Installing AIPS on Ubuntu

EDIT : This was written for Ubuntu 10.04. Some additional details for newer versions of ubuntu can be found at http://astronomicalproblems.blogspot.ie/2013/05/installing-aips-on-ubuntu-1304.html.

The first pieces of software you need to install AIPS (Astronomical Image Processing System) are compilers for Fortran and C. I use gfortran and gcc/g++ because they are free and open (and easy to install), but if you have access to Intel's compiler suite use them for increased performance (or so I hear).

The easiest way to get gfortran, gcc and g++ is from the Synaptic Package Manager (under system/administration).


You'll also need to install a bunch of dependencies (all from Synaptic). These are:

        libx11-dev and its dependancies
        x11proto-xext-dev
        libxext-dev
        libxpm-dev
        libncurses5-dev
        libncursesw5-dev

When you have these installed, go to the NRAO AIPS website (http://www.aips.nrao.edu/) and grab the latest stable version of AIPS. This comes in the form of a tarball and a .pl script.

Put the tarball and the script in the directory where you want to install AIPS and follow the directions on http://www.aips.nrao.edu/install.shtml.

The settings you need to give the script vary according to your computer setup, but it's important to ensure that your fortran compiler is set to gfortran, and your c compiler to gcc. The linker should be gfortran too.

When you run the script everything should go smoothly! You're not done yet though. Make sure to add

        sssin        5000/tcp    SSSIN        # AIPS TV
        ssslock        5002/tcp    SSSLOCK        # AIPS TV Lock
        msgserv        5008/tcp    MSGSERV        # AIPS Message Server
        tekserv        5009/tcp    TEKSERV        # AIPS TekServer
        aipsmt0        5010/tcp    AIPSMT0
        aipsmt1        5011/tcp    AIPSMT1
        aipsmt2        5012/tcp    AIPSMT2
        aipsmt3        5013/tcp    AIPSMT3
        aipsmt4        5014/tcp    AIPSMT4
        aipsmt5        5015/tcp    AIPSMT5
        aipsmt6        5016/tcp    AIPSMT6
        aipsmt7        5017/tcp    AIPSMT7

to /etc/services to get AIPS to run properly. To do this you may need to open the file as root.

One last thing - add the aips path to your profile so you can run it straight from the terminal. For me the line was ". /home/colm/aips/LOGIN.SH; $CDTST". The CDTST bit at the end is needed if you intend to compile custom AIPS tasks.

Now you can begin monkeying around!