Installing On Windows

The following was developed using Windows 7 and Visual Studio Community 2017 or 2019. The preferred method is to use Python 3. For now support is also provided to use the built-in Python 2, but Python 2 support is now a depreciated functionality.

Software setup

In order to run Basilisk, the following software will be necessary:

• Cmake

• Python 3.7 or 2.7

• pip

• Visual Studios 15 or Greater

• Swig version 3 or 4

Configuration

Decide whether target deployment is 32 (win32) or 64 (x64) bit. Which ever chosen you will need the matching python and software for that architecture.

Configuring Python

Python is installed using the Windows installer found on the Python website. Make sure to choose the correct installer for your architecture. The Additional required Python packages

• numpy

• matplotlib

• pytest

• conan

• pandas

are installed using the Python package manager pip (pip.exe) which comes default with the Windows Python installer. To install additional Python packages with pip the following command is executed at command line:

C:\Users\patrick> pip --trusted-host=pypi.python.org install <package name>

Configuring Swig

The standard windows swig version 3 or 4 is suitable for Basilisk (see Configuration Instructions).

• Download the swig zip file, which includes swig.exe file, and unzip it into somewhere like C:/Program Files/Swig

• Add swig path into environment variables using the following steps:

  • Right-click on My Computer, Select Properties

  • Under the Advanced tab, Select Environment Variables

  • Under the System Variables panel, Select Path, and Click Edit

  • Add the swig.exe directory to your path

Example added path formats:

PYTHON_INCLUDE = C:\Program Files\Python27\include
PYTHON_LIB = C:\Program Files\Python27\libs\python27.lib

Install Conan

Go to the Conan Website and download the windows installer. Proceed with installation. If it asks to be added to the PATH, allow it to add itself to the PATH. The conan environment is setup using:

$ conan remote add bincrafters https://api.bintray.com/conan/bincrafters/public-conan
$ conan remote add conan-community https://api.bintray.com/conan/conan-community/conan

Pulling and Building the Basilisk Project

When all the prerequisite installations are complete, the project can be built as follows.

1. A Git compatible version control tool like SourceTree should be used to pull/clone the Basilisk repository.

2. First step is to create the destination directory. This is dist3 for Python 3 and dist for Python 2:

   $ mkdir dist3
   $ cd dist3
   

3. Configuration and Build:

   • Python 2:

     cmake -G "Visual Studio <MSVC Version> <MSVC Product Year> Win<arch>" ../src -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug -DUSE_PROTOBUFFERS=OFF
     cmake --build . --target ALL_BUILD --config Release
     

   • Python 3:

     cmake -G "Visual Studio <MSVC Version> <MSVC Product Year> Win<arch>" ../src -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug -DUSE_PROTOBUFFERS=OFF -DUSE_PYTHON3=ON
     cmake --build . --target ALL_BUILD --config Release
     

   • Example command using x86:

     cmake -G "Visual Studio <MSVC Version> <MSVC Product Year> Win32" ../src -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug -DUSE_PROTOBUFFERS=OFF
     

     MSVC Mapping

     MSVC Product Year	MSVC Version
     2019	16
     2017	15.9 15.8 15.7 15.6 15.5 15.4 - 15.3 15.2 - 15.0
     2015	14
     2013	12
     2012	11

   Example build commands for Arch x86, MSVC Year 2017, MSVC Version 15:

   cmake -G “Visual Studio 15 2017 Win32” ../src
   

   Example build commands forArch x64, MSVC Year 2019, MSVC Version 16:

   cmake -G “Visual Studio 16 2019” -A x64 ../src -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug -DUSE_PROTOBUFFERS=OFF
   
   cmake -G “Visual Studio 15 2017 Win64” ../src -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug -DUSE_PROTOBUFFERS=OFF
   

4. If the build was not setup correctly, you can delete the dist3 folder and re-run the above command to get another clean build attempt.

5. To test your setup you can run one of the Example Scripts:

   • For example, in the terminal window, make basilisk/src/examples the current directory.

   • Run one of the tutorial scenarios, such as:

     $ python3 scenarioBasicOrbit.py