a flexible platform for language processing experiments
version 2.94

Welcome to the home of Linger, a software package for performing reading, listening, and other sentence processing experiments. Linger was primarily designed for masked, self-paced reading experiments. However, the code is flexible and can be adapted to support many other types of experiments.

Because Linger is written in Tcl/Tk, it can run on Unix, Windows, or Macintosh systems. Linger is also able to handle non-English text and has been used to conduct experiments in Chinese, Japanese, and other languages.

The Linger package is actually composed of four main programs: Linger, Lingalyzer, Lingrapher, and Subjector. Linger runs the experiments, Lingalyzer analyzes the data, and Lingrapher can be used to quickly generate graphs of averaged reading-time data. The Subjector program is a general purpose application for maintaining a database of subjects and the experiments they have performed.

Documentation

Installing Linger

Then you will need to install Tcl/Tk as follows...

Linux

• Place the linger.tgz file in your home directory or other favorite location and unpack it with:
  tar xvzf linger.tgz
• Linux should come with Tcl/Tk installed. If so, you should have a program called /usr/bin/wish. If you don't have wish, you may need to download the latest tcl RPM package from RPM Find.
• To run Linger, just cd to the Linger directory and run:
  linger.tcl

• Place the linger.tgz file on the Desktop or in your favorite directory and unpack it using WinZip.
• Next you must install Tcl/Tk. It can be obtained from the ActiveState web site. Just click on Download, then Next, and then choose the latest Windows version. Should be easy to install.
• Once Tcl/Tk is installed, open the Linger folder. The linger.tcl file should now have a feather icon. Double click it to run Linger.

• Stuffit Expander will unpack the linger.tgz file.
• Go here to download Tcl/Tk Aqua.
• Once that is installed, go to the Linger directory and double click the Linger.sit file. This will create an AppleScript file called Linger.
• Double click that file to run Linger. Note that the Linger window may not pop to the front when it starts.

• Stuffit Expander will unpack the linger.tgz file.
• Click here to download the Tcl/Tk installer.
• Run the installer. This should create an "Applications/Tcl/Tk Folder 8.3.5" folder.
• Inside that is a program called "Drag & Drop Tclets". Open the Linger folder, drag the linger.tcl file, and drop it on the "Drag & Drop Tclets" icon. If it does not let you drop linger.tcl, it is being picky about file types. Try renaming linger.tcl to linger.txt. Then rename it back to linger.tcl. Drop it again.
• The first time you do this, you will be asked to choose a Wish stub to clone. Select the "Wish" application that is in the same directory as "Drag & Drop Tclets".
• Then you must choose the name of the application that you want to produce, call it Linger and place it in the Linger directory.
• Now you can double click this new application to run it.

Read the documentation for more information on installing and using Linger and its friends.