We are currently seeking a developer to look after the Windows port of PyKaraoke. If you are interested in contributing to an open source project (and learning something about Python development along the way) we would love to hear from you.

We have recently written two articles as a quick-start guide to development on the Windows platform:

• Windows Development
• Creating Windows Installers

The simplest way to get involved is to use the pure Python method discussed in the first article. It is not necessary to install any of the C development environment to do this, and you can quickly start editing and running your own PyKaraoke modifications. We are always happy to bring new developers on board and will give assistance in bringing you up to speed with the source code, but you should find that the PyKaraoke source is well commented and easy to follow. According to Ohloh:

Across all Python projects on Ohloh, 24% of all source code lines are comments. For PyKaraoke, this figure is 30%. This high number of comments puts PyKaraoke among the highest one-third of all Python projects on Ohloh. A high number of comments might indicate that the code is well-documented and organized, and could be a sign of a helpful and disciplined development team.

You can hook up with the development team on the PyKaraoke mailing list. Most of the developers work on Linux, but PyKaraoke works just as well on the Windows platform and for that reason we would like to invite anyone passionate about open source development to look after the Windows port. This might be a small contribution like tidying up the GUI on Windows or taking over making Windows releases, or you could contribute brand new features that can be used on Linux, BSD, OSX, GP2X and any other platforms which PyKaraoke runs on. The differences between the platforms are minor, but having a developer keeping a close eye on the Windows platform will assist in keeping PyKaraoke the most portable karaoke player out there.

Following on from the previous article about PyKaraoke development for the Windows platform, those of you who are modifying the source and contributing to the project may be interested in these instructions for building your own PyKaraoke installer executable. This allows you to distribute test builds of PyKaraoke which users can install without having to first install any of the underlying applications and libraries such as Python and Pygame.

• Install NSIS and Py2exe.
• Follow these instructions for setting up the build environment.
• Copy the following DLLs to folder “build/lib.win32-2.6/” in the top-level source folder (note that your originating folders may differ). In future this step will be automated within the installer script:
  • c:\Python26\Lib\site-packages\pygame\SDL.dll
  • c:\Windows\WinSxS\x86_Microsoft.VC90.CRT_…\msvc*90.dll
• Compile PyKaraoke’s C-based optimised CDG interpreter from a command prompt:
  • python setup.py build_ext –sdl-location=C:\proj\SDL
• Finally build the installer executable (use option –makensis if you installed NSIS to a non-standard location):
  • python setup.py nsis

Your final executable installer will now be sitting in the top level source folder with the filename pykaraoke-ver.exe.