InstallationΒΆ

This file describes the installation of SimPy 2.1.0.

In order to install SimPy on your system, you will need to perform the following steps:

  1. Check that you have Python 2.3 or a later version (not 3.0) installed on your system. If necessary, download it from http://www.python.org and install it.

  2. Download and unpack the SimPy archive into a folder (using option “Use folder names” in WinZip, “Re-create folders” in Linux Archive Manager, or similar option in your unpacker). This will create a SimPy-2.1.0 folder with all source code and documentation.

  3. Now you must install SimPy. You should always run the Python setup command from the distribution root directory, i.e. the top-level subdirectory that the module source distribution unpacks into. This subdirectory contains a file setup.py.

    3.1 Normal installation on MS Windows:

    Open a command prompt window (“DOS box”), and run (assuming your SimPy top-level directory is c:\SimPy-2.1.0):

    cd c:\SimPy-2.1.0
    python setup.py install

    This will install the SimPy programs in a folder on the Python search path (typically Libsite-packages).

    3.2 Normal installation on Linux or Unix:

    If you’ve just downloaded the SimPy 2.1.0 source distribution SimPy-2.1.0.tar.gz onto a Linux/Unix system, the normal thing to do is:

    gunzip -c SimPy2.1.0.tar.gz | tar xf -    # unpacks into directory SimPy-2.1.0
    cd SimPy-2.1.0
    python setup.py install

    This will install the SimPy programs in a folder on the Python search path (typically /Lib/site-packages).

    Note: On Linux, installing into /Lib/site-packages normally requires root privileges.

    3.3 Alternative installation on Windows, Linux/Unix:

    On a Linux/Unix system you might not have permission to write to the standard directory /Lib/site-packages. Or you might wish to try out SimPy 2.1.0 before making it a standard part of your local Python installation. This is especially true when upgrading a SimPy distribution already present: you want to make sure your existing base of scripts still works with the new version before actually upgrading.

    Installing a new SimPy distribution to a non-standard folderis as simple as

    python setup.py install --home=<dir>

    where you can supply any directory you like for the --home option. On Linux/Unix, lazy typists can just type a tilde (~); the install command will expand this to your home directory:

    python setup.py install --home=~

    The –home option defines the installation base directory. Files are installed to {home}/lib/python.

  4. Run one or more of the programs under /SimPy-2.1.0/SimPyModels to see whether Python finds the SimPy module. If you get an error message like “ImportError: No module named SimPy”, move the SimPy folder into a directory which you know to be on the Python module search path (like /Lib/site-packages).

  5. Read the tutorial and manuals and build your own simple models. A few lines of Python with SimPy calls can already model significant real systems.

Enjoy simulation programming in SimPy!

Revision:$Revision: 498 $
Date:$Date: 2010-05-11 07:31:57 +0200 (Di, 11 Mai 2010) $

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