Mathics 0.5 Windows Installer Readme
This page describes a Windows installer for Mathics 0.5, a Computer Algebra System with Mathematica-like syntax. Although a web interface is available at http://www.mathics.net, there are advantages to having a local installation (e.g. files saved locally, can work without internet access). This Windows installer was built from the Mathics 0.5 distribution.
Install
Download the Windows self-installing executable:
-> Download Mathics 0.5 Windows Installer <-
and run it. Mathics 0.5 will be installed in the c:\mathics-0.5 directory and short cuts will be placed in a Mathics 0.5 group in the start menu.
If you get weird errors when you try to run the program, you may need the VC++ 2008 (x86) Redistributable Package.
Run
Select the "Run Mathics Server" then select the "Open Mathics Front End", both in the Mathics group in the Start Menu.
If no GUI is desired, the stand-alone Mathics console can be run via the "Run Mathics Console" Start Menu entry.
Uninstall
Uninstall using the typical Windows uninstall process (i.e. Start Menu|Control Panel|Programs and Features). If Mathics is uninstalled, the uninstaller deletes the c:\mathics-0.5 directory and removes the Mathics start menu entries.
Building the Distribution
This section contains a detailed description about how this Windows distribution of Mathics was built. If you just want to run the program, you can stop reading now.
Components used to make the installer and included in the distribution:
- python-2.7.3.msi
- gmpy-1.15.win32-py2.7.exe
- Cython-0.18.win32-py2.7.exe
- mpmath-0.17.win32.exe
- sympy-0.7.2.win32.exe
- Django-1.4.5.win32-py2.7.exe
- setuptools-0.6c11.win32-py2.7.exe
- mathics-0.5.zip
Mathics was unzipped into c:\mathics-0.5. Python 2.7.3 was then installed into the directory c:\mathics-0.5\Python27. All other binary package installers were then run. To build all of the packages, cython needs Visual C++ 2008 Express.
Mathics was then built by typing:
C:\mathics-0.5>Python27\python setup.py install
C:\mathics-0.5>Python27\python initialize.py
C:\mathics-0.5>Python27\python setup.py clean
The Mathics server can then be run via:
C:\mathics-0.5>Python27\Scripts\mathicsserver.exe
or the Mathics console can be run by:
C:\mathics-0.5>Python27\Scripts\mathics.exe
To assemble the distribution, python27.dll was first copied from c:\Windows\system32 to the c:\mathics-0.5 directory. Then, the entire c:\mathics-0.5 directory was packaged up using the Inno Setup script, mathics.iss, included in the distribution. Inno Setup creates Start Menu entries that automatically call the server and console in the right ways, then unzips the distribution into c:\mathics-0.5. Install Mathics for Windows