19990812: mcidas 7.6 install problems

>From: address@hidden
>Organization: SMSU
>Keywords: 199908122231.QAA22964 McIDAS-X,-XCD 7.60

Bill,

>I have successfully made mcidas 7.6 on AIX 4.2 using gcc.  Only
>ran out of disk space once.

Sounds reasonably successful!

>In trying to test it, as per your page on the web, I ran into
>some oddities.  I don't think they'll be a problem, but since
>it's time to go home for the day, thought I'd throw them in your
>lap for consideration.

OK.  Let me throw in that I have not built on AIX using gcc/f2c/mcfc.
I have only built using this combination on Solaris x86 2.7 and on
RedHat 5.2 Linux.  Both of these platforms work nicely.  I did build
and test using the IBM compilers on my AIX 4.3 Power PC box and it
works nicely also.

>1. In attempting to re-set the MCGUI etc symbols, I finally found
>I had to get rid of my ~mcidas .mcenv and .kshrc files (maybe not
>both, but I did 'em both simultaneously, since some of the code
>in mcidasx or someplace seemed to refer to both).  Otherwise my
>path kept getting set back to  /home/mcidas/bin and I got 7.402
>rather 7.6.  Don't know if the rest of the world needs that.

This is probably due to your use of the Korn shell.  I have to admit
that I do not use the Korn shell, but, rather, the C shell.  My web
based instructions are all written for C shell users.  I am suprised
that .mcenv gets "sourced" (C shell terminology; sorry) when you
try to run a McIDAS session.  I had been led to believe (from SSEC)
that the reread of an environment file was a C shell thing.

>2. Once I got 7.6 to come up and tried your suggested sample
>commands I got one success and one failure.  The ADDE stuff
>and imagdisp seemed to work. I got North America in a small panel.
>But I could not get graphics to draw.

This sounds bad.

>MAP USA trundled along
>and reported done, no errors, but no matter how many different
>colors I tried, no lines appeared.  I assume it's drawing black
>on black....

Shouldn't be.

>I'm executing from my own workstation (nimbus.smsu.edu)
>and mcidas is installed on cirrus.smsu.edu.  If I have some other
>graphics program running, mcidas will natter about not enough
>graphics planes....I'm used to that, but I trashed everything but
>the aixterm windows, mcidas7.6 initiated just fine with no error
>messages, but no graphics.

No matter what you do?  What about not panelizing a window and then
doing a simple:

MAP NA

If this doesn't work, then there is no reason to proceed.  This would
mean that something is malfunctioning in the graphics subsystem (something
that underwent a rewrite for 7.6).

>OK, just tried it on the console,
>same result.  Assume this is something in initialization that one
>of the .mc....files will take care of, probably don't define 
>enough graphics planes or something.  

I don't know.  Sounds like a bad failure.

>Guess I'll finish the install tomorrow and see what I can break.

OK, I'll be reading my email lookinf for some comments.

>Always install new software on Friday.

:-)  Always make stealth releases on Friday too.

>Thanks.

Later.

>P.S.  Why does it take 3 hillbillies to ean a possum?
>One to eat and 2 to watch for cars.

A good one :-)

Tom