Python audiolab install, unable to install (or find) libsndfile on Mac OSX

Question

Trying to install scikits.audiolab-0.11.0 on Mac, bit it requires libsndfile: http://www.mega-nerd.com/libsndfile/. I did install libsndfile supposedly, using libsndfile_python-1.0.0-py2.7-macosx10.5.mpkg, but the audiolab setup gives an error: libsndfile library not found. The error from the audiolab installer is below. It suggests that the location of the libsndfile can be specified in the site.cfg.

My inexperience with these type of installs are getting in the way of understanding this. Can anyone offer some advice on how to get this done?, or answer my questions below?

• If the libsndfile was installed, where would it be, so I can specify the location? Else how to install it properly?
• What is the site.cfg file? I see a site.cfg.bdist_wininst, and a site.cfg.win32 in the scikits.audiolab-0.11.0 folder that I downloaded.
• What is meant by "specified in the site.cfg file in section [sndfile]" (see error below). Does this mean that I should replace the word "sndfile" with the /path/to/libsndfile between the brackets?

By the way, I checked in my /usr/lib dir and there is no libsndfile. I take it that there is where the audiolab setup will look for the file, by default.

Thanks for reading, and any help.

Error from audiolab installer:

numpy.distutils.system_info.NotFoundError: sndfile (http://www.mega-nerd.com/libsndfile/) library not found.
Directories to search for the libraries can be specified in the
site.cfg file, in section [sndfile].

Answer 1

libsndfile_python sounds like a binding to libsndfile rather than libsndfile itself. You probably do not have libsndfile installed. It should, however, be quite easy to install if you already have the developer tools installed:

1. First, download the latest source.
2. Unpack it somewhere.
3. Open Terminal and cd to the directory you unpacked.
4. Configure it: ./configure
5. Build it: make -j8
6. Install it (requires administrative rights): sudo make -j8 install

You can then delete the directory you unpacked, but you may want to keep it for easy uninstallation.