Tuesday 23 June 2009

XEphem 3.7.3

As promised. One of the two applications that started it all for me in terms of compiling for the Zaurus: XEphem. This is my compilation, and is the latest stable version of XEphem for the Sharp Zaurus (pdaXrom):


Unfortunately, night-mode is still not working! In the end, I compiled this naively on my Zaurus, so there is clearly something wacky about how the screen colours are set when switching to night mode. I will try and pursue a resolution to this via the XEphem forum. Until then, consider night mode unusable for this port. Personally, I believe this is ultimately caused by the use of the lesstif libraries rather than the motif libraries.

This is the free version of XEphem, which is functionally equivalent to the commercial version, but lacks the extensive star catalogues and images that the commercial version comes with. All I can say is that in my opinion, the big catalogues and images are worth the price - with them you really can carry the universe in your pocket!


You will need to install libxp for this application to run. I have included a download link for the libxp package I put together for compiling this application at the bottom of this post. You will also need the lesstif package, again, a download link is at the bottom of this post. Enjoy.

(required) Downloads
XEphem_3.7.3
libxp
lesstif_0.93.94

Saturday 20 June 2009

Status Update 2

I thought I had better post an update. There is a bunch of applications I am compiling / researching / testing at the moment:
  • I have completed compiling the latest XEphem, and will post that shortly.
  • I have compiled the latest texmacs, but the first cut ran way too slow! It is re-compiling now with some tweaks. Hopefully I can get the performance to an acceptable level - otherwise this will be posted as a curiosity rather than something useful!
  • Research is ongoing with regards to updating maxima. I have re-compiled the latest clisp, but it fails the test suite at test 53. I need to find out whether this is something I can fix, or if I need to start tracking back through previous versions to find the latest I can compile - which will then determine which version of maxima I can compile.
  • r, and octave were temporarily stalled for the lack of a FORTRAN compiler. I still have a plan for this, and am waiting on a very rainy day to try and put it in motion. I don't know if it is practical to use f2c (which I have) for these, but if necessary I will investigate this as an alternative to my main plan of attack.
  • I have an on-going battle with scigraphica. I am struggling to get the python numarray package compiled. Again, I have now figured out a possible plan of attack, and remain cautiously optimistic that I can get it to work - but this will take time since it requires changing the source code. The problem surrounds the handling of floating point exceptions.
  • grace has been put to one side for now. I ran into huge problems compiling the cephes package. Although I am not optimistic about this, I would like to feel it is possible. The application itself was an easy compile - as ever it is the 'other-bits' that cause the problems!
  • I have not looked at scilab yet, but am aware that it is a big - big job, and if I can get it compiled, it will not be the absolute latest.
  • genius is well and truly on my radar...
That's about it for now....check back soon for some of these updated applications.

Friday 19 June 2009

lyx 1.4.5.1 (qt)

Although not a calculation application, I do use this for reviewing my study papers. So if I use it, perhaps someone else will. So here is my compilation of lyx 1.4.5.1 with qt3 gui (pdaXrom):



It looks like this is as far as lyx goes for the Zaurus. Versions of lyx after 1.4.5.1 essentially require QT4. Although some support for GTK+ was incorporated experimentally into some versions in the 1.5.x release cycle, this support has now been dropped completely (certainly as of 1.6.3). Thus, lyx has become a QT4 application in total.

QT4 has apparently been compiled for the Zaurus, although I cannot find the resulting compiled files and I am not brave enough to try and compile QT4 myself at the moment. Also, I have read reports that certain QT4 elements do not behave well on the Zaurus (and have seen pictures to that effect). This is a tremendous shame, since it essentially locks out a whole load of users from quite an array of applications simply because QT4 is not available to them. However, if I do come across the files in my wanderings (or someone can tell me where they are), and I can extract the development libraries, I will endeavour to compile a more up to date release - but don't hold your breath. I have included a download link for the qt3 libraries you will need to run lyx, just in case you don't already have them.

I have included a download link to Jan Poland's huge compilation of teTeX 3.0 since it is the most comprehensive TeX installation I have come across for the Zaurus. Be warned though, you will need in excess of 230mb of space on your Zaurus to install this large TeX distribution. Finally, I have included simple configuration instructions for the big teTeX/lyx package combination. This is not particularly straightforward so if you do not know what to do to get the two to talk to each other, please follow the instructions - EXACTLY! There may be other ways of doing this configuration; all I know is this is what I do and it works. These instructions will ensure that the LaTeX part of the teTeX package is usable in lyx. You can of course trim down the installed teTeX package, or add other stuff to it. However, you will need to reconfigure teTeX and lyx when you add or remove items. Enjoy:

(required) Downloads
qt3libs_3.3.3-8
lyx_1.4.5.1

(optional) Downloads
teTeX_3.0_big
teTeX_lyx_big_configuration

Wednesday 17 June 2009

rlplot 1.5 (qt)

Here is my latest compilation, the current stable version of rlplot for the Sharp Zaurus (pdaXrom):


Although this is no heavy-weight graphing application, it is quite handy for producing small graphs and charts for on-screen viewing. However for us Zaurus users, the functionality and thus the usefulness of the software is a little limited. This version has been compiled as a QT3 application. All the really useful export goodies come when the application is compiled against QT4 - which we don't seem to have! However, kudos to the developer for providing support for QT3 and QT4 simultaneously, even if the functionality is dependent on which version of the QT libs the application is is compiled against! Of course, if you are really desperate for output, you can always grab a screen plot with GSnapshot! I have included a download ink for a GSnapshot ipk at the bottom of this post.

One of the features I like about this application its ability to overlay multiple plots:


So, for example, you can easily do a visual check of a data set for normal distribution. Data can be entered into a surprisingly capable spreadsheet-like grid or imported via CSV files, before being plotted with the integral plotting engine. A surprising large number of plot types are supported, from simple x-y scatter plots, through box/whisker plots and a fair few types between.

Being a QT application, you will need the QT3 libraries. I have included a download link to the relevant ipk at the bottom of this post in case you don't have them. Anyway, enjoy:

(required) Downloads
qt3libs_3.3.3-8
rlplot_1.5

(optional) Downloads
gsnapshot_alpha

Monday 15 June 2009

mathomatic 14.4.5

Here is my latest compilation: mathomatic 1.5 for the Sharp Zaurus (pdaXrom):


No special libraries are required to run this; just a single ipk to install. Although the interface for this application is a little dated, it is good at what it does and is surprisingly fast. This application has been in continuous development since 1986 - so it definitely qualifies as stable!

Outputs are presented nicely and in a form very reminiscent of the DOS based Derive. Anyway, hope this is of use to someone. I was expecting to upload this package yesterday, but a quick check of the author's web-site rjust prior to posting evealed that a new stable version had been released just before I checked!

(required) downloads
mathomatic_14.4.5

Sunday 14 June 2009

x48 0.4.3

I was in two minds whether to post this application, but on reflection I thought that since I occasionally dip into it when I don't have my normal calculator to hand, it does belong here. Here is Markus Fritze's x48 for the Sharp Zaurus (pdaXrom):


Although this application has not been compiled by myself (it was originally compiled by anunakin), I have re-packaged it with some goodies. This pretty faithful rendition of the last of HP's great industrial calculator designs (before HP became a toy manufacturer): the HP48GX. My ipk comes with a (revision R) ROM, and two storage cards (128k in port1 and 128k in port2) pre-configured. There appears to be a bug that ensures the valid card configurations are always limited to those of the HP48SX, ie 2 128k cards. I have tried various ROM images and card configurations, but always end up with two 128k cards, irrespective of the sizes of the files generated by mkcard that are used. This limits to a degree, the sort of applications that can be stored on one card, but I guess there is no reason why you cant have multiple cards. I would like to return to this to see if I can't get a proper GX card configuration accepted at some time in the future.

I have written a small how-to and some .ksc scripts for transferring files between the Zaurus and the emulator. Armed with these, the vast array of software for the HP48 at sites such as hpcalc.org is available to the Zaurus via X48. I have included a link to a kermit ipk (originally compiled by Jeffrey Altman for the Zaurus 5000) at the bottom of this post, which is what I use to transfer files to and from x48. The transfer how-to assumes the use of this package.


Although I believe Hewlett Packard retain the copyright on the ROMs, they made them 'available' for individuals not owning HP48s back in 2000 (for non-commercial use), so you can now use such ROMs with a clear conscience. Other ROM revisions can be found here. PDF manuals for the HP48 can be found here.

Sadly, it looks like the x48 project has stalled; the original developer has not released an update since 2005, so it looks like this is the final version of x48 unless someone else can pick it up.

Although this emulator is a little slow, it is workable particularly if you have 'must-have' applications for a real HP48. This application should run on a default pdaXrom installation.

(required) Downloads
x48_0.4.3

(optional) Downloads
kermit_8.0.206
Transfer how-to and kermit scripts

Wednesday 10 June 2009

Status update 1

I thought I had better post an update. There is a bunch of applications I am compiling / researching / testing at the moment:
  • I have tweaked X48 and should post that within a couple of days.
  • Also, an update to lyx has finished compiling (after 33 continuous hours!). I am working on the proper integration of a huge tex package to work with this - almost there on that one - just one more issue to be resolved.
  • I have an updated version of mathomatic done, which again should be uploaded with a couple of days.
  • xephem is about to be updated via my cross-compiler, so that should arrive within about a week.
  • Research is ongoing with regards to updating maxima. I need to re-compile clisp for this, but I have not yet tied down which version, since different versions work on different platforms! Once maxima has been updated, I will post an update for wxmaxima as well.
  • r and genius were temporarily stalled for the lack of a FORTRAN compiler. I now have a plan for this, and am just waiting on a rainy day to try and put it in motion.
  • I have an on-going battle with scigraphica. I am struggling to get numarray compiled. Again, I have now figured out a plan of attack, and remain cautiously optimistic that I can get it to work - but this will take time.
  • grace has been put to one side for now. I ran into huge problems compiling the cephes package. Although I am not optimistic about this, I would like to feel it is possible. The application itself was an easy compile - as ever it is the pre-requisites that cause the problems!
  • rlplot has bee updated, and again an update should appear shortly.
  • I have not looked at scilab yet, but am aware that it is a big - big job, and if I can get it compiled, it will not be the absolute latest.
One thing I have noticed. The lack of a useful implementation of QT4 is severely limiting the choice of what to compile.....

That's about it for now....check back shortly for some of these updated applications. Ohhh, almost forgot. I now have a SL-C1000 dedicated just to compilation which should make things a bit easier for native compiles.

Thursday 4 June 2009

yacas 1.2.2

Here is the current version of yacas for the Sharp Zaurus (pdaXrom):


No special libraries are required; this is a simple install of a single ipk. I have posted a link to the ipk at the bottom of the post. As you can see from the screen shot, the output isn't particularly elegant, but as a quick and dirty calculator its useful....

(required) Downloads
yacas_1.2.2

The Delights of Wikipedia...


Well, yesterday I decided that this blog needed a little higher profile, so I added an entry to the Software Resources part of the Zaurus entry in Wikipedia. Nothing wrong with that I supposed; after all, this blog is a legitimate source of compiled open source software for the Zaurus.

Two hours later the entry was removed! This kind of thing really winds me up; I make these applications available for the good of all. I make no money from this effort. There isn't even any advertising on this blog! I will try again, after I have opened an editing account. Perhaps the individual who feels that an application distribution resource that seeks to keep some of the fantastic open source software current for the Zaurus would like to contact me before removing the entry next time. After all, I suspect it is only a few die-hards like myself that are doing this sort of thing!

Wednesday 3 June 2009

Xephem 3.7.2

Here's an absolute peach of an application: Elwood Downey's (of Clear Sky Institute fame), XEphem 3.7.2 for the Sharp Zaurus (pdaXrom):


I cannot claim responsibility for compiling this, although it is on my list to compile and maintain. This version was found on erklulaneu's feed via Tyannozaurus.com.

I stumbled across this ipk quite by (very pleasant) accident, and when I found it I just sat there with my mouth open for a few seconds. This is because this was the one application I really wanted on the Zaurus. Since I couldn't initially find it, I started putting together a cross-compiler environment just to compile it - and then there it was! I spent so long searching and trying different things. I had even tried using the Psion Netbook version, since that also runs on an Intel ARM processor. Unfortunately, I ran into GLIBC version problems with that approach. I also found a dead link to an XEPhem ipk on the OESF forums.

There is one slight problem with this version; the night-mode causes the application to crash rather inelegantly! I When I come to compile this and bring it into my fold of applications to keep up to date, I will endeavour to resolve this issue.

However, since this is only 1 sub-decimal release behind the current version, I thought it worthwhile putting this here . I can confirm that this version works perfectly well with the star catalogues you get if you buy the full version. The file structure is exactly the same as this free version and is easy to figure out - just a lot more extensive. The application is very well behaved, and although not blindingly fast is perfectly usable on the Zaurus.


This application requires lesstif. I believe this is part of the standard pdaXrom but if not, I have included a download link to version 0.93.94 at the bottom of this post. Anyway, enjoy.

(required) Downloads
XEphem_3.7.2
lesstif_0.93.94

Tuesday 2 June 2009

wxMaxima 0.8.2

My latest offering: wxMaxima 0.8.2 for the Sharp Zaurus (pdaXrom):


...and the reason I wanted png support in gnuplot was to do in-line graphing with wxMaxima:


I have to say a big thank you to Ziga in the public forum of wxMaxima whose code change suggestion allowed me to compile this version of wxMaxima to run with v5.11 of Maxima. I also adjusted the source code of wxMaxima so that the initial window starts at 640X480 pixels. At the bottom of this post, I have included a ttf font that can be used to provide 'almost reasonable' Greek characters in wxMaxima. Put this font in your favourite place, and point wxMaxima at it via the Edit|Configure option.

This is kind of an interim release; I will be looking to bring Maxima up to date shortly, at which time I will re-compile and re-post wxMaxima.

To run wxMaxima, you need wxWdigets, and Maxima. I have included a download link for Wells Wang's wxWidgets ipk at the bottom of this post - just in case you don't have it. If you want to do in-line graphing, you need to be careful about the maxima.ipk you use; not all of the maxima.ipks I have come across support this. I have included a download link for yongun's maxima_5.11 which I do know supports in-line graphing, at the bottom of this post. To run Maxima, you need clisp, and libsigsegv. Once again, I have borrowed from yongun and included download links for the relevant ipks at the bottom of this post. For in-line graphing, you will need also to download and install most of the packages listed in the gnuplot 4.2.5 posting of Monday June 1st 2009 (phew). Enjoy:


(required) Downloads:
wxmaxima_0.8.2

wxwidgets_2.8.6
maxima_5.11
clisp_2.38
libsigsegv_2.2

(optional Greek letters) Downloads:
SPlonic.ttf

(optional in-line graphing) Downloads:
gnuplot_4.2.5
libgd_2.0.34rc2
pdflite_7.0.4p1

Monday 1 June 2009

gnuplot 4.2.5

Well, here's my first offering: gnuplot 4.2.5 for the Sharp Zaurus (pdaXrom). I have compiled into this release support for pdf and png terminals (I needed png support for another app, so I thought I may as well take the time and include pdf support as well)! You will therefore need to install both pdflite and libgd, both of which I have compiled and are available for download via the links at the bottom of this post. pdflite is released 'free for personal' use by PDFLib GMbH. Please make sure your use is in line with the terms of their license before using. I compiled this against WxWidgets 2.8.6 and have included a link for downloading this version compiled by Wells Wang just in case you cannot find it.

I had to disable the thin-splines method, both in the source code and through compiler flags to get this to compile (otherwise I was plagued with compiler segfaults). I think it is the parameters passed to one of the functions used by this method that causes the problem. Once I have caught up with other things, I will take another look and see of I can fix this. Until then, enjoy:


(required) Downloads:
gnuplot_4.2.5
libgd_2.0.34rc2
pdflite_7.0.4p1
wxwidgets_2.8.6