Release Installation
CVS Installation
Please visit CurrentVersion first to find out the current software requirments to install Boa.
Release Installation
The release installation of Boa Constructor can be downloaded in sections and installed into the Python directory. On the Windows platform, the installation is simplified with a self-installer. The help files for Python and wxWindows is available on the download page, and must be installed in the Boa directory seperately.
Windows
- Download Python from www.python.org . Run the Python installation. The default location of
c:\pythonXX
is recommended.It is recommended that the Python root directory be added to the system path.
- Download wxPython from www.wxpython.org . Get the version built for the Python version installed. This is a self-extracting installer, which will install wxPython in the Python directory.
- Download the latest Boa Constructor from http://boa-constructor.sourceforge.net . Run the self-extracting installer to install Boa Constructor.
Create a shortcut to start Boa Constructor. The command line to start Boa should look something like:
c:\python24\python c:\python24\site-packages\boa-constructor\Boa.py
- Optionally, but recommended, download the documentation for Boa Constructor from http://boa-constructor.sourceforge.net . Un-zip the docs into the Boa folder under the Python directory tree. An example would be: c:\python22\Lib\site-packageswxPython\tools\boa
Boa is ready to run!
Linux
Generic
- Install Python, if not already installed. Most distrubutions will come with python pre-installed.
- Install glibc, gtk+, if not already installed. Most distrubutions will come with both of these libraries, or compiled versions can be readily downloaded. A good resource for getting or building these libraries can be found on the www.wxpython.org .
- Download wxPython from www.wxpython.org . wxPython is typically installed in the Python directory (/usr/lib/python2.2/site-packages for example). See http://www.wxpython.org/download.php#build if a pre-built binary is not available.
- Download the latest Boa Constructor from http://boa-constructor.sourceforge.net . Un-zip Boa into the Python directory (/usr/lib/python2.2/site-packages/wxPython/tools for example).
- The following command line should start Boa Constructor(This can be added as a link to Application on your desktop):
<path to python>/python <path to boa directory>/boa/Boa.py EX: /usr/bin/python /usr/lib/python2.2/site-packages/wxPython/tools/boa/Boa.py
Boa is ready to run!
Gentoo
For Gentoo users, it's even simpler. Simply use the following command :emerge boa-constructoror to update Boa :
emerge -u boa-constructorAll dependencies will be taken care off. If wxPython isn't installed for instance, the Gentoo's portage will install it.
CVS Installation
The preferred method is to install the CVS version of Boa. This requires Python 2.2 or 2.3 and a wxPython 2.4.0 or higher (Boa 0.2.7 requires 2.4.2.4 to enable all of the special wxPython control features). Be warned that only the Boa Constructor documentation is in the CVS repository. The documentation for Python and wxPython are available on the "Files" page. The tutorial mostly works (is this still true?, can someone expand so I can correct it - Werner), but because of some UI changes, not all of it works as expected.
Windows
Boa Constructor will run on Win9x and newer. It runs best on Win2k or XP.
- Download an install Python. A version >= 2.2 is recommended. http://www.python.org
- Download and install wxPython. http://www.wxpython.org
- Obtain the current version of Boa Constructor from the Source Forge CVS repository.
- An alternative CVS client for Windows users is TortoiseCVS (www.tortoisecvs.org)
- Download the documentation zip files from the Source Forge download page http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=1909 . Unzip the docs in the boa directory.
-
Create a shorcut to start Boa Constructor. The command line to start Boa is:
It's not required, but handy if Python is added to the path. (Typically c:\python22 or c:\python23)
From the download page select the appropriate version for the version of Python installed. Get the unicode version if that is required. Install in the default location. You can test that it works by running the demo, if installed.
It is recommended that you install the command-line version of CVS. With this installed, working and on the path, Boa provides CVS support in the Explorer. Alternatively you may use WinCVS or another tool to checkout the repository. WinCVS does come with a command line cvs client, located in the same folder as the WinCVS executable.
Before retrieving the cvs version of Boa, create the directory tree to hold Boa at c:\python<version>\Lib\site-packageswxPython\tools. Move into this directory then issue the following command line(s) to retrieve Boa-Constructor:
cvs -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/boa-constructor login
Press enter when asked for a password.
cvs -z3 -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/boa-constructor co boa
This will create a boa directory, with all of the required files to make Boa Constructor run.
It integrates nicely with the Windows explorer (filemanager)
- Go to the folder where you want Boa to be, right click without selecting any file/folder.- Select CVS Checkout (on the Options tab you can select Export if you just want the files, withou CVS control information)
- Protocol = Password server
- Server = boa-constructor.cvs.sourceforge.net
- Repository Folder = /cvsroot/boa-constructor
- User Name = anonymous
- Module = boa