Unzip the zip file in a suitable directory. Move
fit2.exe somewhere in your path. If you want the online
help to work, set the environment variable fithelp to
point to the file fit.hlp. For example:
set fithelp=d:\docs\fit.hlpUnder Unix, you should use setenv, something like:
setenv FITHELP /u/docs/fit.hlpAdding the line to your config.sys (under OS/2) or autoexec.bat (under DOS) or .cshrc would keep you from having to type it in every time you reboot or login. The gnuplot.exe program should be somewhere in your path. The fit program requires you have gplt33b2.zip or later under OS/2. Earlier versions work under Unix. This file is available from ftp.cdrom.com and includes complete documentation. As of 2/11/94 the most recent version of gnuplot is 3.5.
For use on platforms other than OS/2 2.x or DOS, you will have to compile. Have a look at the makefile and make it suitable for your compiler. You might want to make the executable fit2 instead of fit2.exe. You should also use the compiler option -DUNIX (instead of -DOS2), or whatever option will define UNIX for your compiler. I recommend using the GCC compiler for the most painless compilation on any UNIX platform, but other compilers have been shown to work as well. You might get some warnings.
Under OS/2 2.x, you should move the *.DLL files to a directory in your LIBPATH.
Under DOS, you should use the DJGPP port of GCC. Borland C++ will not work. To run in a DOS box under Windows, you must use version 1.10 or higher of DJGPP. Specify the -DDOS option when you compile under DOS. Plotting is disabled in the DOS version. You will have to write the fit to a temporary file, and plot with the plotting package of your choice. DJGPP is not the most usable DOS compiler, but it is free, has a 32 bit DOS extender, and is good for porting UNIX programs. Consult the DJGPP documentation and the *.msdos.programmer newsgroups for more info on DJGPP. You must have the file go32.exe in your path for the DOS version to work.
-DUNIX affects the command used to open gnuplot. Gnuplot writes some error messages to stderr and some of these make it to the screen. If -DUNIX is specified, stderr is redirected to the file gnuout. If you want to see the error messages, do not use -DUNIX. Additionally, some gnuplot terminal types require stderr to go to the screen. If you have one of these, do not specify -DUNIX; you will have to live with the gnuplot error messages. This is the case for tek40xx and similar terminal types. If the -DUNIX option is not specified, temporary files will be written to the current directory rather than /tmp.