There are several libraries used by VMD for the different optional components. These libraries are either located in the lib subdirectory of the VMD working directory, or are located in standard system directories. This section describes the purpose, usage, and location of these libraries. Note that in the following, the list item headers contain the library name and associated header files in parentheses; also, the word ARCH refers to the name of the Unix version for which VMD is to be compiled (i.e., IRIX5 or HPUX9). For almost all cases, the listed libraries are used when a specific configuration option is used to add an optional component into VMD (e.g. the FORMS or the TCL options).
Configuration option: GL.
Expected library location: system directory, typically /usr/lib.
Expected header file location: system directory, typically /usr/include.
Purpose: this is the main graphics library developed by Silicon Graphics. It is used when VMD
is being compiled on an SGI workstation. This library is needed by all the FormsObj
base- and sub-classes, as well as all classes which begin with the word GL or Cave (i.e., GLRenderer, CaveDisplayDevice).
Configuration option: GL, when used with HPUX9 machines.
Expected library location: set by NPGLHOME environment variable. The library should be in $NPGLHOME/lib.
Expected header file location: $NPGLHOME/include.
Purpose: this is a commercial version of the GL library from Portable Graphics, Inc. This library is used when compiling with the GL optional component on non-SGI workstations (currently, tested on HP-UX workstations). Note that this is not a free product; to use it, the person compiling VMD
must have access to a licensed copy of the library.
Configuration option: FORMS.
Expected library location: lib/forms/lib_ARCH.
Expected header file location: lib/forms/include.
Purpose: this is the FORMS library from Mark Overmars; it provides an easy to use set of buttons, sliders, dials, etc. for use as components of a graphical user interface. It uses the GL library.
Configuration option: TCL.
Expected library location: must be already installed on your system.
Expected header file locaton: must be already installed as well.
Purpose: This library is used to parse and interpret text command scripts, including the capability to have variable substitution, control loops, procedure and function definitions, etc. This library is used by the UIText
object.
Configuration option: REMOTE.
Expected library location: lib/mdcomm/lib_ARCH.
Expected header file location: lib/mdcomm/include.
Purpose: this is the MDComm
application library which is used by VMD
to allow access to a remote MD simulation running on another computer. The objects in the Remote category use this library (more directly, the Remote
and MoleculeRemote
objects call functions in this library.
Configuration option: CAVE.
Expected library location: lib/cave/lib_ARCH.
Expected header file location: lib/cave/include.
Purpose: this is the CAVE library, used to display images in the CAVE virtual environment. It is used by all objects and files with the word Cave in their names, i.e., CaveDisplayDevice
.
Configuration option: UNC.
Expected library location: lib/unc/lib_ARCH.
Expected header file location: lib/unc/include.
Purpose: used by the UNCTracker
object to access an external spatial tracking device connected to the graphics workstation running VMD
. It uses a configuration file .tracker to simplify configuation of these spatial trackers, and allows VMD
to use a variety of different devices without recompilation. It has been developed at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Configuration option: EXTERNAL.
Expected library location: must be already installed on your system.
Expected header file location: must be already installed as well.
Purpose: The popular PVM library for passing messages between processes.
This library is used by an experimental object UIExternal
which is used
to allow external programs to communicate text commands directly to VMD
via
the network.