X Windows Configuration Setup for Using NAG

The document NAG Fortran Library contains an overview of NAG and information on its use that should be read prior to reading this document.

The most efficient way to do program development with NAG on Strauss is to use a workstation that functions as an X Windows server. This type of workstation includes X terminals, Microsoft Windows systems using Exceed and UNIX workstations. In these multi-windowed environments, you can open several windows at once - a documentation window, an editor window and a compile/run window.

This document assumes that you have already modified your UNIX configuration files as described in the document Getting Started with NAG: Setting Up Your UNIX Account . Further modifications to these configuration files, described below, will facilitate your use of NAG in an X Windows environment.

Modifing your alias file

Add the following lines to the file called ~/.alias, which may not exist. These lines will create thre new commands. The first two, nagxterm and nagdoc will only work on strauss, the last nagstrauss will work on any Unix machine with ssh X tunnelling enabled (For example, copland, a linux machine or a Mac with OSX) The commands nagxterm and nagstrauss will open an xterm window just for working with NAG. Close the window or type exit when you are done. The command nagdoc will open a NAG documentation window.

if $?DISPLAY then
  alias nagxterm '(setenv NEED_NAG; xterm -name commands &)'
  alias nagdoc 'xterm -e lynx $NAG_DIR/doc/un.html'
  alias nagstrauss\
    ssh -X -f strauss.udel.edu 'setenv NEED_NAG\; xterm -name commands'
endif

These three new commands will automatically become defined when you start a new shell or open an new xterm window.

Modifing your X defaults file

The commands in the previous section all start an xterm with the name "commands". This is where you type commands to compile and run your program. Compiling and running your program may produce more lines of output than fit in a normally sized window. You may want to configure your X defaults so any window named "commands" has more lines on the screen, and more lines in the save buffer. Add the following lines to your ~/.Xdefaults-strauss.udel.edu file on strauss.

commands.VT100.Foreground: DarkSlateBlue
commands.VT100.Background: lightGray
commands.VT100.geometry:  80x48
commands.VT100.saveLines: 4800
commands.VT100.ScrollBar: true

In this case any xterm on strauss with the name "commands" will have these resources set. The window will be 48 lines long and 4800 lines (100 pages) will be save in the scroll back buffer. You can use the scroll bar, or you can use the Page Up, Page Down, Home and End keys to display all the saved lines.

It is recommended that you edit the source or data files from another window. That way, the normal output is not interupted with full screen edit lines.

Modifing your local X windows Server

X windows in a network windowing system, and typically your X windows home is not on strauss. You may be using gnome or KDE or CDE or Mac OSX. It is beyond the scope of this document to give detailed instructions for these desktop UNIX systems with X windows. You should be able to type the command

ssh -X -f strauss.udel.edu 'setenv NEED_NAG\; xterm -name commands'

into a configuration panel or a properties box to start a NAG configured xterm on strauss.

On a Windows PC with Hummingbird's eXceed X windows server, you can setup an icon on the Windows desktop to launch a NAG xterm on strauss, but you will need Hummingbird's SSH client. You can always follow the steps to accomplish the same thing.

Start the eXceed X windows server
Start the University supported SSH client
Connnect to strauss
Type nagxterm

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