bionic (1) gmtswitch.1gmt.gz

NAME

       gmtswitch - Switching between different GMT versions

SYNOPSIS

       gmtswitch [ D | version ]

INTRODUCTION

       gmtswitch  helps  you  modify  your environment to allow for the switching back and forth between several
       installed GMT versions, in particular GMT 5 and versions from the GMT 4 series. It works by maintaining a
       list  of  directories  to GMT installations in a file in your home directory, then manipulates a symbolic
       link to point to the GMT directory whose executables we wish to use [The  Windows  version  works  a  bit
       differently; see WINDOWS below].

REQUIRED ARGUMENTS

       None.  If  no arguments are given you are presented with a menu of installed GMT versions from 1 to n and
       you specify which one you wish to switch to.

OPTIONAL ARGUMENTS

       D      Select the default GMT version. This is the first entry in the ~/.gmtversions file

       version
              Search for a unique match in the ~/.gmtversions file. If one match is  found  we  switch  to  that
              entry; otherwise an error is generated.  where module is the name of a GMT program and the options
              are those that pertain to that particular program.

SETUP

       If you have official versions installed then running gmtswitch the very first time will examine your hard
       disk  starting  at  /  and look for directories with GMT4 or GMT5 in the name. This will fail to find the
       subversion directories and possibly others you have placed elsewhere.  The fastest  way  to  get  up  and
       running is this:

       1.

          Edit/Create ~/.gmtversions and add the paths to all GMT installations
                 you  have  or  care  to consider. Each path goes on separate lines and points to the top dir of
                 each distribution, e.g., /Users/pwessel/UH/RESEARCH/PROJECTS/GMTdev/GMT4.5.7

       2.

          In your .bashrc or .[t]csrh or wherever you are maintaining your PATH
                 or path variable, remove any directories you have added that contain GMT, and add the new  path
                 $HOME/this_gmt/bin  (might  be  $home  for  csh users).  Make sure this path appears before any
                 others that might contain a GMT installation, such as those used  by  package  managers  (e.g.,
                 /sw/bin for fink, /opt/local/bin for Macports, etc.).

       3. Make the new path take effect (quit/restart terminal, logout/login, etc).

       4.

          cd to the most recent GMT directory where a gmtswitch version lives,
                 and run gmtswitch with no argument. Select one of the version from the menu.

       5. If in csh you may have to say rehash afterwards.

       6.

          Type “psxy -” and the synopsis should tell you that you got the
                 correct version. You can now run gmtswitch from anywhere; try it out and make sure that you can
                 switch between the versions.

EXAMPLES

       To switch to GMT version 4.5.7 (assuming it was installed as such and not via a package manager), try
          gmtswitch GMT4.5.7

       To switch to the default (your top choice), do
          gmtswitch D

       Finally, to select from the menu, just run
          gmtswitch

       and pick the one you want.

BEWARE

       GMT remembers where it was installed the first time and uses that dir  to  find  the  default  GMT  share
       directory. If you move entire GMT installation after compilation then you may have to set GMT_SHAREDIR to
       point to the top dir in order for things to work. It is best not to move things after installation.

WINDOWS

       Under Windows use gmtswitch.bat which is a batch script that changes the Windows PATH  variable  so  that
       the  BIN  directory  of  the  preferred  version  always  comes  first. To do that the batch works in two
       alternative modes:

       1 - Permanent mode

       2 - Temporary mode

       The permanent mode makes use of the free executable program “EditPath” to change the  user  path  in  the
       registry. It’s called permanent because the changes remains until … next change. See

       http://www.softpedia.com/get/Tweak/Registry-Tweak/EditPath.shtml

       Of  course  the editpath.exe binary must be in your system’s path as well.  WARNING: The path change will
       not be visible on the shell cmd where it was executed. For the change to be active you will need to  open
       a new cmd window.

       The second mode is temporary because the path to the selected GMT binary dir is prepended to the previous
       path via a shell command line. This modification disappears when  the  shell  cmd  window  where  it  was
       executes is deleted.

       It  is  the user responsibility to set the contents of the G32_32 to G5_64 below to valid paths where the
       binaries of the different GMT versions are installed Note that it is not mandatory to have  all  four  of
       them in you computer. For the ones you do not have just let them pointing to nothing e.g.,

       set G4_64=

       The permanent mode is the default one (but this can be changed. See edit section) To run in the temporary
       mode just give a second argument (doesn’t matter what)

       Example usage to set a GMT5 64 bits permanent

       gmtswitch g5_64

       To temporary set a GMT4 32 bits do

       gmtswitch g4_32 1

       Run without arguments to get a “Usage” (for permanent mode)

COPYRIGHT

       2018, P. Wessel, W. H. F. Smith, R. Scharroo, J. Luis, and F. Wobbe