I’m pleased to announce that this month saw the first version 6 release of PraxisCORE and PraxisLIVE. Somewhat longer in gestation than originally planned (due to things unrelated to the project), version 6 is a substantial rewrite of some key aspects of how PraxisCORE works. Expect some rough edges! These will improve as version 6 update releases happen over the coming months.

Key changes

Many deprecated and legacy features have been removed, removing things that were hindering development of some key new features. With existing projects, make sure to check for and correct use of deprecated features and code in the latest version 5 release before attempting to open a project in version 6. Also check the following section about removed root types.

The IDE and core now require minimum Java 21. Installers with bundled JDK will now ship with the latest JDK version as standard. Networked hubs now use Netty and Ion to provide a more robust and structured communication protocol than was possible with the previous OSC implementation. Much of the project saving and execution has moved directly into PraxisCORE, which means that much more of the IDE functionality works by calling Pcl commands. This also opens up the possibility of alternative editors, or even one day the IDE will be a PraxisCORE project!

Other libraries have been updated, including our libP5X updated to Processing 4. Runtime dependency management is now based on MiMa rather than Ivy.

There are a bunch of other useful changes. Custom roots can now specify use of table editing rather than the graph editor (we can now make fully recodeable MIDI editors, etc.) Containers can filter allowed child types and even specify custom types. The weight parameter on annotations is now optional - eg. @P int x,y,z; is now legal syntax! The ordering is in alphabetical order by default. Examples and custom components are being updated and added showing the new features.

The most obvious visual change is the new vector logo, window background actions, and revamped dashboard. The background actions and dashboard support were contributed to Apache NetBeans a few months ago, but were really written for PraxisLIVE!

Finally, the IDE build system has been moved to Maven to match PraxisCORE. Most of the IDE modules are now published to the central repository as well, allowing use of PraxisCORE and PraxisLIVE as a platform for other projects. One of which is currently in the works.

Root templates .. or where’s my OSC, MIDI, TinkerForge support?

Version 6 sees the removal of the built-in support for OSC, MIDI and TinkerForge roots. These features will be supported by using custom root templates and (where necessary) external libraries in future. A MIDI root template is already included in the custom components repository. OSC and TinkerForge examples will be added soon. Automatic migration from old root types is not currently available.

To use the MIDI template, make sure to install custom components from the dashboard display. Then use the popup menu on the project, select New / Other..., and find the MIDI template in the Roots category.

If you have any audio, video or other root graph that you want to use in other projects, you can also use the Save as Template... action on any .pxr file.

The custom MIDI component also offers a good demonstration of the new annotations for registering table editing and custom components - in particular here, where ControllerComponent is a subclass of CoreCodeDelegate in the shared code -

@SupportedTypes(system = false,
        custom = {
            @CustomType(type = "midi:controller", base = ControllerComponent.class)
        }
)
@DisplayTable(properties = {"channel", "controller", "binding"})
public void init() { ...

Towards introspection and moldability

Over the next few months I’ll be working on various improvements within PraxisCORE and PraxisLIVE related to introspection, and improved visualization and control over what is happening in the underlying system. This in part comes from an interest in exploring how aspects of moldable development and live moldable notebooks can work within the cyber-physical coding context of PraxisLIVE. Watch this space …

In the meantime, download PraxisLIVE v6 and get discovering!