Whiteley Research Incorporated


Linux, OS X Installation
IC Design Software for Unix/Linux and Windows
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Linux Installation, Updating, and Removal

Updating and installation is most conveniently handled by using the wr_install script, downloaded from the same location as the package files. Unlike earlier releases, this script does not manage the Safe Install feature, so that users can use the underlying package manager commands for their operating system directly, if desired. The wr_install script is just a wrapper around these native commands, but it detects which commands to use, and which options to give.

It is highly recommended that all pre-4.3 packages be uninstalled from your system, to avoid any potential conflicts. You should remove the old programs by hand using your native package manager commands.

If is recommended that the initial installation of 4.3 tools, at least, be performed using wr_install. Future updates of Xic and WRspice can be performed from within those programs. Other 4.3 XicTools programs will have a new checking/updating mechanism to be determined, so chances are that the tedious manual downloading and installing need only be done once.

  1. Download the necessary distribution files and scripts. Probably, the easiest course is to download everything in the distribution directory for your operating system, into a new, empty temporary directory. Presently, there are eight package files and two scripts. When downloading completes, cd to the new directory.

  2. Make sure that the wr_install and wr_uninstall scripts are executable (they might not be after the download). If not, use
    chmod 0755 wr_install wr_uninstall

  3. You will need to become 'root' in order to install packages. For future use of the automated updating features of Xic and WRspice, you will need to have your account enabled for the "sudo" command, i.e., your account name should be listed in "/etc/sudoers". If this is set up, the installer will ask for your password to enable installation. Otherwise you will have to use the su command to become root.

  4. When installing, you will be given a choice of installation location. The installation location is under /usr/local/xictools by default. Life will be simpler if you choose the default location, but if necessary, an alternate can be supplied.

  5. Run wr_install with the argument(s) being the names of the distribution files, or "all".
    ./wr_install all
    The argument "all" is equivalent to *.rpm or *.deb. This automates the installation procedure. Do NOT change the names of the files, or wr_install will probably fail.

  6. If you installed in a location other than /usr/local, you should set the XT_PREFIX environment variable. The XT_PREFIX environment variable should be set to the name of the directory corresponding the /usr/local, which we call /path/mydir below. This will cause all internal default paths to point to the right directory. Most conveniently, this variable can be set in the user's shell startup file.
    For C shell:
    setenv XT_PREFIX /path/mydir
    For Bourne/Bash shell:
    export XT_PREFIX=/path/mydir
    This is generally all that is required to configure the programs for an alternative installation location.

  7. Add the /usr/local/xictools/bin (or equivalent) directory to your shell search path, if you haven't done so.

    If you had a 4.2 distribution of Xic or WRspice installed, your search path will already have the above directory, but in addition it may have one or both of

    /usr/local/xictools/xic/bin
    /usr/local/xictools/wrspice/bin
    If present, these should be removed from your shell search path. Note that if you changed the installation location, the /usr/local will be something else.

  8. Once Xic and WRspice have been installed, updating could not be simpler. See the program documentation:
    In WRspice, give the commands "help passwd" and "help wrupdate". In Xic , with the mouse pointer in the main drawing window, type "?!passwd" and "?!update"". These help topics explain how to set up and use the update features. The programs will check for updates when started. The user can download and install updates when available.

  9. You're done, and should be able to run the programs (C-shell users may have to type "rehash" first).

Removing the Installation

When performing an update, one should never have to remove any distribution files, unless specifically instructed to do so. This section describes how to remove the distributions from the system. These operations must be done as root.

It is recommended to use the wr_uninstall script for package removal. Users can also use their native packager commands to do this, except on OS X where there is no such command. There are probably only two reasons to uninstall a package: if you no longer have any use for the program and want to get rid of it forever, or if somehow your installation is corrupted and you want to uninstall and then reinstall.

You need to have root privileges to uninstall packages, and therefor wr_uninstall should be run as root, or from a bash shell started under the sudo command.

wr_uninstall progname ...
The arguments are program names from among these: adms, fastcap, fasthenry, mozy, mrouter, vl, wrspice, xic. Actually, you only need the first few characters of eacn name, enough to make it unambiguous. For each program, if a corresponding package is currently installed, it will be uninstalled. The packages files will be completely deleted, there will be no saving for Safe Install.

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