This chapter discusses the system requirements for running BriCad, which parts you'll need to download, and how to install them.

Installation

System requirements

Downloading BriCad

Installing BriCad

• local installation
• system-wide installation

System requirements

Before we get into downloading and installing BriCad, let's make sure that your computer fulfills the necessary requirements.

BriCad is currently available for x86 based Linux systems and Sun Sparc systems running Solaris 2.4 or higher. An X11R5/R6 color display with at least 4bpp (8bpp recommended) is required.

For the Linux version, the following minimum setup is recommended:

• i486DX processor @ 33Mhz
• 16MB of RAM
• 800x600 screen resolution in 256 colors (16 colors still works)
• Linux kernel 1.0.9 or higher
• XFree 3.1.x or commercial server

Of course, throwing more resources at BriCad won't hurt ;-)
You will also need about 1MB of harddisk space for the BriCad installation.

Unfortunately, some X servers of the XFree3.1.x family have an annoying graphics bug, which causes BriCad to drop pixels when outputting its bricks. It it still possible to use BriCad with such servers, though.

Jump back to the beginning of this page / top level page

Downloading BriCad

Jump back to the beginning of this page / top level page

Installing BriCad

BriCad can be installed either locally or system-wide. If this is the first time you are using BriCad, you'll probably want to try it out locally first.

Local installation

1. Change ('cd') into a writeable directory (e.g. /tmp/) where you want to install BriCad.
   The BriCad tar files will unpack into their own sub directory, so you do not need to manually create a subdir for BriCad.

2. Extract your BriCad packages.
   If your system has GNU tar (at least all Linux systems do), simply type

   tar -xzvf filename.tgz

   for each package. On systems without GNU tar, try typing

   zcat filename.tgz | tar -xvf -

   or

   gunzip filename.tgz ; tar xvf filename.tar

   If your system is missing a suitable zcat and has no gunzip available, the easiest solution is to get a copy of gzip from prep.ai.mit.edu or one of its mirrors.

3. The BriCad packages will unpack into a directory called "BriCadnnn", with nnn containing a revision number currently in the 110's. (The revision number will change after each BriCad release, making sure that a new installation won't overwrite an existing one).

   Change into the "BriCadnnn" directory and verify that it contains the following files and sub directories:

   • bstart -- A shell script to start BriCad from a local directory ^*)
   • .bricad -- The brick definition file for BriCad.
   • bricad -- The BriCad executable.
   • models -- A directory containing example models.

4. If you're using a two-button mouse, please load the .bricad file into your favourite text editor, and search for the word "3ButtonMouse". This should lead you to the following entry:

           # Yes for 3-button mice, No for 2-button ones.
   
   3ButtonMouse    = Yes

   Set the entry to "No" and save the file back.

You can now try out BriCad by entering "./bstart". Have a lot of fun :-), and please consider taking the guided tour if you're new to BriCad.

System-wide installation

1. Unpack the BriCad packages into one directory, as described in the previous section.
2. Become root.
3. Move the bricad binary into one of your */bin directories, e.g. /usr/local/bin/. Make sure that BriCad is not suid root by accident!
4. Move the .bricad resourcefile to /usr/local/lib/BriCad/ or /etc/ .
5. Optionally, move the models directory to a publically readable place, e.g. /usr/local/lib/BriCad/, and adjust the path setting in the .bricad file (search for "SaveDir" to find the appropriate place).

Jump back to the beginning of this page / top level page