
                         MIDNIGHT

          midi/karaoke player & C++ midi library
              Rodrigo Reyes - reyes@chez.com


1. What is Midnight

 Midnight is a C++ midi library which provides classes that can load
 and play midi files using OSS or OSS-free (the default sound system
 for linux and possibly some other flavors of unix). The main features
 are :
  - midi file 0 and 1 loading
  - internal and external synth playing
  - SB-AWE enhanced, using the SB AWE32/64 Sound Driver for Linux /
    FreeBSD by Takashi Iwai. 
    See http://bahamut.mm.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~iwai/midi.html

 But Midnight is also a midi and karoke player that uses the midnight
 library. It uses the features of the library, and provides a
 command-line program (midnight) as well as a version with a GTK GUI
 (xmidnight).

 The GTK version implements a karaoke panel that displays the lyrics
 and highlights them when needed.


2. Requirements

  The gtk version of the midnight program needs GTK (of course) and a
posix thread library. I compiled and tested the program with GTK 1.2
only, so I can not guarantee that it works with previous
versions. Regarding the posix thread lib, if you have a glibc2-based
system (ie. Red Hat 5.x or >), you should not be any
problem. Otherweise, please verify that the pthread library is
installed. An improved installation procedure is in the TODO list.


3. Copying

 The midnight library and the (x)midnight players are covered under
 the Gnu GPL licence. Read carefully the COPYING file that comes with
 the distribution. You can also get it at http://www.gnu.org
 
 Please note that according to the terms of the licence, you can not
 link the midnight library against non-free software or component.


4. How to Install the software ?

  1. read the README file
  2. type ./configure
  3. type make
  4. you can test the program. To install, typep "make install" as
     root.

5. How do I use it ?

 The easiest way of using it is through the gtk or gnome graphical
user interface. To load a song, use the "Open" menu entry or the eject
button, or even better, use drag'n drop from a gtk filemanager
(e.g. midnight commander or any other).

 If the song is a karaoke file, select the "Karaoke/Show karaoke
panel" menu entry to display the karaoke panel. If no lyrics pops up,
then it is probably not a karaoke song.

6. Where to get the latest version ?

  Check http://www.chez.com/reyes


Many parts of this program are inspired from Nathan Laredo's playmidi,
and many development problem were solved by looking at his code.

