Sonic Pi 3.2.1 deb file for Raspbian Buster

PLEASE READ ALL OF THIS FILE BEFORE INSTALLING

INTRODUCTION
This file enables you to install Sonic Pi 3.2.1 onto Raspbian Buster, and it will work with
a Pi4, Pi3b+ Pi3 (or very sluggishly a Pi2). It gives best performance on a Pi4

THE EXISTING SONIC PI VERSION
It can co-exist with the Sonic Pi included with Raspbian Buster (release 2020-02-13), but
has many features which make it easier and better to use.

To save confusion, it is probably best either to uninstall the existing version which you
can do using the Recommended Software icon on the Main Menu -> Preferences Section.
Select this, and then select programming from the resulting screen.Scroll down
the list of programs and untick the entry Sonic Pi then click OK.
Alternatively you can  leave it installed but hide this version from the menu.
To do this, select Main Menu Editor from the Main Menu -> Preferences
From the resulting screen click Programming in the LEFTHAND pane
Then on the RIGHTHAND pane scroll down and untick the entry Sonic Pi and click OK.
This will remove the entry from  the Main Menu while leaving the program installed.
At a later date you can reverse the process if required by reticking the entry for  Sonic Pi.

It is probably best to do one of the above,because if you try to launch both versions together
the results may be unpredictable and may crash one of them (although I have had them both running
at the same  time with the aid of Qjackctl to hear the sound. You must launch 3.2.1 first then 3.1).

INSTALLATION
To use this file follow the following instructions.
1  The file will install Sonic Pi 3.2.1 on an SD card containing Raspbian Buster 2020-02-13
2 Before installing, from a terminal type:
  sudo apt update
  sudo apt upgrade

3 To install the debfile, download it to your Downloads folder via a web browser
  Then locate it from a file browser using the graphical interface.
  Install it by double-clicking on the file-icon
  when asked Do you want to install this file?
             sonic-pi-3.2.1_3.armhf.deb
  click Install
  In the Authentication Window type in the password for the user pi then click OK

4 When the install has completed you will see a new icon Sonic Pi 3.2.1
  in the Programming Section of the Main Menu. Select it to launch Sonic Pi 3.2.1 

UNINSTALLING SONIC PI 3.2.1
If you want to uninstall sonic pi 3.2.1 then do the following.
start a terminal window
In the terminal  window type:
sudo apt purge sonic-pi-3.2.1

This will remove sonic pi 3.2.1 from your pi, but will not affect any installation
of the sonic pi supplied with Raspbian

DIFFERENCES FROM THE RELEASE SOURCE CODE FOR VERSION 3.2.1
There are two minor adjustments to the code to enable correct operation on a Raspberry Pi
1. some code has been added near the beginning of the sonic-pi-server.rb file to run the binary
   file compton. This enables the transparency adjustment to work.
2. an adjustment has been made to the widget background colour in the app.qss file in the theme
   folder to allow the visibility of files listed in the open and save dialogs to be visible
   in dark and dark-pro modes. Without it they cannot be seen.

DISCLAIMER

I have produced this .deb file in good faith as a service to the Raspberry Pi
and Sonic Pi communities. The code is produced from the main sonic pi repository administered
by Sam Aaron on https://github.com/samaaron.sonic-pi
Use of the file is at your own risk, and I cannot accept responsibility
for any damage or consequential data loss from your Raspberry Pi or asociated software.
The installation has been tested for correct operation on P2, P3, Pi3B+ and Pi4 computers.
You may want to back up any important data from your SD card before using it.
I will try and answer any questions to do with the installation process via the email
rbnpiman at gmail dot com, but matters relating to bugs or problems with the Sonic Pi code
should be addressed to the github site mentioned above, or aired on the
https://in-thread.sonic-pi.net website.

The .deb file has been produced with the knowledge of Sam Aaron,
although the packaging is my own work. Thanks are due to Sam for a stunning program.

Robin Newman 3rd April 2020