This is the top-level ReadMe file for the MAEstro Multimedia Authoring
Environment.

(Last modified on October 30, 1992)

MAEstro is a distributed multimedia environment focused on simplifying
the process of creating multimedia documents.  Authorship is
distributed among a number of "media editors" -- applications
responsible for a single computer-controlled medium (e.g., CD audio,
text, etc.).  MAEstro was designed as a distributed environment to
allow for quick integration of new media as they become available for
the workstation platform.  MAEstro is built around an
inter-application communications protocol that allows programmers to
add new capabilities to the MAEstro environment without disturbing any
of the existing components.


The purpose of this file is to describe the structure of the MAEstro
distribution.

The MAEstro distribution consists of three main directories:

* Source
* Documentation
* Demos

The Source directory contains the source code for all of the MAEstro
applications and libraries used by those applications.

The Documentation directory contains documentation for users of
MAEstro, programmers who wish to write their own MAEstro applications,
and system administrators who will install MAEstro.

The Demos directory contains sample MAEstro documents.

In addition to these three main directories, an additional "tests"
directory contains a few sample programs that test the MAEstro
protocol.

----------------------------------------------------
Getting Started

To install MAEstro, read the file "Installation.text" in the
Documentation directory.  It contains instructions for installing and
testing the MAEstro distribution.

For more information about the background of the MAEstro project,
please see the PostScript file "UsenixPaper.ps" in the Documentation
directory.  It is a copy of a paper presented at the 1991 Summer
USENIX Conference in Nashville, Tennessee.

If you are interested in writing applications for the MAEstro
environment, please print out and read the PostScript document
"PgmrGuide.ps" in the Documentation directory.

If you are interested in using either the VideoObject library or the
File Browser, please look in the Source/VideoObject or Source/Browse
directory for the appropriate documentation.

----------------------------------------------------
Space Requirements

After compilation, the MAEstro distribution occupies about 40 to 45
Megabytes of disk space (assuming that you leave the UserGuide files
compressed).  Most of that is taken by object files in the Source
directory; after building the release, you can reclaim most of that
space by going to the Source directory and typing "make clean".


----------------------------------------------------
Reporting Errors, Suggestions for Improvements

If you find an error in any of the MAEstro applications or would like
to see new features in any of the MAEstro applications, please send
mail to

	maestro@sioux.stanford.edu

To report an error, please use the template in
Documentation/ErrorReport.text.

Also, there is an electronic mailing list for those interested in
sharing information about MAEstro.  The address of the mailing list is
"maestro-mail@sioux.stanford.edu".  To join the mailing list, please
send a request to "maestro@sioux.stanford.edu".  We will do our best
to maintain the mailing list as resources permit.

We want to make MAEstro a viable multimedia environment, so we welcome
comments, code contributions, and constructive criticism.

Good luck.  We hope that you enjoy using MAEstro and that you find it
useful.  If you do, drop us a line at the address above.

	George Drapeau
	MAEstro Project Leader
	Stanford University
