Getting Started
Paul Johnson
University of Kansas
Swarmfest 2005
Torino, Italy
2005/6/1

Basic Facts
Free & Open Source Software Library
Library: routines you can use
GNU software framework & tools
gcc : GNU compiler collection
Make & related tools
Compile a program: use “make” command to trigger process that 
translates *.h and *.m into *.o, 
executable program
Where do you stand?
Novice Programmer? Swarm's a good way to learn
Get a good book on C:
Kochan, Programming in ANSI C
Kernighan & Richie: The C Programming Language 
Work hard on 1st part of Swarm Tutorial
Intermediate:  learn ideas of Object-Oriented Programming
Java users: still need to master Obj-C Swarm
Motivate Yourself by Example Programs
Find working / published examples
Dedicate yourself to understanding 
(& fixing ! ) them
Read every line of code
Explore variations
First, you must install Swarm libraries
Building requires installation of many programs you might not have

Easier to install a “pre-built” binary package for your operating system
Linux 
With the RPM package manager, install
hdf5
blt
swarm
jdk-1.4.2 (from Sun javasoft)
swarm-jdk (optional)
swarm-debuginfo (optional)
swarm-static (optional)
Windows
Download setup.exe
Run setup.exe, choose “download packages” 
browse through selected packages
do not de-select any!
add some, such as “wget” or “vim”
Run setup.exe again, choose “install from local directory”
Choose target directory WITH NO SPACES, such as  c:\cygwin
OK to update Cygwin against other repositories
Gathering Tools	
Make sure you have a good editor:
Emacs
gdb : The GNU debugger
Web sites to remember
Swarm Development Group: 
http://www.swarm.org (old)
http://wiki.swarm.org (new)
My Swarm HQ:  http://lark.cc.ku.edu/~pauljohn/Swarm
Swarm packages for Linux users
Links to many resources (discussed next)
Wiki has potential as “clearinghouse” for Swarm info (but requires user effort)

Gather Manuals
Put copies in ~/swarm/docs
The “Objective-C” book in pdf form
The reference guide for Swarm
Don't take the source code for the guide
Look for a bland name like “set-html-2.2.tar.gz”
Swarm User Guide
A [immodesty alert] pretty good discussion of Swarm in Objective-C
Look for it in html or postscript or pdf format
SwarmOnlineFaq
Keep a copy of the Swarm Source code, even if you don't compile Swarm

Join Email Lists
swarm-support and swarm-modelling (via www.swarm.org)
Swarmapps
Swarmapps-objc is a tar.gz file containing the Swarm Tutorial as well as other demonstration programs.
Most recent official release: 
swarmapps-objc.2.2-2.tar.gz
Read through the Swarm Tutorial
Steps from elementary C to the design of Swarm models.
Recently added elements
“batch” processing of simulations
parameter classes & command line arguments
data collection
Shop for working programs
Swarm changes, programs change, not all work all of the time
Get programs from authors or on the web
Swarm ftp site has 
apps/objc/sdg		apps/objc/contrib
apps/java/sdg 	       apps/java/contrib
Make sure a program compiles & runs before you exert any effort on it.
If you find a program is out of date, contact the author directly. Don't be bashful.
Small Working Examples
Marcus Daniels (SDG) wrote many small programs that illustrate usage of specific Swarm elements.
Best way to learn “how to” use a particular thing.
Best way to get help and report bugs
These and others are collected in the WorkingExampleCode directory referred to in SwarmFAQ