SPEX version 2.0 is now available here. There is a LINUX version, a dec/alpha and a Solaris version.

The current version is 2.00.11 (but for DEC/Alpha there is currently only an older version)
It is advised to check this page for updates or newer versions

The following steps are needed:

1. Create a root directory,

for example /home/kaastra/spex
(do not use the same directory as used for version 1 if you had that installed)
In the examples below, we will call this "/spexroot", but substitute your own path for this!

2. Get the files

LINUX: (Redhat)
 

• Executable binary of main program SPEX
• Executable binary of auxiliary program trafo
• Necesary data files
• Manual
• List of changes

Your system needs to have the following libraries on RedHat 8.0 & 9.0 (usually they are already installed):

XFree86-libs-4.2  (libX11.so.6)
glibc-2.3.2               (libc.so.6 / libm.so.6 / libdl.so.2 / ld-linux.so.2)
libf2c-3.2                 (libg2c.so.0)
 

LINUX: (SUSE)
 

• Executable binary of main program SPEX
• Executable binary of auxiliary program trafo
• Necesary data files
• Manual
• List of changes

Your system needs to have the following libraries on RedHat 8.0 & 9.0 (usually they are already installed):

XFree86-libs-4.3  (libX11.so.6)
glibc-2.3.2               (libc.so.6 / libm.so.6 / libdl.so.2 / ld-linux.so.2)
gcc-g77-3.3.1        (libg2c.so.0)
 

Solaris (version 2.8)
 

• Executable binary of main program SPEX
• Executable binary of auxiliary program trafo
• Necesary data files
• Manual
• List of changes

        libX11.so.4         =>   /usr/openwin/lib/libX11.so.4
        libnsl.so.1            =>   /usr/lib/libnsl.so.1
        libsocket.so.1    =>    /usr/lib/libsocket.so.1
        libm.so.1             =>    /usr/lib/libm.so.1
        libF77.so.3         =>   /opt/SUNWspro/lib/libF77.so.3
        libsunmath.so.1 =>   /opt/SUNWspro/lib/libsunmath.so.1
        libc.so.1               =>    /usr/lib/libc.so.1
        libXext.so.0        =>  /usr/openwin/lib/libXext.so.0
        libdl.so.1              =>   /usr/lib/libdl.so.1
        libmp.so.2           =>    usr/lib/libmp.so.2
        /usr/platform/SUNW,Ultra-60/lib/libc_psr.so.1

DEC/alpha  (Version 2.00.07 only!)
 

• Executable binary of main program SPEX
• Executable binary of auxiliary program trafo
• Necesary data files
• Manual
• List of changes

        libX11.so  =>   /usr/shlib/libX11.so
        libshpf.so  =>   /usr/shlib/libshpf.so
        libUfor.so  =>   /usr/shlib/libUfor.so
        libfor.so  =>   /usr/shlib/libfor.so
        libFutil.so  =>   /usr/shlib/libFutil.so
        libm.so  =>   /usr/shlib/libm.so
        libots.so  =>   /usr/shlib/libots.so
        libm_c32.so  =>   /usr/shlib/libm_c32.so
        libexc.so  =>   /usr/shlib/libexc.so
        libc.so  =>   /usr/shlib/libc.so

3. Unpack the files

put the files in the SPEX root directory /spexroot

Then type:

cd  /spexroot
gzip -d spexdata.tar.gz
tar xvf spexdata.tar
gzip -d manual.ps.gz
mkdir bin
chmod +x spex_solaris
chmod +x trafo_solaris
mv spex_solaris bin
mv trafo_solaris bin

(in the above four steps, replace "solaris" by "linux" or "linux_suse" if you use the other operating system)

4. Define your environment variables

In your  .login file (or any other file where you set your environment variables) put:

setenv SPEX90 /spexroot

where /spexroot stands again for the root directory of your SPEX installation.

If you have the plotting package pgplot installed on your system, than you do not need to set more environment variables. To check if you have pgplot installed on your system, you can simply type :
echo $PGPLOT_DIR
if you get an answer back, like in my case /home/kaastra/pgplot/pgbin, you are done. If not, set the following environment variables:

setenv PGPLOT_DIR /spexroot/data/pgplot

setenv PGPLOT_FONT /spexroot/data/pgplot/grfont.dat

5. Make aliases (optional)

It may be useful to make aliases to the SPEX program and the auxiliary programs. You can put the following aliases in your .cshrc shell:

alias spex  '/spexroot/bin/spex_linux'
alias trafo '/spexroot/bin/trafo_linux"

etc.

6. Test if SPEX works properly

see the file /spexroot/test/README for  details of the test you need to perform.
 

7. Clean up

do not forget to remove /spexroot/spexdata.tar after succesful installation

8. Read the documentation and examples

Both for experienced and less experienced users it is often useful to consult the manual and documentation.

Bug reports

In case you encounter problems with the software you can contact me. Note however that my time is limited, so I suggest you do the following.

1. First try to find out if you can resolve the problem yourself.
2. It is amazing how often a consultation of the manual can help you.
3. Consult other people at your site who have experience with SPEX.
4. If this does not help, send me a SPEX command file (.com) that is as short as possible and that reproduces the error. Do  not forget to include also any necessary data files (.spo, .res) that were used when the error occurred. Also give a screen dump of the error message.

Finally, note that this is a beta release. Not all functionalities may work fully, and not all documentation is ready.