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This guide explains how to use YARP and YARP tools to manage and run CINDY applications comprising a collection of components.

== Setting up your machine: Running YARP ==

Once you have installed the CINDY software development environment you are (almost) ready to run the CINDY applications.

Before you do, you have to launch a YARP server and a YARP run server.

From the Windows 7 toolbar, launch a ''Command Prompt'' terminal and do the following.

 yarp server

This launches the YARP name server. 

Now, launch another ''Command Prompt'' terminal and do this.

 yarp run --server /cindy1

This creates a run server named <code>/cindy1</code> and is used by YARP to find out where to execute the components in the application.


If the YARP name server complains about an invalid IP address, then do

 yarp server --write

and again in another terminal

 yarp run --server /cindy1

This allows YARP to overwrite the  YARP configuration file with the IP address of the computer.   In some instances, e.g. when setting up your own network of YARP servers, you may want to define your own static IP addresses for every computer on the network which you want to use as a YARP run server.  Instructions on how to do this will be provided in due course.

== Using ''gyarpmanger'' to manage CINDY applications ==

CINDY software is just as set of interconnected components and CINDY software applications are defined by identifying the components to be used, the computers (nodes) on which they are to be run, and the connections between the various components.   All this is done with a <code>.xml</code> application file, normally stored in the <code>app</code> directory.


YARP provides a GUI tool to help you run these application.  This is called ''gyarpmanager''.   It is a powerful tool and you can read more about it [http://wiki.icub.org/yarpdoc/yarpmanager.html here].   For the present, just note that ''gyarpmanager'' can read a <code>.ini</code> configuration file to find out where the applications are (among other things).


There is a default <code>ymanager.ini</code> file in the root of the DREAM directory and it simply tells ''gyarpmanager'' to look for all application <code>.xml</code> files under the <code>release</code> directory.

So, to finally get started, launch another (i.e. a third)  ''Command Prompt'' terminal, change directory to the CINDY root directory and enter ''gyarpmanager''

 C:/CINDY>gyarpmanager

Once this tool has been launched, you need to open the applications you want to run.  Do this by opening on the Applications folder on the left-hand side and double-clicking on the application you are interested in.   Find the one labelled <code>protoComponent_test'</code> (included with the original release of the CINDY repository) and double-click on it.


Now, click the ''Run'' the on the ''protoComponent_test'' interface panel.  It will launch two components. The first one - <code>imageSource</code> - streams images from a file to a port (simulating a camera). The second one - <code>protoComponent</code> - takes these images and does some simple image processing (binary thresholding).


Next, click the ''Connect'' button to see the result.


Click ''Stop'' to stop the application, i.e. the two components.