Installation

Please read the whole page before starting the installation...

Python

MOREESC is a open-source software distributed under the CECILL-C License and written in Python. This is an easy to learn, powerful programming language. It has efficient high-level data structures and a simple but effective approach to object-oriented programming. Python’s elegant syntax and dynamic typing make it an ideal language for scripting and rapid application development in many areas on most platforms. The Python interpreter and the extensive standard library are freely available in source or binary form for all major platforms from the Python Web site, and may be freely distributed. The same site also contains distributions of and pointers to many free third party Python modules, programs and tools, and additional documentation.

Mac Users
Please pay attention that Mac OSX ships an old-released Python installation (usually in /System/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework with the interpreter in /usr/bin/python). Modifying these files is unsafe and may damage your system. You would rather install the updated binary from python.org (which goes to /Library/Frameworks/Python.framework — not in /System/... — with the interpreter in /usr/local/bin/python).


Python scientific computing

MOREESC makes also an extensive use of NumPy and SciPy, which are the two major open-source packages for scientific computing that use the Python programming language. The instructions for installations are given on Scipy Web Site. Another useful tool is Matplotlib, a python 2D plotting library which produces publication quality figures in a variety of hardcopy formats and interactive environments.

The physics of the musical instruments is modelled through a set of Ordinary Differential Equations that are then written in typed Python (cython), and it thus requires a C compiler. Freely available compiler collections are GNU GCC on Unixes and MinGW on Windows. In comparison with pure python calculations, the use of the compiled ODE system fastens the computation by a huge factor.

Windows Users
PythonXY provides a scientific-oriented Python Distribution. Its purpose is to help scientific programmers used to interpreted languages (such as Matlab or IDL) or compiled languages (C/C++ or Fortran) to switch to Python. C/C++ or Fortran programmers should appreciate to reuse their code "as is" by wrapping it so it can be called directly from Python scripts. Checking NumPy, SciPy, Matplotlib and MinGW during installation process will insure a functional basis for MOREESC. Additionally, Spyder (offered within PythonXY if PyQtShell is checked) offers a Matlab-like integrated development environment.


Binaries

BInaries for Windows, Mac OSX, Red hat (.rpm) and Ubuntu (.deb) are provided on the Download Page. The installer detects your Python installation, and puts MOREESC in the default tree. If you are not familiar with building from sources, you are strongly advised to use those. If you intent to modify the source (not just run simulation), pay attention to the permissions you will have on the files (root or user installation), you may also prefer the source distribution with its development mode.

Source files

Extract the files from the archive to a temporary directory, and enter the newly created directory

The Python distutils mechanisms are then invoked to install the files
- as root, in the usual site-packages directory

- or as a normal user, in an arbitrary directory you will need to add to your path

- or in the development mode which compiles the Cython extension in the local directory. Each time you make changes in the Cython files (.pyx), you only need to build them with:

It may be all that simple!