The Hot ChocoLinux Cup: 2010

Compiling and linking netlib

Author: Simone Labels:: compiling, g77, gfortran, netlib, slatec

Ok, so here is the deal. I just got this awesome new computer at work. A slick Dell workstation, i7 double core, a load of ram and hard drive space.

So, first thing first: wipe out windows 7. Great. Got the new Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick to do it. It took literally 5 minutes. No kidding. I spent some time installing my programs: flash and skype, all the way down to my little programs. But, as I said, it is my work computer. I have to use it to actually produce something. And to do so I might just need a compiler. Fortran, C, C++ and so forth.

A few years ago, when I started, g77 was the deal. Gnu made that, it was free, it had good performance, it was it. A couple of years ago, Gnu decides to change to gfortran. Installing gfortran is just a matter of apt-get and such, no problem. However, to actually linking it to libraries that are over a couple of years old turns out to be a problem, ending up in an actual nightmare for a stubborn ass like me.

There is a large set of math libraries which is called slatec, from netlib. It used to come standard with linux a few years ago, and ubuntu had its version. This was until gnu decided to change its compiler to gfortran. I remember, back in my days of college, that building a library was not the worst thing in the world. It was just a matter of writing a makefile and properly linking everything.

Well, that was before today. I have to admit, I have not done it in some time, but - hey - I thought - if anything else I got smarter with age, not dumber. Facts proved me wrong.

This slatec library has been built against g77 for years (starting actually from f77). It has no business with gfortran, and it does not want to obey. So I download the sources (about 1000 fortran files) and build my little make program the way I learnt years ago and guess what? The library does not work. It does not want to work. Not only that, it refuses to compile, it refuses to give me any real advice on what to do. Thanks for nothing, gfortran.

So I think: I better give up now that the day is still young, install f77 and build the library against it. But... Now there is gfortran. g77 is no more. There is an f77 program which is just an interface for f2c, which converts fortran to c and then compiles. You can do the math.

Here it is what actually happens when building slatec against gfortran. Through the makefile you actually get a library which you will need to move to your /usr/lib or /usr/local/lib. And when you compile your fortran code - believe it or not - the code compiles with no problems. When you test it with one of the many programs that comes with it, it does not work. It gives weird messages. I tried it with one of my old programs (I have used it so many times that I just know it works), which integrates a simple set of ordinary differential equations. Nothing fancy, nothing stiff, something you could do with matlab without issues. I got nothing. And the weird thing is that, when I used the single subroutines instead of the library, the program works.

Ok, long story short: I installed another compiler. Yeah, that's it. Thanks gnu for helping. One day lost. 10 hours in the can. And I flushed.
Another day, another rant. I start to resemble Adam Carolla.

0 comments |

Why gwibber sucks

Author: Simone Labels:: facebook, gwibber, microblogging, social networks, twitter, ubuntu

Ok, this is kind of a rant. However, after hours and hours of struggling with it, I have decided that gwibber sucks.

But let's start from the beginning...

Gwibber is a little microblogging program which currently supports a wealth of services, from twitter to flickr, to digg. It is the first choice for Ubuntu, and it ships with it. You get a little icon in the Ubuntu messaging menu that says "Broadcast", which opens it, if you click on it.

The problem with Gwibber is that it lacks most of the functionality you actually need for a useful social network application. When you use it, you get the weird feeling it stops right before something you may actually need, in between "I don't need this crap" and "It is really useful".

It is something like "I can live with it". But not quite. You got the feeling, right?

But while it may be ok for twitter (even though there is plenty of better alternative around), where it really sucks is with facebook. Big time.

First of all, there is a known bug (which has been there practically forever) that prevents you to authorize the program with facebook in a simple way. You want to add your facebook account to gwibber? Well, just click on Edit -> Accounts and you will be prompted with a window that has a scroll down menu. If you select facebook, you are then sent, from within the program, to a login page, where you will need to tell facebook to allow gwibber, etc. etc. Once this is done, you should get a button telling you to add your facebook account to gwibber.

This is where it gets completely random. From what I have been able to figure out, if gwibber is somehow already in your applications (like, maybe you were able to authorize it with facebook from another computer), then you will not be able to authorize it again. So, you will get a very annoying (I swear, after three times I wanted to smash my laptop against the wall) and very long window where there is nothing to push which says "Authorized" and "Success". But is it? Yeah, it is, but only if you remove this piece of useless software. A trick (which also works randomly) is to go to your facebook page, click on privacy settings and edit applcations. Then remove gwibber and try again. But, hey, try to do that from multiple computers! If you remove the authorization, gwibber on the computer you already authorized will stop updating and you will get nothing but days old friends messages reminding you that your favorite soccer team lost the last game. It sucks, right?

If you are able, somehow, to get the program running with facebook, things do not get much better. Gwibber lacks a few simple, but important features. First of all, it does not seem it can distinguish between the messages and the wall posts. So when you click on "Messages", you actually get the wall posts. This feature works slightly better with twitter. Moreover, if there is a post with several comments, only some of them are displayed. Are they the last ones? Well, that would be reasonable, would it? No, you get comments in a totally random order. Well, but that would be fine... if we could actually see all of them. But you can't. You just see those two or three messages, and that's all. And, of course, you cannot "Like" a specific comment, but only the main message. Which, by the way, does not work all the time, of course.

I am stunned. I am actually hoping this program gets nuked from Ubuntu as soon as possible. The real problem is that, while for twitter, digg, flickr and such there are a few alternatives, there are not so many for facebook (apart from prism, which is a trick). There is one little, very nice piece of software, which is called yoono. It works great, but it does not have a full integration with Ubuntu. This means that you need to compile it, you don't get an icon for it anywhere, it lays in your desktop somewhere and, of course, it does not go in your message menu. You cannot minimize it (you can use alltray, but this is a trick). There is no integration, I repeat. Which sucks, because it let you waste time. And it does not work after suspend or hibernate. You need to restart it, which is, again, a few clicks. But this is another story....

I told you this was a rant...

1 comments |

Program focus: Ailurus

Author: Simone Labels:: Ailurus, linux, tweaking, ubuntu

Ailurus is a nice little program that allows you to tweak your Ubuntu installation. It is thought for the Linux newcomers, but it has very interesting feature that will appeal also the more experienced users. The most important feature of Ailurus is the possibility of accessing several layers of optimization.

To install the program, go to Ailurus webpage and download from the right tab the version that fits your Ubuntu flavor.

Once the package has been downloaded, double-click on it or type from command line

sudo gdebi <ailurus_package_name>

Follow onscreen instructions. The program will be accessible from Applications -> System tools.

The program has a few interesting features a new Linux user will certainly appreciate. First of all, under the Systems Settings tab there is a very useful automatic configuration button for Mozilla Firefox. One may play a little with the settings the author of the program has chosen, which are certainly optimal for some configurations but may be sub-optimal for you.

There are several other interesting options this little utility brings to the Linux user, from a simple program installation tab to a tab that allows one to choose the fastest repositories based on the location.

A very interesting feature that may be attract also the more expert user is the possibility of taking snapshots of the programs installed (through apt) on the system. In this way, you can easily keep track of the system's performances while installing new programs. It is unclear to me if that would include also the programs installed through gdebi, but it is indeed a simple and yet useful idea.

The program also allows one to get rid of useless stuff, like unused kernels and config files for uninstalled programs. Furthermore, the memory can be freed, as well as some disk space through cleaning the apt cache and the recent documents list.

Finally, a feature that I really liked: Linux tips & tricks and the chance (that I personally took) of downloading a free copy of the Ubuntu pocket guide and subscribing to the magazine "Full Circle".

In short, Ailurus is a very nice program, very useful whether you are a Linux guru or a newb. Give it a try!

0 comments |

The Hot ChocoLinux Cup

Compiling and linking netlib

Why gwibber sucks

Program focus: Ailurus

Blog Archive

Followers

Popular Posts

Labels

About Me