aul 0.1.2
A package to export NetLogo model runs in GIF or MP4 formats
Requires Python: >=3.6

# aul

Export [NetLogo](https://ccl.northwestern.edu/netlogo/) model runs as GIF or MP4 using Python.

## Purpose
The purpose of this project is to provide a simple and reliable way of capturing/exporting NetLogo model runs in moving image file formats.
Currently, MP4 and GIF are supported. These formats are suitable for sharing on social media or instant messager, or embedding in presentations or
documents.

## Installation

This library was tested on Python 3.6. Requirements are:
* [pyNetLogo](http://pynetlogo.readthedocs.io/en/latest/)
* [imageio](http://imageio.github.io/)
* [imageio-ffmpeg](https://github.com/imageio/imageio-ffmpeg) (if you want MP4 export)

These packages also have their own requirements, notably [pyNetLogo's jpype dependency](https://pynetlogo.readthedocs.io/en/latest/install.html).

Install using:

```
pip install aul
```

## Usage

The two main functions in the package are `export_gif(...)` and `export_mp4(...)`. Both can take a variety of arguments, but also have useful default behavior. 
Two parameters are required: the NetLogo model name (must be in same folder as Python file), and the ticks to be exported. The generated file will be saved to
the same folder as the model.

### Terminology

The terms *tick* and *frame* may be confusing. I use the term *tick* to refer to a single iteration step in the NetLogo model. Ticks are unique and sequentially numbered.
*Frames* are individual images inside a GIF or MP4 (both of which are series of images). You can specify which ticks become frames with the `ticks` argument.

### Basics

Export first 30 ticks of NetLogo run to GIF...

```py
import aul

aul.export_gif('Fire.nlogo', 30)

```

or MP4.

```py
import aul

aul.export_mp4('Fire.nlogo', 30)

```

### Ticks

You can specify ticks (see Terminology) in four ways - as an integer (see Basics), as a two- or three-element list of Python `range()` parameters, or as an explicit list of ticks:

```py
import aul

#ticks 0 to 24
aul.export_gif('Fire.nlogo', [0,25])

```

if you don't want every tick:

```py
import aul

#every tenth tick from 0 to 190
aul.export_gif('Fire.nlogo', [0,200,10])

```

for specific ticks:

```py
import aul

#specific ticks only
aul.export_gif('Fire.nlogo', [0,1,2,3,4,5,7,8,9,12,22])

```

### General Arguments
NetLogo runs will normally be instantiated with the input parameter values saved in the NetLogo model's sliders, switches, etc.
You can override these values directly from Python by passing a dictionary of keys (NetLogo global variable name) and values to `params`:

```py
import aul

fire_params = {
    "density":90,
    "probability-of-spread":60
}

aul.export_gif('Fire Simple Extension 1.nlogo', 45, params = fire_params)

```

By default, the generated file will have the same pixel dimensions as the NetLogo world. You can adjust this with `scale`:

```py
import aul

#GIF file will be twice as large as NetLogo world
aul.export_gif('Fire.nlogo', 45, scale = 2.0)

```

You can also fade the last few frames of the run to black (to emphasize it is terminating) with `fade`:

```py
import aul

#GIF will fade to black over last 30% of runtime
aul.export_gif('Fire.nlogo', 45, fade = 0.3)

```

You can set the name of the output file with `name`. 
This is useful if you to export multiple runs (e.g. with different random seeds) through a loop.

```py
import aul

#GIF will be saved as "custom-fire.gif"
aul.export_gif('Fire.nlogo', 45, name = "custom-fire")

```

Per NetLogo conventions, the initialization and iteration procedures are expected to be named *setup* and *go*. Override these
defaults with the `setup` and `go` parameters. 

```py
import aul

#Some custom model with unconventional procedure names
aul.export_gif('Custom.nlogo', 45, setup='init', go='run')

```

Adjust the playback speed of the output file with `fps` (frames per second).

```py
import aul

#Save for playback at 8 frames per second
aul.export_gif('Fire.nlogo', 45, fps = 8)

```

### GIF-specific Arguments

You can reduce GIF file size by settings `subrectangles = True`.

```py
import aul

#compress file
aul.export_gif('Fire.nlogo', 45, subrectangles = True)

```

You can override the `fps` parameter and specify frame durations instead with `duration`. This can be either as a global value
(time per frame), or as a specific value for each individual frame.

```py
import aul

#show first 15 frames in Fibonacci time
aul.export_gif('Fibonacci.nlogo', 15, duration = [1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, 377, 610])

```

### MP4-specific Arguments

You can reduce MP4 file size with the `quality` argument. Range from 0 to 10, 10 being default and best quality.

```py
import aul

#compress file
aul.export_mp4('Fire.nlogo', 45, quality = 3)

```

## Contact
Please get in touch if you have questions or suggestions, either through an issue or on: 
* Twitter - [@steipatr](https://twitter.com/steipatr)