ePiX -- POST-INSTALL
 
Last Change: June 02, 2006
 
This file contains post-install configuration instruction for users.
Commands should be typed as shown; the "%" represents the prompt and
should not be typed. A few data files are mentioned below. Copies are
in the directory where you unpacked the ePiX sources, and are placed
in ${prefix}/share/doc/epix/config/ during installation.


The SHELL, and ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES

A "shell" presents a command prompt, interprets commands you type, and
runs other programs (e.g. epix's shell scripts) accordingly.  Under
GNU/Linux, the default shell is "bash", a derivative of the Bourne
shell (Bourne Again SHell), while under many Unices (such as Solaris)
the default shell is "csh" (the C shell). You must have bash on your
system in order to use ePiX, but need not use bash as your command
shell.

The behavior of a shell is controlled by "environment variables". For
example, the PATH variable contains the list of directories searched
by the shell when you type a command. If you have installed ePiX in
your $HOME directory, you need to ensure the directory $HOME/bin is in
your PATH. To check, do

% echo $PATH

at a prompt. If $HOME/bin is not in your PATH, you must determine what
shell you're using and edit the appropriate shell configuration file:

% ?

If the response is:		Put this line:			Into the file:
-------------------		--------------			--------------
bash: ?: command not found	export PATH=$PATH:$HOME/bin	~/.bashrc

?: no match			setenv PATH $PATH:$HOME/bin	~/.cshrc

If the response is something else, please consult someone knowledgeable
at your site for assistance.


PROGRAMMABLE COMPLETION in bash

If you type "epix c[TAB]", the shell normally displays all files and
directories whose name starts with "c". If programmable completion is
enabled, the shell will show only those files whose name starts with
"c" *and* whose extension is that of an epix input file. (Note: Some
shells, notably csh, do not support any form of TAB completion.)

Programmable completion in bash is available only with Version 2.05 and
later, and you must install Ian MacDonald's bash completion package. Do
a search for "bash programmable completion" at

  http://freshmeat.net

The file "${prefix}/share/doc/epix/config/bash_completions" contains
programmable completion code for ePiX's shell scripts. These lines
should be put into your bash config file (~/.bashrc) just after the
line that includes the system-wide bash completion config file (q.v.).


EMACS MODE

Jay Belanger has kindly provided an emacs mode (epix.el) for working
with epix source files. To use epix mode, put a copy of the file
"epix.el" in your emacs load path; under GNU/Linux, an appropriate
system directory is /usr/share/emacs. If you are not the superuser,
use a directory such as ~/share/emacs:
 
% mkdir -p ~/share/emacs
% cp $INSTALL_DIR/share/doc/epix/config/epix.el ~/share/emacs/

Then add these lines to your .emacs file:
---(snip)--- 
(setq load-path (cons "~/share/emacs/" load-path))
(setq auto-mode-alist (cons '("\\.xp" . epix-mode) auto-mode-alist))
(autoload 'epix-mode "epix" "ePiX editing mode" t)
(setq epix-mark-files-as-epix t)
(setq epix-insert-template-in-empty-buffer t)

(autoload 'flix-mode "epix" "ePiX editing mode" t)
(setq auto-mode-alist (cons '("\\.flx" . flix-mode) auto-mode-alist))
---(snip)---

Change "~/share/emacs/" in the first line as appropriate. If you open
a new file with extension ".xp" or ".flx", emacs will automatically
insert a matching preamble template and enter epix-mode or flix-mode,
respectively.  You can then compile and preview ePiX source files with
emacs commands; please see epix.el for more details.

If necessary (for instance, if your source file must have extension
".cc" for some reason), you can enter epix mode manually by typing 

M-x epix-mode

in emacs. (The notation "M-x" means the emacs META key, usually ESC,
followed by "x".) 


OTHER CONFIG FILES

The files ~/.dvipsrc and ~/.epixrc affect the behavior of epix, elaps,
and laps. The use of these files in documented in the tutorial. Neither
file is required in order to use ePiX.

Guido Gonzato has kindly written an RPM spec file for creating Red Hat
packages for ePiX; see "$INSTALL_DIR/share/doc/epix/config/epix.spec".