## Getting the source code

You have two ways of getting the most recent source code:

### Using [darcs](http://darcs.net)

This is the recommended way of installing Basilisk.

This is useful if you want to modify the code (because everything is
version-controlled) and also if you want to maintain your version
up-to-date.

On a Debian-like system (i.e. Debian, Ubuntu etc...) installing darcs
is as easy as

~~~bash
sudo apt-get install darcs flex make
~~~

To get the latest Basilisk source code do

~~~bash
darcs get http://basilisk.fr/basilisk
~~~

If later you want to update the source code, you just need to do

~~~bash
cd basilisk
darcs pull
~~~

and recompile using

~~~bash
make clean
make
~~~

Note that the [Basilisk View installation](#visualisation) may also
need separate recompilation.

### Using a tarball

If for some reason you can't use darcs, you can use this instead. You
will get exactly the same version as with darcs, but the code will not
be version-controlled.

~~~bash
wget http://basilisk.fr/basilisk/basilisk.tar.gz
tar xzf basilisk.tar.gz
~~~

If you don't have `wget`, just follow the
[link](/basilisk/basilisk.tar.gz), save the file or
extract the archive where you want to install it.

## Compilation

For compilation, the only requirement is a C99-compliant compiler and
the `make` utility (a version of `make` compatible with GNU make is
recommended but not essential).

If you are using gcc on a UNIX-like system, this should work:

~~~bash
cd basilisk/src
export BASILISK=$PWD
export PATH=$PATH:$PWD
ln -s config.gcc config
make -k
make
~~~

Note that on 32-bits systems you need to use *config.gcc.32bits*
instead.

If you are using another system/compiler (for example Mac OSX), find a
config file which looks close to yours, then try

~~~bash
cd basilisk/src
ls config.*
cp config.[your pick] config
make
~~~

You can also edit this file to customise things for your system
(please also consider sharing your new config file).

To avoid having to re-type the two export commands above everytime you
login, you should also add them to your `$HOME/.bashrc` file. You can
either edit `$HOME/.bashrc` manually or do

~~~bash
cd basilisk/src
echo "export BASILISK=$PWD" >> ~/.bashrc
echo "export PATH=\$PATH:$BASILISK" >> ~/.bashrc
~~~

## Useful additional packages

- gnuplot (> 4.2)
- imagemagick
- libav-tools
- smpeg-plaympeg
- graphviz
- valgrind
- gifsicle

and also
[gprof2dot](http://code.google.com/p/jrfonseca/wiki/Gprof2Dot). On a
Debian-like system (i.e. Debian, Ubuntu, Mint etc...) you just need to do

~~~bash
sudo apt-get install gnuplot imagemagick libav-tools smpeg-plaympeg graphviz valgrind gifsicle
~~~

## Visualisation

Online visualisation with [Basilisk View](view.h) requires a separate
[installation](gl/INSTALL).

Offline (interactive) [visualisation](bview) requires the
[installation](bview-server.c#installation) of the [Basilisk View
servers](bview-server.c).

## Using Basilisk with python

You will need [SWIG](http://www.swig.org/) which can easily be installed with

~~~bash
sudo apt-get install swig
~~~

You also need to setup the *MDFLAGS* and *PYTHONINCLUDE* variables in your
*config* file.

## Getting started

The best place to start is the [tutorial](/Tutorial).