3. Installation

3.1. Package description
 3.1.1. Customized options
 3.1.2. Search directories
 3.1.3. PGPLOT
3.2. Installation guide
 3.2.1. Compiling
 3.2.2. Installation
 3.2.3. Configuration

3.1. Package description

RESTRAX is installed from the compiled package by the script Install (see the installation guide), which copies all necessary files to a specified target directory. In following we assume this is /usr/local/restrax and call it a root directory. RESTRAX can be installed locally or system-wide. In the latter case, there should be a link made from the start script to a directory listed in the $PATH variable so that you can call it simply by typing restrax from your terminal window, e.g.

ln -sf /usr/local/restrax/start /usr/local/bin/restrax

Alternatively, you can use an alias:

alias restrax /usr/local/restrax/start

Actually, there are two starting scripts:

3.1.1. Customized options

Each TAS instrument should have a subdirectory under the installation root with corresponding configuration files, lookup tables etc. The starting script sets the search path for configurations to the selected instrument. There is the file restrax.ini in each of these directories, where you can specify some start-up options — load a configuration or parameter file, select the EXCI module or start a job file (see example). As usual in RESTRAX, a restrax.ini file in the working directory (./) will have priority over the others. You can use such a local copy of restrax.ini to customize the start-up behaviour. Moreover, you can make a copy of the start script and modify it with respect to your needs. In such a way, you would have full control over command line options, initial menus etc.

3.1.2. Search directories

Configuration files (*.cfg, *.res, lookup tables, EXCI module parameters, restrax.ini file, etc.) are searched in several directories in the following order:

  1. current directory (./)
  2. directory selected at the start-up menu (actually passed to RESTRAX as a command line option -dir=). It can be also modified by the command CPATH.
  3. The ./setup subdirectory of the installation root.

Data files are searched in the directory specified at the program start-up (initially set to a value in the restrax.ini file, DATAPATH=pathname statement). This path can be changed any time by the command PATH.

EXCI modules are placed in the ./lib subdirectory of the installation root. Source files to the EXCI modules can be found in the subdirectory ./exci. The search order depends on the sequence in LD_LIBRARY_PATH environment variable. For default RESTRAX installation, this variable defines following search order:

  1. current directory (./)
  2. ./lib
  3. <installation root>/lib
  4. system directories like /usr/lib, /lib etc.

3.1.3. PGPLOT

RESTRAX needs the PGPLOT library. It is either linked with the shared version or with the archive library. Even in the latter case, you would need some PGPLOT files (graphics servers, fonts) to get graphical output from RESTRAX. The starting script tries to find them in several directories, including any one specified as $PGPLOT_DIR variable or /usr/local/pgplot. To force RESTRAX to use the library from a particular directory, either set it as the $PGPLOT_DIR variable, or edit the restrax_run script and set the variable $PG.