install taskswitching on mac

[abidi-wq]

Hello,

I want to install the protocol on mac, do you have a document with the steps to follow. I followed the instructions on the site but I did not manage to install homebrew to install git, when i paste the code on the terminal, it shows me illegal variable name.

Best regards,
Malek

[a-hurst]

Hi Malek,

Is it an Apple Silicon Mac or an Intel Mac? Also, what version of macOS is it running?

If it's an Intel Mac you don't actually need to install Brew anymore: just install Python from Python.org and then install klibs according to these instructions: https://github.com/a-hurst/klibs/releases/tag/0.7.5a9

If it's an Apple Silicon Mac, you'll still need to install Brew and then run brew install sdl2 sdl2_ttf sdl2_mixer before you can run KLibs. You'll also need to run pip uninstall pysdl2-dll after Installing KLibs.

Hope that helps! If you still get errors, just copy-paste the error text here and I'll help if I can.

Cheers,

• Austin

[abidi-wq]

Hi Austin,

Many thanks for your rapid response.

It's a Macbook pro 2,8 GHz Intel Core i7.

I tried to install klibs according to the instructions but when i run the command "python -m pip install https://github.com/a-hurst/klibs/releases/latest/download/klibs.tar.gz" , It display an error message "cannot excute a binary file". I tried with python3.6 and python 3.10

Best,
Malek

[a-hurst]

Hi Malek,

Does Python itself work on the Mac (e.g. just opening an interactive Python prompt with python at the terminal)? What about installing a different package with pip (e.g. python -m pip install numpy)? The error you're getting suggests your system is having trouble with pip or Python itself. Also, what does the terminal print when you run the command which python? If the system is using a Python version from Conda or Brew or something, that might be responsible for something like this.

Cheers,

• Austin

[abidi-wq]

Hi Austin,

I think the system have trouble with python because when I run which python and python -m pip install numpy, it display an error message : Python 3.10.4 (v3.10.4:9d38120e33, Mar 23 2022, 17:29:05) [Clang 13.0.0 (clang-1300.0.29.30)] on darwin
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license()" for more information.

which python
SyntaxError: invalid syntax

python -m pip install numpy
SyntaxError: invalid syntax

which version should i install, I tried with 3.6 and 3.10 and I have the same problem with both?

Thanks,
Malek

[abidi-wq]

Hello Austin,

I have a little question please. When I run endogenous and exogenous condition separately, I didn't see the difference between both conditions; the auditory alerting signal is the same (in both condition, there is an increase in noise volume ). Can you explain me please the difference.

Many thanks,
Malek

[abidi-wq]

Hello Austin,

I'm sorry, but I was wondering if you saw my message.

Best regards,
Malek

[a-hurst]

Hi Malek,

Sorry for the slow reply, been busy with the end of the semester! I'm assuming by your last two messages that you figured out the numpy installation issue (if not: you're supposed to run that command in a regular terminal, not an interactive Python session), so the remaining issue is the difference between cue conditions. If you don't have a lot of experience working with Python or the terminal, you might want to find a friend or lab member with more programming background to help you sort stuff like that out.

I just tested the code on my end and the endo condition works as expected, with no increase in volume (only a small perceptible change in the noise). How are you running the endo condition? It should be with klibs run [screen_size] -c endo, replacing [screen_size] with whatever the diagonal size of the screen is in inches (e.g. klibs run 24 -c endo for a 24" iMac). You can also verify that you're running the endo version by running klibs export to export data from the task and checking the signal_type column of the resulting data files to make sure it actually says "endo"`.

[abidi-wq]

Hi Austin,

Many thanks for your response. I checked the results file and I have the condition endo.

best regards,
Malek

[a-hurst]

@abidi-wq If you download a fresh copy of the experiment program, does the problem persist? I downloaded a fresh copy of the task on my own machine and there was no increase in volume during the end condition (only the noise switching from mono to stereo), so if it's behaving differently on your machine I'm not sure what's going on. Does this happen on all the computers you've tested the task on or just one?

[abidi-wq]

Hi Austin,
I tested the protocol on another machine and it works (no increase in volume during endo condition).
Many thanks
Malek