Installing and Testing the STK

The first step is to go to the STK home page, navigate to the download page, and download the latest ``source distribution'' (stk-4.2.1.tar.gz as of this writing, but any later 4.2.x release should be fine as well). Unpack this file wherever you want it, such as ~/stk/:

$ cd ~
$ mkdir stk
$ cd stk
$ wget http://ccrma.stanford.edu/software/stk/release/stk-4.2.1.tar.gz
$ tar -xzf stk-4.2.1.tar.gz
$ ln -s stk-4.2.1 stk

The tar command uncompresses and unpacks the tar file into the directory stk-4.2.1 in the current working directory (assumed to be ~/stk/ here and below). The ``stk'' symbolic link saves typing and enables release-independent access from scripts and such.

After downloading and unpacking the STK as described above, one might

• read the file ~/stk/stk/README to get oriented a bit,
• read the file ~/stk/stk/INSTALL about configuring and compiling the STK,
• study the documentation in ~/stk/stk/doc/, and
• start developing virtual musical instruments and audio effects!

Alternatively, the remainder of this appendix describes downloading and using the ``JOS Overlay'' which adds a few small example programs to the STK, and gives some recommended conventions for software development using the STK.³