/users/rlr/Courses/ICPSR-03/Handouts/getting-started.txt -------------------------------------------------------- At the ICPSR labs, you can login to the CSCS computers by going to Start -> All Programs -> Hummingbird Connectivity V8.0 -> Exceed -> Exceed XDMCP - Broadcast Then a window should pop up with a selection of CSCS computers to log into. Double click on one based on the last two digits of your CSCS login: sum03 04-06 alveare 16-18 ghiandi 07-09 pesce 19-21 lastrada 10-12 posare 22-23 lupo 13-15 battistini 24-25 prateria > 25 pick randomly from: lupo pulcina volpe dolce Then a login prompting window with CSCS on it should pop up: enter your CSCS login (eg sum0304), and when it asks for your password, enter that. There will be a bit of a pause as it starts up the linux GDM window manager. You should see a new task bar appear at the bottom of the screen. (In future logins, you may see other screens pop up if you told the system to remember them.) At the CSCS lab: the CSCS login screen will be on the the console, so you just start from there. ******** DON'T FORGET TO LOGOUT WHEN DONE ******** At ICPSR: In the linux taskbar, on the far left, there is a RedHat icon: click on it and it will bring up a popup menu (similar to the Start menu in windows) Select the Logout item--that logs you off the CSCS computer. Then click on Exit in the window that is titled "XDMCP Display Manager Chooser" which will pop up again (the window with the selection of CSCS machines). At CSCS: RedHat->logout in the panel at bottom of the screen *************************************************** On the machines at ICPSR: To see your windows task bar while the linux GDM task bar is there: Press (together) KeyWithWindowsIconOnIt - D (that's the key left of the space bar a bit) You should see the windows task bar come to the foreground, and you will still see the GDM task bar behind it. A note on three-button vs two-button mice: Most things done with mb1 (left button), but some things with other two (middle=mb2 and right=mb3) On 2-button mouse, try pressing both at once to get the effect of the middle mb2. Note on Backspace: it seems to require ^H (control-H) ********************************************************** *** *** *** IMPORTANT LESSONS *** *** *** Keep trying things....you will find you accumulate *** skills which carry over across computer systems!! *** This is because systems have similar "architectures" *** with minor variation in details, so if you have the *** basic concepts and skills down, with a few *** trial-and-errors you will find the variant in use *** on the computer you are at. *** *** You will also learn with a little experience: *** -- what are "plausible" variants, *** -- what typical things go wrong, *** -- how to ignore many details, and to treat some *** things as "magic" *** *** In short, try to not get (too) frustrated at the *** beginning!! You'll soon find its easy to do the *** few things you need to do. *** *** Also note: you can't crash the machine. *** You can't screw things up for anyone but yourself! *** *********************************************************** To bring up a web browser: click on the World/Mouse icon (next to the Redhat) in the GDM taskbar I would suggest you add bookmarks for (at least) this course: cscs.umich.edu/~rlr/icpsr From there you can get to the CSCS documentation page, etc. (That page is linked to a Swiki for this course. To use it, enter username: icpsr03 pw: summer03 when prompted.) You can stretch a window by grabbing at the edges and corners; You can move windows by placing the mouse in the window title bar, holding MB1 (left) and dragging (or try pressing ALT-mb1 anywhere in the window and dragging). A note regarding the command line interface (xterm = xterminal: We are going to be running most programs and doing tasks by typing in commands in the "terminal" window(s). Modern linux systems also provides icon/menu/mouse interfaces, but most of this is not available remotely, and in general the typed-command interface is much more flexible and powerful, and so it is really very useful to know how to use it for actually creating and running your own simulation models. In short, *real* modelers use command line interfaces! ;-) To bring up a terminal window for typing in commands: RedHat->CSCS->Xterm A window will pop up with a prompt like: alveare-sum0301$ This is a window into which you will type commands (see below). *** NB **** *** Case matters for commands: *** Example: ls report is not the same as: ls Report *** Sometimes space matters, sometimes not. *** Example: ls-l is not equal to: ls -l *** *** Also note that el 'l' and one '1' sometimes look similar *** in these hardcopy printouts. *** You can view these handouts online via Netscape or *** other browser (see below for top page) to see the difference. *** So if you try an example with one of those and it doesn't work, *** try it with the other. To execute a unix command (or script), type the command/program name into the "terminal" window (at the prompt), followed by any parameters or options, and press Enter. For example, to get see the computer clock's date/time, enter: date To see a list of files in your current directory enter: ll <-- that is two "el" characters To change your CSCS passwd, at the prompt enter: yppasswd You will be asked for you old password, and for a new one. To try out one of the Swarm models, let's first create a directory (folder) with the "mkdir = make directory" command: mkdir Tipping and then use the "cd = change current directory" command to make that our current (working) directory: cd Tipping Then you can run the tipping demo program: tipping & Three "widgets" should appear. If the windows are overlapping each other, you can drag them by placing the mouse in the window title bar, holding MB1 (left) and dragging. To tell the tipping simulation to initialize, press the START button once. A 2D "world" with Red, Green and Black squares should appear, as well as some (empty) graphs. Click on START again and it the agents should begin to move, and become more segregated. After changes stop, you can click on STOP. Click on the "writeHelp" button to have a description of the program/model, its parameters, etc, displayed in the window where you started the program. To exit the simulation, click on QUIT. If you now do the command to list files: ll <- two "el" characters again! you should see a file named "report"...it contains a timestep-by-timestep record of the various segregation measures that were displayed in the graphs on screen. You can see it all by entering: cat report and using the mouse to see the window contents. You can then go back to you home directory by entering cd That means "change directory" to your home directory (since you didn't name a directory on the command line). See the handout from today: demo1-script.txt as well as the tipping-writeHelp.txt handout for more information about the Tipping model. At the end of that demo script there is also information about how to get started using these two models (in Swarm): Axelcult -- Axelrod's cultural diversity model from the class readings. IPD-m0 -- Iterated prisoner's dilemma models, including the Epstein "Demographic PD" from the readings (in the second week). See the "writeHelp" handouts for those models for additional information about the models themselves and how to use them. For more general introductory information about using the CSCS computers, linux, emacs (an editor), and so on, go to this page: http://cscs.umich.edu/lab/doc-index.html and visit the web page titled: # CSCS Lab Introduction (logins, passwords, remote use, etc.) There is also a brief introduction to getting around in linux off the top Lab documentation page, titled: Short introduction to unix, emacs, make, etc I recommend you also read through that and try the examples...the more familiar you are with the basic commands described there, the faster/easier it will be for you to do other things. ******************************************************** * *** IMPORTANT *** * * When you are done, be sure to logoff the CSCS computer * as described above. * ********************************************************