CARMA Software Toolkit

Carma Software Toolkit :

Here is a list of components that we casually refer to as the CARMA Software Toolkit (CST). Some of the links are old components which we decided not to use, but still useful, others we actually use. (See also carma_pkg [restricted access]).

Some installation guidelines
CVS , source code management (see also CVS for BIMA for a tutorial and many links)
- other SCM links: A.C.M.E., or A.C.M.E.
- CVSup (ideal for binary data, or only to sync a (sub)tree, not provide write-back access)
- For CARMA cvs access you need environment variables
  CVSROOT = :ext:$USER@cvs.ovro.caltech.edu:/sw/cvscarma
  and probably
  CVS_RSH = ssh.
- subversion seems a nice replacement for CVS, it also comes with a new O'Reilly book.
- bitkeeper may not be such a good idea....
Compilers:
- GNU compiler (gcc, g++, g77; some packages have requirements on the version), and the GNU C++ Library. (latest-doxygen)
- intel compiler
- ccache, compiler cache
- CINT, a C/C++ interpreter
- STLport
Coding/Style:
- CARMA C++ Programming Style Guidelines, with links to:
  - C and C++ Style Guides (a large compiled list)
  - C++ portability guide (mozilla)
  - C+ Coding Standards (NFRA)
  - AIPS++ Programming: Standards and Guidelines
  - C++ Coding Standards (ALMA)
  - C++ Programming Style Guidelines (Geotechnical Software Services)
  - C++ Style Guide (Ellemtel Telecommunication Systems Laboratories)
  - Coding Conventions for C++ and Java applications (macadamian.com)
  - C++ Coding Standard (Todd Hoff)
  - ALMA's resource list (also some of Scott Meyers' checklists)
  - Making Wrong Code Look Wrong (Joel Spolsky)
- Some helpful guides, if you're into Code review and Code inspection
  - How to Write Unmaintainable Code
  - An Abbreviated C++ Code Inspection Checklist
  - Maintainability Code Inspection Checklist (somewhat java centric)
  - Code Review Checklist
  - ALMA's checklist
- Code documentation: doxygen
- AIPS++ quality assurance group (with links)
C++
- good collection of reference materials on C++.
- C++ Tip-of-the-Day
- Thinking in C++ (Bruce Eckel's online books)
Debugging:
- valgrind leak detector (see also Ben Zorn's extensive list, and the list from Mathtools.net)
- Debuggers: gdb, ddd, gvd.
- Profilers: gprof, tsprof,pmprof (i686 only)
- Code coverage: function/path coverage.
  - GNU's gprof/gcovtool (see also a graphical frontend, ggcov.
  - ggcov
  - COVTOOL.
  - Code Coverage Trade and Tricks.
  - ALMA's coverage types
- UnitTesting: cppunit (which we use), but also: cxxtest
- buzzilla
- bugcli (a CLI to bugzilla)
RDBMS:
- unixODBC, an ODBC driver manager for Unix which we use to communicate with our database
- MySQL
- PostgreSQL
- DB2 (also freely available)
- SQLite (A fast SQL Database Engine In a C Library)
- Our current RDBMS candidates are MySQL and PostgreSQL (we eagerly await the stable [production] release of MySQL 5.0).
Build system:
- autoconf, automake, autogen (see also GNU autoconf, automake and libtool (book by Vaughan et al.)
- Learning the GNU development tools tutorial
- GNU Autoconf Macro Archive
- patch for automake for support for IDL and C++ ORBs.
- GNU make, but see also the story Recursive Make Considered Harmful and What is Wrong with Make
- GMSL: the GNU Make Standard Library.
- tinderbox, and in particular our Tinderbox Status Page
- Advanced Bash-Scripting Guide
- Make alternatives?:
BLAS, LAPACK (for AIPS++). See also Blitz++.
Java, and specifically for linux: blackdown, sun, IBM.
OS issues:
- Real Time Linux (RTL vs. RTAI)?
- baseline redhat?
Hardware interfaces:
- GPIB
- CANbus (commercial modules from Janz) - see ovro/common/Janz
- cobra: cobra/buildScripts/Makefile*
ephemeris libraries (see also IAU-4 old and IAU-4 new; (NAIF (SPICE library: SPICELIB or CSPICE) USNO/NOVAS, libnova, ...)
- Rick Fisher's homepage
- JPL HORIZONS (web interface to ephemeris)
- SWISS EPHEMERIS (based on DE406)
- ephemeris software, with interfaces to JPL ephemeris (DE405)
CORBA: ORBacus, ORBit TAO/ACE (see also OMG)
- Python: fnorb, omniORB
- Python: SPyRO (Simple Python Remote Objects)
XML
- Xerces , from the Apache project
- Xeena and XML for C++
- XML C parser (Gnome) - also has a nice benchmark comparing expat/xerces/libxml/oracle/sun
- xmlbench, for all available multiplatform C/C++ (and some Java) XML parsers.
- A survey of XML standards (in 2 installments; great background material on XML)
PGPLOT Graphics Subroutine Library
CFITSIO, A FITS File Subroutine Library
wcstools: a libwcs library and associated utilities
Erit (A Collection of Efficient and Reliable Intersection Tests)
LOGGING:
- log4cpp: Logging classes for C++ (the ones we use)
- log4cxx, a log4j clone.
libcwd: The C++ Debugging Support Library
Weather:
- Campbell Scientific
- Davis Instruments Corporation (GroWeather)
- drivers for Lacrosse WS2300
- WX200 weather station
- wx2000
Scripting:
- SWIG (Simplified Wrapper and Interface Generator)
- SIP - create python bindings to C/C++
- Python (and see also my own python refs)
- Tcl/Tk (needed for AIPS++)
- CINT
Python:
- Python Image Libray (PIL)
- STSCI stuff: numarray, pyfits (not to be confused with NumPy)
- UW stuff: AstroPy (a collection of python for astronomy tools)
- pygsl
Fortran:
- Fortran to Java
peer-reviewed portable C++ source libraries (BOOST), which may need bjam
Database Template Library (make ODBC recordsets look just like an STL container)
Motif (e.g. lesstif, OpenMotif), both for MIRIAD and AIPS++
MIRIAD (comes with WIP)
NEMO (as library for WASP, also has table-plotters/fitters/...)
WASP and some details on Real-time linux and WASP software
ATM (wvr package at developed at UMD)
AIPS++
IDL (Kodak's rsinc)

Note that some packages listed here depend on packages earlier in the list. Some of these packages are also, or may also become, available through AstroMake.

CARMA_PKG

Software we don't develop, but critically develop on for CARMA is contained as source in a directory we refer to as $CARMA_PKG. The installation treats these "alien" packages differently, since one often only needs one compiled version (referrred to as $CARMA_TOOLS). However, we do maintain easy-to-use set of install scripts that simplify installing them (see $CARMA/conf/opt, and in particular the install_tools script):

Tools we use
- c++ (the gnu compiler)
- autoconf
- automake
Libraries we use
- ACE
- cppunit (unit testing)
- db (Berkeley db, needed by orbacus/notify)
- gsl (gnu scientific library)
- janz (commercial; drivers for CANbus )
- log4cpp (logging)
- notify (CORBA notification)
- notify-java (CORBA notification tools in java)
- NOVAS (Naval Observatory Vector Astrometry)
- omniORB
- orbacus (CORBA)
- orbacus-java (CORBA tools in java)
- pgplot
- libgtop (optional package for carma/dbms) [not needed anymore]
- peer-reviewed portable C++ source libraries (BOOST)
Java tools:
- apache-ant
- jdom (Java XML reader)
- xalan-java (XLST processing in java) [needs xerces-java, which we all include as jar files]
Python packages:
- Imaging: The "Python Image Library" (PIL)
- numarray: Numerical Python

Carma Software Toolkit :

CARMA_PKG

related useful links - to be organized