Juggling Software Wanted

Are you a software developer with an interest in juggling who is looking to get involved in a new project? The JIS is encouraging such people to look over this project we'd like to see developed. If you'd be interested in working on this, or if you have other good ideas for new software that could be developed, please contact software@juggling.org.

GNU Juggle

This project is very ambitious, but I think would be a valuable benefit to many jugglers. It would be good to coordinate several interested people to begin to develop such a program. It could be built in stages, with simple features becoming available early, but designed to allow further development of the more elaborate ideas.

Some of the features such a program might support are:

• Free to all.

• Binaries and source code freely available, so we can all contribute to its evolution, under the GNU license.

• Portable code, C, C++, or Java. Runs at least on PC's, Macs, and common Unix platforms. As much as possible should be single sourced, with platform specific code isolated in libraries. New platforms supported simply by creating a new library.

• Ability to display a series of tricks, as specified in a script that is read as input. I want routines, with beginnings and ends, not infinite loops.

• Ability to automatically determine transitions between tricks, and insert them.

• Ability to select new tricks and patterns interactively while display is active, and have the display switch to the new pattern, with an appropriate transition inserted automatically.

• Allow user to define new tricks, and share their definitions with others.

• Support for multi-person passing patterns.

• A means of specifying actions of the juggler(s) as well as the objects, such as Mills Mess, pirouettes, backcrosses, under the leg throws, and moving around on the stage.

• Allow change of perspective, with panning, scrolling, and zooming.

• Rings and clubs! Determine the number of spins of the club from the height of the throw, but allow the default amount of spin to be overridden.

• Output to screen in real time, or to a file in various formats, such as MPEG, AVI, or Quicktime.

• Audio support, so a piece of music or dialog could be included, with the juggling timed to coincide with the audio.

• At a minimum, I'd like some way of describing a 2 minute 5 club routine, a la Gatto, in some text language, and feed that to a displaying program that would come as close as possible to the real thing. I do not expect sophisticated graphics, but there should be recognizable human-like jugglers with most major body parts moving properly, even if only stick figures.