Downloading StarLogo
StarLogo won't run on my Mac. What should I do?
Make sure that you have the latest version of Apple's Macintosh
runtime Java (2.2). Go to http://www.apple.com/java/
and download "MRJ 2.2 Installer" and install Java on your machine.
StarLogo still won't run on my machine. What should I do?
Send email to bug-starlogo@media.mit.edu
and provide details of your configuration and what you've tried to do
to make it work.
I've been having trouble downloading StarLogo from your web
site. What should I do?
You should try using our ftp site if you have been having trouble downloading
from our website. You can ftp to chelona.media.mit.edu The username
is sldist and the password (case sensitive) is MrSabb StarLogo is in
/pub/starlogo.
Running Projects
Why doesn't project X from my old MacStarLogo run
anymore?
StarLogo is similar in many ways to
MacStarLogo. However, it stores projects in its own
unique format. In addition, there are language
differences between StarLogo and MacStarLogo that prevent
projects from being saved in one program and run by the
other. If you would like to translate a MacStarLogo
project for use in StarLogo, open it in StarLogo (or a text
editor). Some changes will be necessary before it will
run. Consult the StarLogo documentation to find out more
about how to create projects in StarLogo.
When I try to run projects from the StarLogo beta 2 release, I get
a lot of errors. What should I do?
You can ignore any errors that appear when you load projects from
the beta 2 release. Your projects should still run. Unfortunately,
any information about the turtles, patches, or observer world will be
missing when you open the project in StarLogo 1.1. We are sorry
about this. If you resave the project in StarLogo 1.1 with all
of the information you want, then that information will always be present
when you open your project in StarLogo 1.1.
How can I learn more about how to use StarLogo?
StarLogo comes with sample projects and documentation with the
download. If you are used to using MacStarLogo, remember that
you will need to put turtle commands in the turtle window and observer
commands in the observer window when you are using StarLogo. You
can also check out our website at http://www.media.mit.edu/starlogo
I'm looking for a sample project that has sounds in it. Where can
I find one?
The sample project Firefly, which is located in the Sample Projects
folder of the StarLogo download, has sounds in it. However, the
implementation of sound in Java on some computers is non-standard, and
so our project might not work as advertised.
I'm trying to figure out the Import Picture... menu
item/command. Can you tell me more about how it works?
In order for Import Picture... to work, you need to have a
current version of QuickTime (QuickTime for Java) installed on
your computer. (The menu item will not be displayed if
QuickTime is not found.) You can download QuickTime from http://www.apple.com/quicktim/download. Import
Picture... will load pictures of many types (such as GIF, JPEG,
PICT, and others) onto the Graphics Canvas. The picture's
colors will be transferred into the patches' colors. (Warning: Do not
load very large pictures into StarLogo, or it will run out of memory.)
Macintosh Information
I have a Macintosh. Which version should I use?
StarLogo requires Mac OS 8.1 or higher, while MacStarLogo will
run on a Mac IIfx or better running Mac OS 7.5 or higher and with at
least 256 colors. The features of the two programs are slightly
different, so you might want to try StarLogo before making a final
decision. For more information, see the ReadMe.txt file that comes
with the StarLogo download and is available at http://www.media.mit.edu/starlogo/documentation/readme.txt
I still want to use MacStarLogo. Where can I find information
on it?
The MacStarLogo website has moved to http://www.media.mit.edu/macstarlogo
Other Questions
I've read about several other StarLogo projects from Mitchel Resnick's
book Turtles, Termites, and Traffic Jams but I can't get any
of the code in his book to run in StarLogo. What should I do?
If you are planning on using code from Professor Resnick's book, it
will require several modifications in order to run under StarLogo.
In particular, you will need to separate his procedures into separate
observer and turtle procedures, in much the same way as you would have
to if you were porting a project from MacStarLogo to StarLogo. Also,
the daemons (demons) in Professor Resnick's book no longer exist; they
have been replaced by forever buttons. Consult the StarLogo documentation
to find out more about how to create projects in StarLogo.
Known Bugs
StarLogo has been known to freeze if a project is left running and
your screensaver comes on. If you want to run a project for an extended
period of time, it would be safest if you turned your screensaver off
first.