. Some commands are supported.



This project is in a bit of a transition state and is in the process of being modernized. There are many rough edges at

present.



## Building from source



### Build and install libprojectM



First, [build libprojectM](https://github.com/projectM-visualizer/projectm/wiki/Building-libprojectM) or get it via your

favorite dependency management/packaging tool. For testing, you can install libprojectM somewhere inside your

home/development directory using `CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX`, then pass the same install path to the frontend-sdl2 build

using `CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH`. Please refer

to [CMake's documentation](https://cmake.org/cmake/help/latest/variable/CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH.html) for details.



### Dependencies



This project requires third-party libraries in addition to libprojectM's core library dependencies:



- SDL2 (version 2.0.16 or higher)

- POCO (recommended version 1.12 or higher, minimum is 1.9.x)

- Freetype 2 (optional, will provide better looking UI text)



**Important**: projectMSDL will _not compile_ against Poco versions from 1.10.0 up to 1.11.1, as these versions of Poco

include a serious issue that causes the application to crash. Either use Poco 1.9.x, or upgrade to 1.11.2 or higher.



Depending on your needs, you can either build them yourself or install them using your favorite package manager. Here

are some examples for the three major desktop platforms:



```shell

sudo apt install libsdl2-dev libpoco-dev libfreetype-dev cmake  # Debian/Ubuntu Linux

brew install sdl2 poco freetype  # macOS

vcpkg install sdl2 poco freetype # Windows, should be pulled in automatically via vcpkg.json

```



### Configure and build projectMSDL



After cloning or updating the Git repository, always remember to initialize and update the submodules as well. this is

not required when building from a release tarball or ZIP.



```shell

# Newer git versions also support "git submodule update --init" to perform both step in a single command.

git submodule init

git submodule update

```



If all dependencies are in the CMake and/or the system search directories, you can configure and build the application

with these commands, executed from the source dir:



```shell

mkdir cmake-build

cmake -S . -B cmake-build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release

cmake --build cmake-build --config Release

```



You can optionally add the `--parallel` argument with the number of CPU cores to use to the build command to speed up

the build.



If your dependencies are in different locations than the default search paths, or you're cross-compiling, you'll need to

add more options like `CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH`. Covering all CMake options is out of the scope of this document. Please read

the [Mastering CMake guide](https://cmake.org/cmake/help/book/mastering-cmake/index.html) and

the [CMake documentation](https://cmake.org/cmake/help/latest/) for more information.



The above command will use CMake's default build file generator for your current platform and build the project in

Release (optimized) configuration. If the build was successful, you should have an executable in the build directory. On

Windows, you may need to specify the correct Visual Studio generator and architecture manually.



### Install projectMSDL



While you can run projectMSDL directly from the build directory, it's recommended to install the project. This will copy

all required files, including a default configuration file, into the installation dir.



You can set the installation target path in the first CMake command which configures the build. The `install` target

will then copy everything under this directory:



```shell

mkdir cmake-build

cmake -S . -B cmake-build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/path/to/install/dir

cmake --build cmake-build --config Release --target install

```



### Run directly from the build dir



You should have a directory of visual presets you wish to use. You can fetch a giant trove of curated

presets [here](https://github.com/projectM-visualizer/presets-cream-of-the-crop). You will also need textures (images)

used in many presets. The projectM team has

assembled [a pack of textures](https://github.com/projectM-visualizer/presets-milkdrop-texture-pack), which covers the

needs of most presets.



If you want to run the executable from the build dir, you'll need to pass any non-default settings via arguments. You

can also create a user configuration file in your user's home directory. Depending on the platform, this will be:



- Windows: `%APPDATA%\projectM\projectMSDL.properties`

- Linux:

    - If `XDG_CONFIG_HOME` env var is non-empty: `$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/projectM/projectMSDL.properties`

    - Otherwise: `~/.config/projectM/projectMSDL.properties`

- macOS: `~/Library/Preferences/projectM/projectMSDL.properties`



You can copy the [config file template](src/resources/projectMSDL.properties.in) there and change anything in `@@`.



Depending on the build system, you'll find the projectM executable in `cmake-build/src/`, or a subdirectory with the

name of your build type (`Release`, `Debug` and so on).



If you're not using a config file, provide the presets and texture paths you wish to use when starting projectMSDL:



```shell

cmake-build/src/projectMSDL --presetPath /path/to/presets-cream-of-the-crop --texturePath /path/to/textures

```



Press ESC to toggle the UI.



## System-Specific CMake Examples



The following examples show how to configure and build projectMSDL with CMake on the different supported platforms.



### Windows



To generate a Visual Studio 2022 project for Win64 and build for Release, with then option to also compile a Debug build

from within the generated solution:



```shell

mkdir cmake-build

cmake -G "Visual Studio 17 2022" -A x64 -S . -B cmake-build -DCMAKE_CONFIGURATION_TYPES=Debug,Release

cmake --build cmake-build --config Release

```



### Linux



To generate a UNIX Makefile project build for Release:



```shell

mkdir cmake-build

cmake -G "Unix Makefile" -S . -B cmake-build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release

cmake --build cmake-build

```



To generate a Ninja project build for Release:



```shell

mkdir cmake-build

cmake -G "Ninja" -S . -B cmake-build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release

cmake --build cmake-build

```



### macOS



To generate an Xcode project and build for Release:



```shell

mkdir cmake-build

cmake -G Xcode -S . -B cmake-build -DCMAKE_CONFIGURATION_TYPES=Debug,Release

cmake --build cmake-build --config Release

```