Hello again, CSM --
Yeah, i'm familiar with the config/make/make-install dance. :-) What was
confusing for me was that, on the Sourceforge forae, you recommended to one
new user that they grab the x86 binaries, rather than the source. I
downloaded the binary tarball, but when i opened it up found only a
/usr/brlcad directory tree that i surfed around a bit -- but not very
thoroughly, so i missed the README and INSTALL files. I was thinking that,
if it had any, they'd be obviously placed. I've found them now, though.
Situations like that are the part of what i think i can help with -- helping
with overall site design, and efficiency, the insertion of helpful comments
here and there. :-) How do you suggest we co-ordinate that?
So anyway, back to the story: i followed the "Linux" button and noticed
that the latest version of the binaries seemed to be oriented solely at 64
bit systems -- i didn't see any generic, x86 tarballs in the Sourceforge
"Linux Downolads" section, except for the binaries from a folder in 2007.
And it was about then i decided to float this e-mail, to see where and how i
could add some content to solve things like that -- questions, and weird
impasses, that i imagine a lot of would-be users are probably intimidated
by.
I got the binaries working, yesterday, and then went through a couple of
tutorials (a Sunday afternoon, eh?), but encountered a few problems. Some
of the "unions" didn't get drawn like the pictures i was provided with in
the tutorial; i didn't know if that was convention, a bug, a mistake i
made, or what. The only way i could really tell would be to render it -- i
thought -- but I couldn't get the fbserv command working. I flailed around
with it for an hour or two, first as an ordinary user, and then as "root",
and wound up shifting my Xserver configuration and diddling it up at the
next re-boot. :-P
So i was never able to get it to render, and had no idea where to go next to
figure out what the problem might be. The tutorial had produced a few
figures, but they didn't look like the images on the website and there was
an awful lot that i'd discovered along the way -- the GUI interface, the
terminal interface, etc -- but had no idea really how to use yet. In other
words, i felt like it was time for another session, and i really had little
idea that i was any further along.
That's not a complaint; it's just that i'm a teacher, and i notice things
like that. So i'd like to find some way to help touch up small things like
that.
So -- where i'm at:
A) Got the binaries properly "installed" and played around with them a
bit. I hit a few snags, though, in the fbserver command: the display i
got wasn't what i was expecting, from the documentation provided. The
"handle" went through the wall of the "cup", and even after the union was
performed that anomaly remained. Was it a display bug? Was it a bug at
all?? Would rendering clear that up? I had no idea where to go to learn
the answers, nor even what to do next. I tried rendering it, but the fbserv
command got in the way. So i have lots of questions, but no answers, and am
eager to figure out the fbserv so i can start rendering things. :-P
-- Is this a problem with the binaries, and -- if so -- then what are the
binaries good for?
===> And i think a copy of this information -- which i'll be happy to
type up -- would be good on the Sourceforge download's page, your website,
and more conspicuously placed within the binary tarball -- as, say, a
"README.brl-cad.txt" file that pops out along with the file-tree. Not
because it's necessary -- but just because it's an easy thing you could do
(in the next release, if you wish) that would be a big help.
-- If rendering would have helped, then: are there more reliable commands
than fbserv for rendering things?
-- If not, and i must use the command (and use it often!), then i'm going
to need to learn a bit from you about how to troubleshoot it -- a man page,
so to speak -- so i can introduce it properly, and more helpfully. I didn't
find anything on your website, or in the html pages, but i haven't looked at
anything else from the binaries b/c i deleted them just now. :-) For the
compliation. Just below.
B) Since i'm still not sure i can trust the interface, yet -- and since
eventually, i'm going to need to do somethign like this, anyway -- i'm going
to compile it. I'll let you know how it goes.
At any rate, as you can see: i'm already at work on the first page, and
taking notes. :-) Thanks for the patience --
Cheers --
K.
On Sat, Feb 21, 2009 at 11:25 PM, Christopher Sean Morrison
<[email protected]>wrote:
> Kyle,
> Hi and thanks for the message! That sounds like a fantastic idea you have
> there. It's actually been on our to-do list to have
> a succinct "introduction to BRL-CAD" that covers installation and basic use.
> For coaching you, I'd be happy to help you one-on-one via e-mail. I would
> suggest, though, that we talk on the brlcad-users mailing list (cc'd) since
> that will afford others the opportunity to help you too. That can be
> particularly useful for those times when I'm overloaded and may possibly
> give you (and others) more breadth of an answer to questions as they come
> up. The brlcad-users mailing list can be joined [1] here:
>
> [1] https://lists.sourceforge.net/mailman/listinfo/brlcad-users
>
> As for installation, the steps are usually very specific to the platform
> you're installing on except for installing from a source code release (where
> it's the same for most platforms). If you're on Linux, that's what I would
> say you should start with just to make the steps the easiest to make generic
> (at least in terms of contributing a tutorial). So the first step would be
> to go to http://brlcad.org and selecting "Download" off the menu, then
> selecting the Source link. That will take you to [2] a page on Sourceforge
> that has all source downloads listed. Download one of them and unpack the
> tarball.
>
> [2]
> https://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=105292&package_id=113368
>
>
> Once you unpack the sources, like most open source packages, there are a
> couple "standard" files that you should read. That would be the [3] README
> and [4] INSTALL files.
>
> [3] http://brlcad.svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/brlcad/brlcad/trunk/README
> [4] http://brlcad.svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/brlcad/brlcad/trunk/INSTALL
>
> While the exact instructions and options will vary slightly from release to
> release and will depend on your platform, the basic compile-and-install
> steps are pretty much the same. You prepare the build system "autogen.sh",
> you specify compilation options with "configure", you run "make" to build
> everything, and then "make install" to install everything. For purposes of
> a tutorial, the steps that will generally work best for most are:
>
> sh autogen.sh
> ./configure --enable-all --without-ogl --enable-optimized
> make
> sudo make install
>
> To understand everything that is spelled out there requires reading through
> most of [3] README and [4] INSTALL but is pretty common for most Linux
> source installations. That should get you started. Assuming everything
> compiles and installs cleanly, the [4] INSTALL file covers how to test the
> installation to make sure everything is okay. Once that is done, our
> existing [5] Documentation then becomes invaluable. I'd suggest going
> through the list one at a time in order going down the list.
>
> [5] http://brlcad.org/wiki/Documentation
>
> The second document, "Introduction to MGED" is a very detailed series of
> tutorials that aim to get someone familiar with the basics of modeling using
> BRL-CAD. Please don't hesitate to write back with any questions or
> clarifications.
>
> Cheers!
> Sean
>
>
>
> On Feb 21, 2009, at 5:00 AM, Kyle Pearson wrote:
>
> I'm a teacher, and have done a bit of technical writing, and i'm also
> interested in learning brl-cad -- but i've never used CAD software and have
> no idea where to begin sifting the mountain of your documentation to get to
> design even a simple object (right now, the project is a fine-wood
> bread-maker's cabinet).
>
> So i've been around Linux for a few years, and have always been interested
> in contributing something, but never really saw an opportunity like this
> one. I'd love to help y'all write up some basic introductions to brl-cad;
> i could learn a lot, get some free coaching on its installation, usage, and
> whatnot, and then write up what i learn as tutorials.
>
> We could start with "installation", and go from there. :-)
>
> I'm familiar enough with Linux systems that, in a small-business situation,
> i could probably pass as an adequate sysadmin. I live in Taiwan, though,
> and those guys are a dime-a-dozen. I have virtually no familiarity with
> coding applications, nor with full-featured programming languages -- just
> enough to get by, and no more.
>
> I think my abilities are well matched to this task, and would be happy to
> lend a hand -- at least for a few months.
>
> So if y'all would like to set me up with a contact who'd be willing to
> patiently coach me through the fundmentals, then i'd be more than happy to
> write up the lessons i receive as tutorials, hyper-link them, and construct
> a basic set of introductory materials that people can use to get started.
>
> K. Pearson
>
> --
> Pray for Gaza, and the brave, beleaguered Palestinians.
>
> Please avoid sending me Word or PowerPoint attachments.
> See http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/no-word-attachments.html
>
>
>
--
Pray for Gaza, and the brave, beleaguered Palestinians.
Please avoid sending me Word or PowerPoint attachments.
See http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/no-word-attachments.html
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