Re: sharing packages between multiple installations
- To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
- Subject: [mg46398] Re: sharing packages between multiple installations
- From: drbob at bigfoot.com (Bobby R. Treat)
- Date: Mon, 16 Feb 2004 23:43:22 -0500 (EST)
- References: <c0qjkn$kb2$1@smc.vnet.net>
- Sender: owner-wri-mathgroup at wolfram.com
In any of these directories $AddOnsDirectory $BaseDirectory $UserBaseDirectory you can place "application" directories, such as "Ersek", where I put all the packages I've downloaded that Ted Ersek wrote, "TensorCalculus" where I put David Park's package for tensor calculus, and "DrBob" where I put things I've done. In "DrBob" I have "Master.m" from which I load utilities I've written. There's a palette in the directory C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Mathematica\Applications\DrBob\FrontEnd\Palettes and Help Files (BrowserCategories, etc.) in C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Mathematica\Applications\DrBob\Documentation\English So... I think you're not far from what you want. Bobby pdickof at sasktel.net (Peter Dickof) wrote in message news:<c0qjkn$kb2$1 at smc.vnet.net>... > Configuration: We have multiple Windows machines with separate > single-machine V5.0.1.0 Mathematica licenses connected to a network. > Each machine has mathematica installed on its C-drive as usual. > > Intent: We wish to share some packages that we have written by storing > them on a network drive available to all these machines. That way we > don't have to copy (and recopy and worry about version changes, etc > etc) to everyone's local drive. > > Progress: > I have found the mathematica symbols $AddOnsDirectory and > $UserAddOnsDirectory (They don't appear in the Help browser index!) by > looking at the help browser here: > "Add-Ons&Links->Standard Packages->Appendix: How > Mathematica)->AutoLoading Packages" and then finding the section > "autoload directory". All I need to do is define (after unprotecting) > the $AddOnsDirectory to point to the right place (L:/mystuff), and > everything seems to work just the way I want. All the WRI stuff seems > to work in its original location on the C: drive, and so does ours in > its location on L:. I plan to put this in the initialization for every > workstation. > > Puzzles: > 1) How do we make the help notebooks we have written for our packages > available in the help browser in a similar way? I set up > BrowserCategories, etc etc which worked on the C drive in the > appropriate location under Version 4.0, the question relates only to > keeping them on the network drive and separate from the WRI > distribution. The documentation says "You should place all new > material that you want to add to the Help Browser in the > Documentation/English/AddOns directory, which is specifically intended > for the purpose.", but I want our help kept in a central location just > like our code is (and preferable in the same directory with the code > rather than split up the way WRI does it). Where/what symbol can I use > to add our stuff to the search path used by "rebuild help index"? > > 2) Why is the ($AddOnsDirectory) so well hidden in the documentation? > Is this not intended to be used in this way? There is also a > $BaseDirectory and $UserBaseDirectory (see Appendix A.8.2, help > browser "Mathematica Book->Mathematica reference guide->Mathematica > File Organization->Loadable Files"), but that seems to require placing > WRI stuff on the network drive too, which seems a) unnecessary b) a > possible violation of our license and c) to mix up the WRI stuff and > our own stuff. I would prefer to keep our work completely separate > from the baseline installation. > > 3) The help file section "AutoLoading Packages" identified under > "progress" has a hyperlink to Appendix A.8.7 but the link does > nothing! Is there an Appendix A.8.7? How do I find it? > > Thanks in advance! > > Peter Dickof