Installing software

a13x06 · 02-20-2010, 03:14 PM

I am trying to install GMT (http://gmt.soest.hawaii.edu/) but this is the first thing I have ever tryed to install in Ubuntu (I only got it today). I have downloaded the 2 files that it requires (install_GMT and GMTparam.txt).

It says I can use GMTparam.txt as an argument, what does this meen?

Any help would be appreciated!!

Alex

colucix · 02-20-2010, 03:48 PM

Hi Alex,
read twice the installation instructions in the INSTALL_FORM page: they should appear straightforward after a while. If you have already filled the form and downloaded the resulting parameter file, you have to open a terminal and launch the installer, passing the name of the parameter file as an argument:

Code:

sh install_gmt GMTparam.txt

as you can see, it simply means you have to launch a command (install_gmt) with an argument (GMTparam.txt). The installer will read the content of the parameter file, then it will configure the installation steps based on the specified requirements and will give instructions to complete the installation itself.

Good luck!

Alex

a13x06 · 02-20-2010, 03:54 PM

Thanks for you help but I must still be doing something wrong...

Code:

alex@ubuntu:~$ sh install_gmt GMTparam.txt
sh: Can't open install_gmt

Cheers,

Alex

Refractor · 02-20-2010, 03:58 PM

You could try giving install_gmt executable permissions via the command chmod a+x install_gmt and then run it like this

Code:

 install_gmt GMTparam.txt

This assumes isnstall_gmt and GMTparam.txt are located in your current directory.

a13x06 · 02-20-2010, 04:02 PM

I'm very sorry but I'm not sure I understand your last post

Code:

alex@ubuntu:~$ chmod a+x install_gmt
chmod: cannot access `install_gmt': No such file or directory

Thats what I get, I'm guessing thats bad?

Cheers,

Alex

repo · 02-20-2010, 04:14 PM

Make sure you are in the same directory as the directory containing the file install_gmt

a13x06 · 02-20-2010, 04:19 PM

How do I know which directory I'm in?

knudfl · 02-20-2010, 04:21 PM

May be get familiar with the command 'pwd'.

'pwd' will show your location.
Typing 'chmod a+x install_gmt' without 'cd' to its
directory won't work.

When you open the terminal, your location is usually
/home/<username>/ .
So the the first command is always :
cd <path-to-required-location>/ ,
e.g. cd Desktop/<GMT>/
.....

Refractor · 02-20-2010, 04:21 PM

In your terminal "alex@ubuntu:~$" means this:
alex - your username
ubuntu - the hostname ( your PC's name)
~ - this is your location. ~ means your home directory, or /home/<username>; in your case that would be /home/alex
The error you're getting means that the file is not in your home directory. It's not bad, it just means that you have to locate it.
The command pwd gives your current location, and the command ls gives the files and directories in your current location.
I presume you are using Firefox. In that case your downloaded files will be in ~/Downloads or in ~/Download.
You can check if one of those exists with ls. If you see Download/ or Downloads/ i guess the files will be there.
To change your current location, use the cd command.

Code:

 cd Download

or

Code:

 cd Downloads

. When you enter the directory type ls to view its contents. If you see install_gmt and GMTparam.txt somewhere on the lines then that is the directory you have to be in. Now try one of the solutions you were given and post back the results

EDIT:

You can search for the file with the command

Code:

find -name "install_gmt"

.

a13x06 · 02-20-2010, 04:50 PM

I seem to be getting close but not quite there yet...

Code:

alex@ubuntu:~$ pwd
/home/alex
alex@ubuntu:~$ cd Desktop
alex@ubuntu:~/Desktop$ chmod a+x install_gmt
alex@ubuntu:~/Desktop$ install_gmt GMTparam.txt
install_gmt: command not found

What am I doing wrong here? Both files are on the desktop.

Thanks,

Alex

repo · 02-20-2010, 04:52 PM

If you are in the same directory as the file you need to use

Code:

./install_gmt GMTparam.txt

Since install_gmt isn't in your path

a13x06 · 02-21-2010, 01:36 AM

No I get this

Code:

alex@ubuntu:~/Desktop$ ./install_gmt GMTparam.txt
+++ Will expand *.bz2 files made with bzip2 +++
install_gmt: No path for netcdf provided - abort
install_gmt: netcdf not in /usr/local, /usr/local/netcdf, or /sw
alex@ubuntu:~/Desktop$

What am I doing wrong? Is installing software always this hard?

Cheers,

Alex

colucix · 02-21-2010, 03:00 AM

Alex, you are a step ahead. Now the set-up has started, but it complains about the missing NetCDF libraries. Maybe you selected the wrong option in the install form:

Code:

o netCDF 3.6.x is already installed
o Please get and install the latest netCDF 3.6.x
o I already have the netcdf.tar.Z archive, just install it for me

If you haven't got the NetCDF already installed, you have to select the second option. Anyway, instead of submit the form again, you can manually edit the parameter file and change the following lines to:

Code:

#---------------------------------------------
#	NETCDF SECTION
#---------------------------------------------
netcdf_ftp=y
netcdf_install=y

In this way the GMT installer will download and install the NetCDF libraries for you. In alternative you can previously install NetCDF using the Ubuntu package manager (e.g. synaptic), then run the installer again leaving the param file untouched. Just be sure to install NetCDF 3.6.3, not the version 4.0, that maybe is still not supported by GMT.

Quote:

What am I doing wrong? Is installing software always this hard?

Nope!

Actually the GMT software has a very peculiar installation method. They try to help users with the automated installation, but users should have at least a little knowledge of the matter. Furthermore, take in mind that GMT is a command-line tool.

This is not to discourage you. On the contrary! I'd really appreciate if you don't give up and succeed in the installation. It's not so hard at the point you just arrived, trust me.

knudfl · 02-21-2010, 05:32 AM

*

sudo apt-get install libnetcdf-dev
.. will provide "netcdf".

( Or use the Package Manager = Synaptic.)
.....

a13x06 · 02-21-2010, 10:26 AM

Thanks for all the help guys I think it installed, it produced a load of .bzip2 files on my desktop...
This is what the end of a long piece of code said:

Code:

Completed all animations
GMT installation complete. Remember to set these:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
For csh or tcsh users:
setenv NETCDFHOME /home/alex/Desktop/netcdf-3.6.3
set path=(/home/alex/Desktop/GMT4.5.2/bin $path)

For sh or bash users:
export NETCDFHOME=/home/alex/Desktop/netcdf-3.6.3
export PATH=/home/alex/Desktop/GMT4.5.2/bin:$PATH

Note: if you installed netCDF as a shared library you may have to add
the path to this library to LD_LIBRARY_PATH or place the library in a
standard system path [see information on shared library for your OS].

What is it I have to set?

What are these library things?

How do you actually launch programs like this when they are installed?

Sorry again for my relentless questions but I am totally new to this and it seems to be a very steep learning curve!!!

Thanks again,

Alex