For those with older systems, here are a few details for Mac OS X users based on my experience installing SCHED on a Mac iBook G4 system in Dec 2003 with OS X version 10.3 (Panther). Note that, for OSX 10.5, the installation was somewhat smoother with the main issue being a need to switch from g77 to gfortran. CERNLIB, Dis45, and TDR on MacOS X Preparation: lapack. To build cernlib from the source files you need to install, the imake command, the motif and the compatibility libraries. $ su # apt-get update # apt-get install imake openMotif-devel Libcompat # apt-get clean If you just want to use precompiled binary packages, go directly to Installation. $ fink configure. In which you must select the use of the 'unstable' branch of packages in order to get access to numpy, etc. This is not sketchy in the way that it sounds! Then run $ fink selfupdate. Which may take a LONG time to complete. Then run $ fink index $ fink scanpackages $ fink install scipy-py26 $ fink install matplotlib-py26 $ fink. The installation scripts coming with cernlib-2005-all.tgz are now more structured and a script cernlibenv was added. This may be used in the directory which contains cernlibs 'tar.gz' files if one has to reinstall some parts of cernlib, see cernlib install: 'Installing Individual packages'. Again follow this procedure. News 2020-10-02: fink-0.45.2 released The Fink Project has released fink-0.45.2. This release provides support for all macOS releases up to and including 10.15.7. Most importantly, it changes the default install path location to /opt/sw for all supported macOS releases. This release also fixes bootstrapping problems when installing on macOS 10.15 with Xcode12.
This MIDAS version has been compiled on 10.6.8, and just untarred on 10.8.
It works, but you will need some older libraries to go with it, besidesthe XMotif libraries which come free from fink.
The libXm.2.dylib which will unpack in libXm/lib must be placed in /sw/lib/
The other libraries must be placed in /sw/lib/gcc4.4/lib
Needless to say, you also will need gfortran and Xcode command line toolinstalled.
Another important thing is that you will have to download the source file forthe calibration files
(MIND to get the correct version), and follow the installation instructions.
If you use the darwin.calib.tar.gz, MIDAS will notbe able to read the tbl files, as they come from an older version.
NEW as of 2014-10-15
MIDAS seems to compile on Mavericks IF:you install gcc-4 from Fink
you install Motif from Fink
set: MOTIF_LIBPATH=-L/sw/lib in $MIDASHOME/$MIDVERS/local/make_options.
The last two steps are necessary to have a working GUI.
Mac OS X hints a lot ofinformation!!
Darwindocumentation
How to set-upyour Mac
Documentation for Tiger, with links to older systems.
If you plan to install sciosoft or IRAF on your computer, use tcsh or csh asdefault shell, NOT bash.
Documentation for Tiger, with links to older systems.
If you plan to install sciosoft or IRAF on your computer, use tcsh or csh asdefault shell, NOT bash.
How to set-upyour Mac
Documentation for Leopard.
If you plan to install sciosoft or IRAF on your computer, install Leopard withcase insensitive option and use tcsh or csh asdefault shell, NOT bash.
Documentation for Leopard.
If you plan to install sciosoft or IRAF on your computer, install Leopard withcase insensitive option and use tcsh or csh asdefault shell, NOT bash.
How to have the good version of xv and
how to make it work on the Mac. Tested ok for 10.8.5, also fixedthe 'black grabbed window' issue.
how to make it work on the Mac. Tested ok for 10.8.5, also fixedthe 'black grabbed window' issue.
TeX survival bits for figures and captions.
CERNLIB package
g77 and other useful astro bites for the Mac
GALFIThome page (Peng et al., ApJ, 124, 266, 2002),
Jaguar, Panther, Tiger, Leopard (PPC Macs and Intels)
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedy.
Also very useful site for shared web pages
Also very useful site for shared web pages
How to reset aPower Management Unit (PMU)
Macs and iPods disassembly guides
Gasgano 1.5.1 for Mac OS X.
For the documentation, please look here
For newer Macs, just download the software from the ESO web page;For the documentation, please look here
as gasganois a java based applications, the only thing it needs to work is an up-to-date
java installation (checked and verified on 10.4.x, 10.5.x and 10.6.8).
If you are planning to use any ESO pipeline, gasgano and esorexwill come in the same package.
FAQs & c.: always comehandy
PDF files created by other applications are sometimes very heavy. Toreduce them to a more civilized size:
- Open the file in Preview
- File > Save As
- Reduce File Size as the Quartz Filter Option* and click Save.
Nota bene: if you do not set any filter, the quality of the output filewill be quite poor. To create a custom filter, follow thislink
Here you can find an handy list of the Xterm Colors.
Here thereis the instruction how to enable/disable ftp server and a good list of follow up.
A good fix is given here andhere
Watch out for the mistaken lower case l in the first link.
Yes, it's named XDarwin and it can be downloaded
for free at XDarwin officialwebsite
Hower be aware that, starting with 10.3 (Panther), Apple
X11 is fully integrated with Mac OS, so you might
want to think about before adding another X window system
Apple now has released what seems to be a better approach: it is called
Darwinports and it's available for free from the Apple web site
Ok, in this case the only option is to try the Darwin ports (see above), orto
browse the network for the applications you need. To my knowledge Tex and
emacsare reasonably easy to find, e-mail me for other stand-alone applications
you'd like listed here.
How can I connect on VPN?
Either you use the built-in VPN connection
window within the Internet connect application
or, if this doesn't work, you might need to use
the CISCO VPN client.
Instructions how to use it and software downloading
available here
Watch out:if you have OS 10.4.x and you are connecting from a modem, you
might get an 'Error 51', claiming that VPN cannot detect any valid IP
to connect, even if you are already connected to the net.
This is a known bug in 10.4.x and the simplest workaround so far is:
- quit VPN;
- from terminal type: sudo SystemStarterrestart CiscoVPN
this will restart the VPN kernel
- restart VPN.
Either you use the built-in VPN connection
window within the Internet connect application
or, if this doesn't work, you might need to use
the CISCO VPN client.
Instructions how to use it and software downloading
available here
Watch out:if you have OS 10.4.x and you are connecting from a modem, you
might get an 'Error 51', claiming that VPN cannot detect any valid IP
to connect, even if you are already connected to the net.
This is a known bug in 10.4.x and the simplest workaround so far is:
- quit VPN;
- from terminal type: sudo SystemStarterrestart CiscoVPN
this will restart the VPN kernel
- restart VPN.
Does Skycat works on Mac?
Not yet and it never will, if you have OS X up to 10.3.9; however jsky,
the java equivalent does. In case you don't know the
java graphic libraries
needed by jsky up to version 2.0 must go in the directory:
System/Library/Frameworks/JavaVM.framework/Versions/1.4.1/Home/lib/ext
Newer OS versions carry everything with them.
Starting with Tiger, Skycat works well on Mac and you don't need to jskyany longer.
The STARLINK team had managed to have the Gaia software running standalone
Not yet and it never will, if you have OS X up to 10.3.9; however jsky,
the java equivalent does. In case you don't know the
java graphic libraries
needed by jsky up to version 2.0 must go in the directory:
System/Library/Frameworks/JavaVM.framework/Versions/1.4.1/Home/lib/ext
Newer OS versions carry everything with them.
Starting with Tiger, Skycat works well on Mac and you don't need to jskyany longer.
The STARLINK team had managed to have the Gaia software running standalone
on the OS X, from 10.2 onward. It doesn't visualize MEF files (at least Idid not manage
to), but otherwise it has all the functionalities of the SkyCatGaia.
Finally, if you are a OSX 10.4.x user, you *can* have a working Skycat, byclicking here
Do ESO released pipelines work on Mac?
I tested this on 10.4.x ONLY and the answer is yes, at least for the FORSesand CRIRES pipeline.
Go here and download the file you want.Unpack it and get into the main directory; then, from an xtermjust type:
./install_pipeline
and follow the instructions.
The first time you run it, the standard installation will alsoinstall for you gasgano and esorex;
for additional pipelines onlythe related instrument software should be installed (I hope).
If you want more details....READ the manuals.
May 2012: the new Macs (64 bits, 10.6.8 and onward, java 1.6) will behave in a peculiar way
if you try to compile the pipeline under csh (c shell).
To make it work (tested on SINFONI only):
bash
export JAVA_HOME=/System/Library/Frameworks/JavaVM.framework/Versions/CurrentJDK/Home
./install pipeline
follow the instructions at the end of the installation to set
properly the gasgano/esorex paths and the environment variables
(setenv in csh, export in bash).
Does IDL works on Mac?
Yes, you can use the ESO floating license for Linux.
To do so, download the last IDL (6.0) version
from the CREASO
web site, then place in your .cshrc (or .bashrc)
file the line:
setenv LM_LICENSE_FILE1995@lserv1:1995@lserv2:1995@lserv3
which are the Garching servers running the license
(otherwise you have to place you own nameserver)
Hint for ESO people: if the name doesn't work, use the IP
address (not on web for obvious reasons).
Finally, if you are a OSX 10.4.x user, you *can* have a working Skycat, byclicking here
Do ESO released pipelines work on Mac?
I tested this on 10.4.x ONLY and the answer is yes, at least for the FORSesand CRIRES pipeline.
Go here and download the file you want.Unpack it and get into the main directory; then, from an xtermjust type:
./install_pipeline
and follow the instructions.
The first time you run it, the standard installation will alsoinstall for you gasgano and esorex;
for additional pipelines onlythe related instrument software should be installed (I hope).
If you want more details....READ the manuals.
May 2012: the new Macs (64 bits, 10.6.8 and onward, java 1.6) will behave in a peculiar way
if you try to compile the pipeline under csh (c shell).
To make it work (tested on SINFONI only):
bash
export JAVA_HOME=/System/Library/Frameworks/JavaVM.framework/Versions/CurrentJDK/Home
./install pipeline
follow the instructions at the end of the installation to set
properly the gasgano/esorex paths and the environment variables
(setenv in csh, export in bash).
Does IDL works on Mac?
Yes, you can use the ESO floating license for Linux.
To do so, download the last IDL (6.0) version
from the CREASO
web site, then place in your .cshrc (or .bashrc)
file the line:
setenv LM_LICENSE_FILE1995@lserv1:1995@lserv2:1995@lserv3
which are the Garching servers running the license
(otherwise you have to place you own nameserver)
Hint for ESO people: if the name doesn't work, use the IP
address (not on web for obvious reasons).
Newer (6.2 and onward) versions of IDL have their own license
file in the installation directory; a cleaner way is to set-up the
license machine there.
Does xephem works on Mac?
Yes, just download it from Apple web site (from Mac OS 10.2.1 onward)
Yes, just download it from Apple web site (from Mac OS 10.2.1 onward)
Does p2pp
works on Mac?
Yes, it does. To make it work, edit
the p2pp file in P2PP$HOME/bin and write the line:
# Set system-dependant options
#----------------------------------------
OS=Darwin
From p2pp v2.9 onward just install the software: the OS X is recognized atonce.
Yes, it does. To make it work, edit
the p2pp file in P2PP$HOME/bin and write the line:
# Set system-dependant options
#----------------------------------------
OS=Darwin
From p2pp v2.9 onward just install the software: the OS X is recognized atonce.
Does the NACOjnps software work on my Mac?
Yes, it does. To make it work, you have to manually type
the directory path of your java installation, otherwise the
software will look in the wrong one.
Yes, it does. To make it work, you have to manually type
the directory path of your java installation, otherwise the
software will look in the wrong one.
Does FIMS software work on my Mac?
In principle yes. Except that you will need to fool around themake_install script;
since this is not officially supported byESO no further hints are given.
Same applies for FPOSS.
No clue how VMMPS will behave; if you managed, please let me know.
In principle yes. Except that you will need to fool around themake_install script;
since this is not officially supported byESO no further hints are given.
Same applies for FPOSS.
No clue how VMMPS will behave; if you managed, please let me know.
What other science software can work onMac?
Basically most of the commonly used packages
work without problems on MacOSX.
For a complete list of which I am aware so far,
please refer to the scisoftcollection for MacOSX.
Just as additional info, MIDAS compiles from source code
without problems on the Mac, including the GUIs.
This holds also for the 64bit version, provided you download the latest 2011 version.
WARNING! If you plan to use scisoft on Leopard, please make sure thatyou have installed
Leopard with case insensitive option, otherwisethe scisoft set-up paths will be screwed up
(may be fixed in laterversions, check on scisoft website).
If you don't care about the scisoft collection and are an IRAF fan,
Basically most of the commonly used packages
work without problems on MacOSX.
For a complete list of which I am aware so far,
please refer to the scisoftcollection for MacOSX.
Just as additional info, MIDAS compiles from source code
without problems on the Mac, including the GUIs.
This holds also for the 64bit version, provided you download the latest 2011 version.
WARNING! If you plan to use scisoft on Leopard, please make sure thatyou have installed
Leopard with case insensitive option, otherwisethe scisoft set-up paths will be screwed up
(may be fixed in laterversions, check on scisoft website).
If you don't care about the scisoft collection and are an IRAF fan,
I'd suggest you have a look at the IRAF on Mac page
Setting up a cell phone as USB/Bluetoothmodem on Mac?
Yes, possible. ESO VPN won't work (at least I did not manage) with bluetoothconnection,
but you will have a reasonably fast network.
If you are using bluetooth connection, remember to set the telephone in visible mode.
Check these links for instructions:
useful modem scripts
Call phoneand Mac configuration instructions
specific RAZR V3 instructions
No need to buy the motorola phonetools to connect, the Mac does a good job by itself.
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=440121&tstart=1374'>Apple knowledge base useful article
If you are in Italy, the Wind dmg file ready to install does a reasonably goodjob by itself,
in case you don't want to bother with set-ups.
Just remember to ask Wind the instructions to enable the connection.
Tried with TIM and gave up the same day.
Updated on 15 October 2014
Yes, possible. ESO VPN won't work (at least I did not manage) with bluetoothconnection,
but you will have a reasonably fast network.
If you are using bluetooth connection, remember to set the telephone in visible mode.
Check these links for instructions:
useful modem scripts
Call phoneand Mac configuration instructions
specific RAZR V3 instructions
No need to buy the motorola phonetools to connect, the Mac does a good job by itself.
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=440121&tstart=1374'>Apple knowledge base useful article
If you are in Italy, the Wind dmg file ready to install does a reasonably goodjob by itself,
in case you don't want to bother with set-ups.
Just remember to ask Wind the instructions to enable the connection.
Tried with TIM and gave up the same day.
Updated on 15 October 2014
About Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a powerfuloperating system that combines Unix underpinnings familar to particlephysicists and easy-to-use interface of Macintosh. This home pagedescribes how to set up Mac OS X for the use by particle theorists orother physicists.
Install OS
Of course, you must install the operating system first. From theinstaller, don't choose 'Easy Install' but 'Customize' it so that X11(see below) will be installed.Once you have installed the system from CD-ROM, go to the Apple Menu(the Apple logo at the top left corner of the screen) and choose'Software Update', and keep updating the system until you don't seeany more updates. You can skip some updates, if you are dead surethat you will never use Arabic on your machine, or you won't use fancyMP3 player from Apple iPod. But install all of those that are notobviously useless for you.
Xcode
Apple renamed Developer Tools to Xcode. It is a collection ofcompilers, header files, libraries, and software development tools.You definitely want C compiler so that you can install standard Unixsoftware. The CDs to install Xcode must have come with your system.Xcode is also freely available here if you sign up. Itscompiler is a hacked version of gcc to support Objective C. The Xcodeis big, though, weighing more than 800MB. Don't attempt a downloadwithout a broadband.TeX
We can't live without TeX. MacTeX TeXnical working group of the TeXUsers Group (TUG) created an easy-to-install TeX distribution for forMacOSX. Go to The MacTeXDistribution page to download it.If you in addition would like to have a Mac-like application thatcombines the editor and previewer, TeXShop is the way togo. From this web site, you will find other available TeXinstallations as well.
X Windows
Many Unix applications run in X Windows environment. Apple'simplementation of X Windows X11for Mac OS X uses native graphics engine and is fast. It uses itsown window manager that looks just like the rest of Mac Aquainterface. It can be installed from the Snow Leopard system DVD. You alsoneed 'X11 for Mac OS X SDK' from the system DVD.Installing Fink Cernlib And G77 For Macbook Pro
Unix applications
A variant of Unix which Mac OS X is based on is called Darwin. Many Unixapplications had been ported to Mac OS X already. I like using Fink package manager. Itautomates the process of downloading the binary package, ordownloading source package, applying a patch, compling, and installingit. There is an impressive number of applications you can install viafink. Fink was designed carefully as to not disturb or modify thesystem. It can be uninstalled with a single command 'sudo rm -r /sw'You definitely want f77, imagemagick, ghostscript for X, ispell, xdvi,and gimp if you want to edit graphics or xv to preview them.Another source of ported Unix applications is Gnu-Darwin Distribution.It is not as automatic as fink, but it provides a wide collection ofported Unix applications. It does require some tinkering with thesystem area. Proceed cautiously.
To run commands on a shell, you launch Terminal application from/Applications/Utilities folder.
Emacs
You can emacs on Terminal already out of the box, or xemacs in XWindows available via fink. I'd recommend using Emacs (GNU Emacs, not xemacs) as a separateapplication together with auctex. It can be installed via fink as
To make sure that Emacs.app has the same environmental variables as your shell, install also exec-path-from-shell.el. Then Emacs.app has built-in support for SOURCE SPECIALS which you enable fromthe menu Command → TeXing Options → Source Specials. Thenby doing control-click on the xdvi window, the cursor in Emacs movesautomatically to the corresponding paragraph. Make sure emacsclient from the command line calls /sw/Applications/Emacs.app/Contents/MacOS/bin/emacsclient. It also has a built-in support for LaTeX-aware formatting, that makes editing LaTeX easier. I'd also recommend 'M-x flyspell-mode' for on-the-fly spell checking. Itrequires ispell available through fink.
% fink install emacs23-app
% fink install auctex
To make sure that Emacs.app has the same environmental variables as your shell, install also exec-path-from-shell.el. Then Emacs.app has built-in support for SOURCE SPECIALS which you enable fromthe menu Command → TeXing Options → Source Specials. Thenby doing control-click on the xdvi window, the cursor in Emacs movesautomatically to the corresponding paragraph. Make sure emacsclient from the command line calls /sw/Applications/Emacs.app/Contents/MacOS/bin/emacsclient. It also has a built-in support for LaTeX-aware formatting, that makes editing LaTeX easier. I'd also recommend 'M-x flyspell-mode' for on-the-fly spell checking. Itrequires ispell available through fink.
You can do the same also with xemacs. You set anenvironmental variable
in .xinitrc, and run 'M-x gnuserv-start' in xemacs. You should set
in ~/.xemacs/init.el to use SOURCE SPECIALS. One annoyance is thatxemacs keeps opening a new window each time you control-click on xdvi.
XEDITOR='gnuclient -q +%l %f'
in .xinitrc, and run 'M-x gnuserv-start' in xemacs. You should set
(progn (setq LaTeX-command-style '(('.' 'latex --src-specials'))));
in ~/.xemacs/init.el to use SOURCE SPECIALS. One annoyance is thatxemacs keeps opening a new window each time you control-click on xdvi.
Web Browsers
Mac OS X comes both with Apple's Safari, a Mac-only fastbrowser based on KDE's Konqueror, and with Internet Explorerpreinstalled.Probably more popular these days is Firefox fromMozilla. It is highly customizable, but doesn't quite look like a Macapp.
Another Mac-only browser OmniWeb isalso an excellent alternative that looks just right. It feelssnappier and even better than Safari.
Installing Fink Cernlib And G77 For Mac Download
The recent versions of Safari can uncompress gzipped Postscript files,convert them to PDF, and display them with Preview applicationautomatically.
High Energy Physics specific tools
Keisuke Fujii, my former collaborator on JLC studies, has ported manyuseful HEP-specific tools to Mac OS X, including topdrawer,cernlib, available here.Thank you, Fujii-san! Many of them can be installed via fink.For gfortran for Intel Macs, try this link.
For parton-distribution functions, use this link.
Unix servers
Because Mac OS X is Unix, it can run all kinds of servers. To servemail, MailServeSnowcan turn on SMTP, POP3, and IMAP servers with SSL. To setup mailing lists, GNUMailman is easy and secure. Remote administration is supportedout of the box via VNC. Just go to 'Sharing' control panel, and turnon 'Apple Remote Desktop.' All you need then is a client, such as Chicken of theVNC.Miscellaneous Applications
Fugu is agraphical sftp client. And the good-'old Fetch now supports sftp. GraphicConverter is aswiss army knife to deal with and edit various graphic formats.To back up a disk or to migrate from a small hard disk to a largerone, I'd recommend SuperDuper!It is also good for making bootable backups.
To paste equations into PowerPoint or Office, I use tex2im, a nifty shellscript that converts equation in LaTeX to any graphics format. It canbe installed via fink and uses imagemagick. Unfortunately PowerPointbitmaps PDF and the result is not scalable. If you choose the sizeappropriately it looks fine.
Keynote users need only PDF to paste equations and Feynman diagrams.LaTeXiTprovides GUI. Keynote uses PDF directly and the result is scalable.You can also create Feynman diagrams with LaTeXiT; see instructionsby TakuYamanaka.
Applications that cost money
- Mathematica from Wolfram Research can't be missed. MatLab from The MathWorks is also available for Mac OS X.
- The Office suite from Microsoft is available and is much better than previous versions of Office. They finally look like Mac applications!
- For presentations, Apple's Keynote is rapidly gaining popularity. It allows PDF graphics without losing scalability, has cool transitions. Steve Jobs himself uses it for MacWorld keynote addresses famous for the 'reality distortion field.' It is a part of iWork package together with Pages, a combo of a word processor and a page layout program.
- All important Adobe applications are there, including Acrobat Reader, Acrobat, Illustrator, PhotoShop.
- I haven't had much problem finding good applications for research purposes. People complain that there are still less games available for Macintosh, that may be a good thing.^_^
Other links
- Mac OS X Hints provides many useful tidbits in using Mac OS X.
- download.com is a great place to look for shareware/freeware. Similar web sites are versiontracker.com, stepwise.com.
- MaCNN is a great resource for Mac OS X-related news. It also has useful forum.
- Mac OS X for Astrophysicists is an excellent page written by Edd Edmondson for astrophysicists.
- Phone (510) 486 5589, Campus phone (510) 642-1019
- Location Bldg. 50-5056E (LBL), 411 LeConte (Campus)