SCISOFT DOWNLOAD ZONE FOR LINUX/UNIX MACHINES

From this page you have access to the new scisoft software distribution scheme. You'll be able to install the software that we distribute this way without any effort.
You'll just have to download and untar a of couple *.tgz files.

You can read the preamble to know the philosopy of our approach or, if you are in a hurry, go directly to the instruction section and download the packages that you want.

preamble

Distributing software in binary format can be in principle a complex task.
Not only one must take into account the different hardware architectures, but also the existence of several distributions and/or versions for a given operating system. In fact binaries are nowadays mainly dynamically linked ( and there are good reasons for that ) and usually these links are towards libraries whose version changes quickly with distribution. Starting from beginning of 2003 we have solved the problem of distribution/version dependences and we are only dependent on the architecture.

The problem has been solved in this way :
  1. An archive (let's call it "installation archive") providing all the necessary libraries is provided, so that the distribution provided ones are no more used by our software. There is an exception for libc that is too linked to the kernel to be substituted, and X stuff that is quite stable. THIS ARCHIVE DOES NOT INTERFERE with your system. All the provided libraries will live in a separate directory namely : /scisoft/ESRF_sw/linux_i386/lib for linux pcs

  2. For each packages we provide an archive ( "package archive"that untars ( for linux pcs ) to /scisoft/ESRF_sw/linux_i386/PACKAGES/PackageName The program is then run by the script /scisoft/ESRF_sw/linux_i386/PACKAGES/PackageName/WRAPPERS/scriptname the wrapping script takes care of setting LD_LIBRARY_PATH so that our provided libraries are used instead of system ones.

INSTRUCTIONS

The following list provides links to a set of ftp directories. Each directory is for a couple of architecture/versions and inside it you'll find the "installation archive" and for each package that we distribute this way the corresponding "package archive".
For the same architecture we might release in the future newer versions. For example if a new python versions will be used we'll create a new "installation archive" that will go inside a new architecture/versions directory. Packages archive have to be used with the corresponding "installation archive"
  1. scisoft_ESRF_sw_00_linux_i386
As root, cd to /, then untar the archives, both the installation and package ones, and you are done. You are now able to call the wrapper script.

COPYRIGHTS

All the sources are provided for both installation and packages directories. If you are working for an academic organisation or a non profit one, you are allowed to use all the provided software for free. However you should in any case read the COPYRIGHT file that is found in /scisoft/ESRF_sw/linux_i386/ and see that
  1. Qt X11 libraries have a special licence www.trolltech.com
  2. pymol asks for financial support www.pymol.com
  3. Software in PACKAGES directories is written by us and might have either a GNU licence or an ESRF one. If you are using our software for commercial application please contact us