mcview

mcview is a Python module that uses the Python wrapper for HepMC to load and view HepMC events as 3D final-state representations in (log-)momentum space, and to dump the graph structure to PDF and graphviz formats.

PREREQUISITES

* vpython's "visual" module

This is the 3D system that HepMCView uses (you didn't think I was going to write my own 3D graphics library, did you?!?). Available through the Debian/Ubuntu packaging system as python-visual. You could build it yourself from the sources at www.vpython.org, but beware that it doesn't build on Scientific Linux 3 or 4 since, erm, both are now more than 3 years out of date and the rest of the world has moved on...

* Python and C++ compiler

Obviously... but less obviously you need the Python headers, possibly available as a system package called python-dev.

* HepMC

Also obviously, and also you need the headers. Latest versions (2.04 onwards) are recommended but shouldn't be essential.

* SWIG

The Simple Wrapper and Interface Generator - this is used to take the pain out of writing the Python-C++ boilerplate interface code. Pretty neat.

* GNU autotools

The usual automake, autoconf and libtool combination. You won't need this if you got HepMCView as a tarball containing a "configure" script.

BUILDING IT

The usual... autoreconf, configure, make && make install. Current wrinkles are that you must have specified a configure prefix such that libHepMC can be found in $(prefix)/lib and its headers in $(prefix)/include.

I can't be bothered to write more instructions just now so mail me if you have trouble.

RUNNING IT

In principle, running HepMCView should just be a matter of calling the hepmcview script (either from the build area or the $(prefix)/bin directory after the "make install" build phase. The command takes the name of a HepMC IO_Ascii format dump file as an argument:

> hepmcview path/to/ioascii-events.hepmc

If the installation is to a non-system location, you'll have to make sure that your PYTHONPATH variable is set to include them:

* To run from the build directory without installing:
export PYTHONPATH=$PYTHONPATH:$PWD/.libs:$PWD

* To run from the installed location, if prefix isn't /usr (or maybe /usr/local):
export PYTHONPATH=$PYTHONPATH:< HEPMCVIEWINSTALLPREFIX >/lib/python< PYVERSION >/site-packages
(making sure to substitute for the things in angle brackets)

You also need to make sure that libHepMC is picked up by the runtime linker - this may require something like this:

export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$LD_LIBRARY_PATH:< HEPMCINSTALLPREFIX >/lib
(making sure again to substitute for the contents of angle brackets)

Requirements:

• Python