Calling
From NEST
Contents |
Where is the executable?
The nest executable is installed in
<prefix>/bin/nest
where <prefix> is the installation directory. If you cannot remember where NEST was installed, enter the build directory and type
more extras/nest.config
The first lines show you where nest was installed.
Calling NEST
There are two ways to use NEST. First as a Python module, second as stand-alone application.
Using NEST with Python
First, you must tell Python where it finds NEST. To do this, define the environment variable PYTHONPATH.
For example, bash users type
export PYTHONPATH=<prefix>/lib/python2.5/site-packages
where you must replace 2.5 by your Python version. Again, you can consult extras/nest.config to learn which Python version NEST was compiled for.
Below is the transcript of a small Python session with NEST:
gewaltig@jasmin-vm:~$ ipython
Python 2.5.2 (r252:60911, Apr 21 2008, 11:12:42)
Type "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
IPython 0.8.1 -- An enhanced Interactive Python.
? -> Introduction to IPython's features.
%magic -> Information about IPython's 'magic' % functions.
help -> Python's own help system.
object? -> Details about 'object'. ?object also works, ?? prints more.
In [1]: import nest
-- N E S T --
Neural Simulation Tool
Copyright 1995-2007 The NEST Initiative
Version 1.9-7300-pre Jun 21 2008 02:40:38
This program is provided to you AS IS and comes with NO WARRANTY.
See the file LICENSE for details.
Type 'nest.sysinfo()' to see details on the system configuration.
Type 'nest.authors()' for information about the makers of NEST.
In [2]:
Running NEST without Python
NEST can be started by typing
<prefix>/bin/nest
at the command prompt. You should then see something like this: gewaltig@jasmin-vm:~$ nest
-- N E S T -- Copyright 1995-2007 The NEST Initiative Version 1.9-7300-pre Jun 21 2008 02:40:38 This program is provided to you AS IS and comes with NO WARRANTY. See the file LICENSE for details. Type 'help' to get more information. Type 'quit' or CTRL-D to quit NEST. SLI ]
Command line switches
Type
nest --help
to find out about NEST's command-line parameters.
gewaltig@jasmin-vm:~$ nest --help
usage: nest [options] [file ..]
-h --help print usage and exit
-v --version print version information and exit.
- --batch read input from a stdin/pipe
--userargs=arg1:... put user defined arguments in statusdict::userargs
-d --debug start in debug mode (implies --verbosity=ALL)
--verbosity=ALL turn on all messages.
--verbosity=DEBUG|STATUS|INFO|WARNING|ERROR|FATAL
show messages of this priority and above.
--verbosity=QUIET turn off all messages.
--verbosity=QUIET turn off all messages.
