Server-Side Speech --- New Project Discussion (PHP/C++ Developers?)

As a result of an ongoing thread, I am launching a project that should
allow users on shared hosting accounts and other restricted Unix-like
hosting systems to utilize text-to-speech synthesis, primarily the Festival
TTS engine. The goal of the project will be to create a miniature, portable
TTS system that a user can upload to their hosting account and use right
away, without the need to compile the system or have access to
privileged-only libraries.

The ultimate aim here is for a user to be able to do the following, from
start to finish:

1.) Determine a need for text-to-speech synthesis on the web.
2.) Locate this project.
3.) Download the compiled binaries and PHP source code.
4.) Upload the binaries and code to their existing hosting account.
5.) Set permissions on directories and configure the system as
necessary.
6.) Integrate the system into their existing architecture and design.
7.) Use the system.

I may set up a small mailing list for the project, as well as a forum to
use with development, bugtracking, et cetera. I'm not entirely sure whether
I will be hosting the entire project on one of my servers, or if I will use
SourceForge for some or all of the hosting.

Anyone who's interested in jumping on, let me know. We may not create a
PHP-based TTS system, but we can do the next best thing. Besides,
everything has to start somewhere!

--
Daniel P. Brown
[office] (570-) 587-7080 Ext. 272
[mobile] (570-) 766-8107

On 4/26/07, Daniel Brown <parasane@gmail.com> wrote:
> As a result of an ongoing thread, I am launching a project that should
> allow users on shared hosting accounts and other restricted Unix-like
> hosting systems to utilize text-to-speech synthesis, primarily the Festival
> TTS engine. The goal of the project will be to create a miniature, portable
> TTS system that a user can upload to their hosting account and use right
> away, without the need to compile the system or have access to
> privileged-only libraries.
>
> The ultimate aim here is for a user to be able to do the following, from
> start to finish:
>
> 1.) Determine a need for text-to-speech synthesis on the web.
> 2.) Locate this project.
> 3.) Download the compiled binaries and PHP source code.
> 4.) Upload the binaries and code to their existing hosting account.
> 5.) Set permissions on directories and configure the system as
> necessary.
> 6.) Integrate the system into their existing architecture and design.
> 7.) Use the system.
>
> I may set up a small mailing list for the project, as well as a forum to
> use with development, bugtracking, et cetera. I'm not entirely sure whether
> I will be hosting the entire project on one of my servers, or if I will use
> SourceForge for some or all of the hosting.
>
> Anyone who's interested in jumping on, let me know. We may not create a
> PHP-based TTS system, but we can do the next best thing. Besides,
> everything has to start somewhere!
>
> --
> Daniel P. Brown
> [office] (570-) 587-7080 Ext. 272
> [mobile] (570-) 766-8107

I'm not sure what it is exactly, i know which thread you are referring
to so i guess i will need to read that one, but i don't have time for
that, but it looks very interesting this. Just count me as in :)

I have server running here at my lan, and i use that for development,
so i have root access to it :)
It's running apache + PHP + MySQL, all compiled from source, i know
how to compile apps etc in linux.

I have experience in programming in various languages, which include
the required PHP & C++.

You may think that i'm too young (15) for this project, but please,
don't under estimate me. Also, because i'm so young, i can learn
things very quick. I understand new things very quickly. I'd like to
write the hardest part of the code because i learn most from that :)

Tijnema
>

It's just an open-source project to be done on an at-will, volunteer
basis. Once I get the wheels in motion, I'll let you know. For now, I'm
still just trying to see if anyone's willing to help out.

On 4/26/07, Tijnema ! <tijnema@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> On 4/26/07, Daniel Brown <parasane@gmail.com> wrote:
> > As a result of an ongoing thread, I am launching a project that
> should
> > allow users on shared hosting accounts and other restricted Unix-like
> > hosting systems to utilize text-to-speech synthesis, primarily the
> Festival
> > TTS engine. The goal of the project will be to create a miniature,
> portable
> > TTS system that a user can upload to their hosting account and use right
> > away, without the need to compile the system or have access to
> > privileged-only libraries.
> >
> > The ultimate aim here is for a user to be able to do the following,
> from
> > start to finish:
> >
> > 1.) Determine a need for text-to-speech synthesis on the web.
> > 2.) Locate this project.
> > 3.) Download the compiled binaries and PHP source code.
> > 4.) Upload the binaries and code to their existing hosting account.
> > 5.) Set permissions on directories and configure the system as
> > necessary.
> > 6.) Integrate the system into their existing architecture and design.
> > 7.) Use the system.
> >
> > I may set up a small mailing list for the project, as well as a forum
> to
> > use with development, bugtracking, et cetera. I'm not entirely sure
> whether
> > I will be hosting the entire project on one of my servers, or if I will
> use
> > SourceForge for some or all of the hosting.
> >
> > Anyone who's interested in jumping on, let me know. We may not
> create a
> > PHP-based TTS system, but we can do the next best thing. Besides,
> > everything has to start somewhere!
> >
> > --
> > Daniel P. Brown
> > [office] (570-) 587-7080 Ext. 272
> > [mobile] (570-) 766-8107
>
> I'm not sure what it is exactly, i know which thread you are referring
> to so i guess i will need to read that one, but i don't have time for
> that, but it looks very interesting this. Just count me as in :)
>
> I have server running here at my lan, and i use that for development,
> so i have root access to it :)
> It's running apache + PHP + MySQL, all compiled from source, i know
> how to compile apps etc in linux.
>
> I have experience in programming in various languages, which include
> the required PHP & C++.
>
> You may think that i'm too young (15) for this project, but please,
> don't under estimate me. Also, because i'm so young, i can learn
> things very quick. I understand new things very quickly. I'd like to
> write the hardest part of the code because i learn most from that :)
>
> Tijnema
> >
>



--
Daniel P. Brown
[office] (570-) 587-7080 Ext. 272
[mobile] (570-) 766-8107

Daniel Brown wrote:
> As a result of an ongoing thread, I am launching a project that should
> allow users on shared hosting accounts and other restricted Unix-like
> hosting systems to utilize text-to-speech synthesis, primarily the Festival
> TTS engine. The goal of the project will be to create a miniature,
> portable
> TTS system that a user can upload to their hosting account and use right
> away, without the need to compile the system or have access to
> privileged-only libraries.
>
> The ultimate aim here is for a user to be able to do the following, from
> start to finish:
>
> 1.) Determine a need for text-to-speech synthesis on the web.
> 2.) Locate this project.
> 3.) Download the compiled binaries and PHP source code.
> 4.) Upload the binaries and code to their existing hosting account.
> 5.) Set permissions on directories and configure the system as
> necessary.
> 6.) Integrate the system into their existing architecture and design.
> 7.) Use the system.
>
> I may set up a small mailing list for the project, as well as a forum to
> use with development, bugtracking, et cetera. I'm not entirely sure
> whether
> I will be hosting the entire project on one of my servers, or if I will use
> SourceForge for some or all of the hosting.
>
> Anyone who's interested in jumping on, let me know. We may not create a
> PHP-based TTS system, but we can do the next best thing. Besides,
> everything has to start somewhere!
>

Two things spring to mind.

Are you just really talking about PHP bindings for the festival libraries?

Or are you talking about a hosted service that people can uses? e.g. I
made a festival server years ago that spoke the name of the song I was
playing... it worked over sockets and was pretty reliable. Are you
planning to offer similar or just make it easy for people to use
festival in PHP by themselves....

Not really clear what you want to do....


Col.

At 3:53 PM -0400 4/26/07, Daniel Brown wrote:
> Anyone who's interested in jumping on, let me know. We may not create a
>PHP-based TTS system, but we can do the next best thing. Besides,
>everything has to start somewhere!

Daniel:

But of course, you can count me in -- after all, I started this thread.

If you can get the project to the point were I can upload something
to my site that can generate a sound file from text, I'll take it
from there.

The point of all this is to provide a simple way for "civilians" to
have their sites speak.

I certainly can do all the documentation and design/write the
software that will make it easy for the end user to use -- that's not
a problem. The problem is having the text-to-sound routines being
autonomous and free from requiring the user to seek assistance from
their host for installation.

If you can get it to that, this project is doable.

Cheers,

tedd

--
-------
http://sperling.com http://ancientstones.com http://earthstones.com

That's what I'm going to try to do, Tedd. I'll post updates throughout
the day to include the new mailing list address and such (so we're not
flooding the PHP list with stuff about a specific project) and other
relevant information.

On 4/27/07, tedd <tedd@sperling.com> wrote:
>
> At 3:53 PM -0400 4/26/07, Daniel Brown wrote:
> > Anyone who's interested in jumping on, let me know. We may not
> create a
> >PHP-based TTS system, but we can do the next best thing. Besides,
> >everything has to start somewhere!
>
> Daniel:
>
> But of course, you can count me in -- after all, I started this thread.
>
> If you can get the project to the point were I can upload something
> to my site that can generate a sound file from text, I'll take it
> from there.
>
> The point of all this is to provide a simple way for "civilians" to
> have their sites speak.
>
> I certainly can do all the documentation and design/write the
> software that will make it easy for the end user to use -- that's not
> a problem. The problem is having the text-to-sound routines being
> autonomous and free from requiring the user to seek assistance from
> their host for installation.
>
> If you can get it to that, this project is doable.
>
> Cheers,
>
> tedd
>
> --
> -------
> http://sperling.com http://ancientstones.com http://earthstones.com
>



--
Daniel P. Brown
[office] (570-) 587-7080 Ext. 272
[mobile] (570-) 766-8107

Even beyond the scope of what this small project will be, I was thinking
(for once!) that it probably will not be too horribly difficult to
incorporate some code into PHP itself that would allow functions such as
text2wav(), et al. After all, the Festival TTS engine itself, which we'll
be using as a foundation (and first floor even), is already written in C++,
so hopefully back-porting it to PHP's native C language core won't prove to
be too much of a nightmare.

Just a thought....


On 4/27/07, Daniel Brown <parasane@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
> That's what I'm going to try to do, Tedd. I'll post updates
> throughout the day to include the new mailing list address and such (so
> we're not flooding the PHP list with stuff about a specific project) and
> other relevant information.
>
> On 4/27/07, tedd <tedd@sperling.com> wrote:
> >
> > At 3:53 PM -0400 4/26/07, Daniel Brown wrote:
> > > Anyone who's interested in jumping on, let me know. We may not
> > create a
> > >PHP-based TTS system, but we can do the next best thing. Besides,
> > >everything has to start somewhere!
> >
> > Daniel:
> >
> > But of course, you can count me in -- after all, I started this thread.
> >
> > If you can get the project to the point were I can upload something
> > to my site that can generate a sound file from text, I'll take it
> > from there.
> >
> > The point of all this is to provide a simple way for "civilians" to
> > have their sites speak.
> >
> > I certainly can do all the documentation and design/write the
> > software that will make it easy for the end user to use -- that's not
> > a problem. The problem is having the text-to-sound routines being
> > autonomous and free from requiring the user to seek assistance from
> > their host for installation.
> >
> > If you can get it to that, this project is doable.
> >
> > Cheers,
> >
> > tedd
> >
> > --
> > -------
> > http://sperling.com http://ancientstones.com http://earthstones.com
> >
>
>
>
> --
> Daniel P. Brown
> [office] (570-) 587-7080 Ext. 272
> [mobile] (570-) 766-8107
>



--
Daniel P. Brown
[office] (570-) 587-7080 Ext. 272
[mobile] (570-) 766-8107

On 4/27/07, Daniel Brown <parasane@gmail.com> wrote:
> Even beyond the scope of what this small project will be, I was thinking
> (for once!) that it probably will not be too horribly difficult to
> incorporate some code into PHP itself that would allow functions such as
> text2wav(), et al. After all, the Festival TTS engine itself, which we'll
> be using as a foundation (and first floor even), is already written in C++,
> so hopefully back-porting it to PHP's native C language core won't prove to
> be too much of a nightmare.
>
> Just a thought....

Is it 100% C++?

that could be a serious problem, AFAIK, unless we are creating a
shared library of course, because from that point, the language
doesn't matter (not sure about static, but i believe it is the same)

And what about other TTS engines? FreeTTS? Festival-lite?

Tijnema
>
>
> On 4/27/07, Daniel Brown <parasane@gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> >
> > That's what I'm going to try to do, Tedd. I'll post updates
> > throughout the day to include the new mailing list address and such (so
> > we're not flooding the PHP list with stuff about a specific project) and
> > other relevant information.
> >
> > On 4/27/07, tedd <tedd@sperling.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > At 3:53 PM -0400 4/26/07, Daniel Brown wrote:
> > > > Anyone who's interested in jumping on, let me know. We may not
> > > create a
> > > >PHP-based TTS system, but we can do the next best thing. Besides,
> > > >everything has to start somewhere!
> > >
> > > Daniel:
> > >
> > > But of course, you can count me in -- after all, I started this thread.
> > >
> > > If you can get the project to the point were I can upload something
> > > to my site that can generate a sound file from text, I'll take it
> > > from there.
> > >
> > > The point of all this is to provide a simple way for "civilians" to
> > > have their sites speak.
> > >
> > > I certainly can do all the documentation and design/write the
> > > software that will make it easy for the end user to use -- that's not
> > > a problem. The problem is having the text-to-sound routines being
> > > autonomous and free from requiring the user to seek assistance from
> > > their host for installation.
> > >
> > > If you can get it to that, this project is doable.
> > >
> > > Cheers,
> > >
> > > tedd
> > >
> > > --
> > > -------
> > > http://sperling.com http://ancientstones.com http://earthstones.com
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Daniel P. Brown
> > [office] (570-) 587-7080 Ext. 272
> > [mobile] (570-) 766-8107
> >
>
>
>
> --
> Daniel P. Brown
> [office] (570-) 587-7080 Ext. 272
> [mobile] (570-) 766-8107
>

Okay, anyone interested in joining the project can subscribe to the
official mailing list (sounds fancy!) set up for the project at:
http://isawit.com/mailman/listinfo/php-vox

I'm looking forward to getting into discussions and debates, and getting
the project off the ground.



On 4/27/07, Tijnema ! <tijnema@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> On 4/27/07, Daniel Brown <parasane@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Even beyond the scope of what this small project will be, I was
> thinking
> > (for once!) that it probably will not be too horribly difficult to
> > incorporate some code into PHP itself that would allow functions such as
> > text2wav(), et al. After all, the Festival TTS engine itself, which
> we'll
> > be using as a foundation (and first floor even), is already written in
> C++,
> > so hopefully back-porting it to PHP's native C language core won't prove
> to
> > be too much of a nightmare.
> >
> > Just a thought....
>
> Is it 100% C++?
>
> that could be a serious problem, AFAIK, unless we are creating a
> shared library of course, because from that point, the language
> doesn't matter (not sure about static, but i believe it is the same)
>
> And what about other TTS engines? FreeTTS? Festival-lite?
>
> Tijnema
> >
> >
> > On 4/27/07, Daniel Brown <parasane@gmail.com> wrote:
> > >
> > >
> > > That's what I'm going to try to do, Tedd. I'll post updates
> > > throughout the day to include the new mailing list address and such
> (so
> > > we're not flooding the PHP list with stuff about a specific project)
> and
> > > other relevant information.
> > >
> > > On 4/27/07, tedd <tedd@sperling.com> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > At 3:53 PM -0400 4/26/07, Daniel Brown wrote:
> > > > > Anyone who's interested in jumping on, let me know. We may not
> > > > create a
> > > > >PHP-based TTS system, but we can do the next best thing. Besides,
> > > > >everything has to start somewhere!
> > > >
> > > > Daniel:
> > > >
> > > > But of course, you can count me in -- after all, I started this
> thread.
> > > >
> > > > If you can get the project to the point were I can upload something
> > > > to my site that can generate a sound file from text, I'll take it
> > > > from there.
> > > >
> > > > The point of all this is to provide a simple way for "civilians" to
> > > > have their sites speak.
> > > >
> > > > I certainly can do all the documentation and design/write the
> > > > software that will make it easy for the end user to use -- that's
> not
> > > > a problem. The problem is having the text-to-sound routines being
> > > > autonomous and free from requiring the user to seek assistance from
> > > > their host for installation.
> > > >
> > > > If you can get it to that, this project is doable.
> > > >
> > > > Cheers,
> > > >
> > > > tedd
> > > >
> > > > --
> > > > -------
> > > > http://sperling.com http://ancientstones.com
> http://earthstones.com
> > > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > --
> > > Daniel P. Brown
> > > [office] (570-) 587-7080 Ext. 272
> > > [mobile] (570-) 766-8107
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Daniel P. Brown
> > [office] (570-) 587-7080 Ext. 272
> > [mobile] (570-) 766-8107
> >
>



--
Daniel P. Brown
[office] (570-) 587-7080 Ext. 272
[mobile] (570-) 766-8107

On Thu, April 26, 2007 2:53 pm, Daniel Brown wrote:
> As a result of an ongoing thread, I am launching a project that
> should
> allow users on shared hosting accounts and other restricted Unix-like
> hosting systems to utilize text-to-speech synthesis, primarily the
> Festival
> TTS engine. The goal of the project will be to create a miniature,
> portable
> TTS system that a user can upload to their hosting account and use
> right
> away, without the need to compile the system or have access to
> privileged-only libraries.
>
> The ultimate aim here is for a user to be able to do the
> following, from
> start to finish:
>
> 1.) Determine a need for text-to-speech synthesis on the web.
> 2.) Locate this project.
> 3.) Download the compiled binaries and PHP source code.
> 4.) Upload the binaries and code to their existing hosting
> account.
> 5.) Set permissions on directories and configure the system as
> necessary.
> 6.) Integrate the system into their existing architecture and
> design.
> 7.) Use the system.
>
> I may set up a small mailing list for the project, as well as a
> forum to
> use with development, bugtracking, et cetera. I'm not entirely sure
> whether
> I will be hosting the entire project on one of my servers, or if I
> will use
> SourceForge for some or all of the hosting.
>
> Anyone who's interested in jumping on, let me know. We may not
> create a
> PHP-based TTS system, but we can do the next best thing. Besides,
> everything has to start somewhere!

I was thinking more along the lines of a PECL extension...

That comes with some implicit things like:
hosted at pecl.php.net
built into PHP source using 'pecl'
webhosts would install it, or not, as they see fit

It probably wouldn't really help out the person whose host refused to
install this extension in the first place.

But it would increase the number of webhosts who just provide it so
the average developer wouldn't need to dink around trying to install
binaries that might not even be allowed to execute.

--
Some people have a "gift" link here.
Know what I want?
I want you to buy a CD from some indie artist.
http://cdbaby.com/browse/from/lynch
Yeah, I get a buck. So?