Shape
Software - Installing Linux Versions
Shape Software programs are not open-source, so installing them starting from compilation is not possible. This can lead to some compatibility problems with shared libraries, but perhaps not more so than other Linux installations.
First,
move the ATOMS61.tar.gz installation file to a suitable directory and unpack
it.
From a
terminal window type
tar xzvf atoms61.tar.gz
Capitalization
of the filename may vary - you must type the exact name. Now you will have a subdirectory
ATOMS61. Change to this directory.
Now try to
run the executable or program file wxAtoms in the terminal window:
./wxAtoms
It this
runs with no error messages, you have succeeded. You can also try to run wxAtoms from the desktop by
double-clicking on the file name or icon, but if it fails to start there will
be no error messages - you must run from a terminal window to see the error
messages.
This
version is linked with versions of the shared libraries which are known to be
compatible, that is it will try to find shared library links of the type
"libXYZ.so.3" where 3 is the specific major library version.
If the
program does not start, or if you have serious error messages, you can see all
of the shared libraries which the program is trying to find with the command
ldd wxAtoms
If there
are messages indicating that some library or libraries cannot be found, there
are two options. First (preferred)
you can install the requested library version(s) on your system. There are many sources for such
libraries, especially the GNU site (www.gnu.org) - hopefully a search on the
wwweb will find the library.
Second, you can make a dummy link - if the program can't find
"libXYZ.so.3", make a link to libXYZ.so.2, the library which is
actually on your system, and call it "libXYZ.so.3". This is not guaranteed to work because
even if the program starts there may be incompatibilities between the shared
libraries and/or the compiled program code.
REQUIREMENTS
Linux
versions all use the GTK environment (Intel x86 processor).
ATOMS and SHAPE for Linux specifically require the Mesa OpenGL libraries,
including libOSMesa. This is
because they use OSMesa (off-screen rendering) for printing and raster file
output in 3D mode, and OSMesa requires the other Mesa libraries (not generic
OpenGL). If you get a message
indicating that some OpenGL-related or Mesa component is missing, try
installing Mesa V6.0.1 (www.mesa3d.org).
Some earlier versions of Mesa including V6.0 have had problems with
printing and raster files of 3D drawings (that is, the problems are in OSMesa).
ATOMS and
SHAPE are specifically linked to the version of OSMesa in the Mesa V6.0.1
distribution. If you have some
other version and not this one on your system you can make a dummy link as
decribed above. Generally,
however, OSMesa versions are compatible with specific versions of libGL and
libGLU, so links to these libraries may also need to be altered.
Having an
incompatible link between OSMesa and GL/GLU will not cripple the program
completely, it will just affect raster and printer output in the 3D display
mode.
The
wxWindows library is statically linked, so this is not required to be present
on your system.
Shape
Software
521 Hidden Valley Road
Kingsport, TN 37663 USA
Phone (423) 239-4771
Fax (423) 239-6360
or (423) 239-3003
Email:
support@shapesoftware.com
dowty2000@csi.com
3/22/04