Question 7

Question 7

If I try to use getPackage to download and install a package that depends on another package that I've already installed, then when running the examples, the examples fail because that other package is not found on the path.

Answer

The problem is that the examples are run in a new Macaulay 2 process with "-q" on the command line, directing it to ignore files in the user's Macaulay2 application directory, which is the place where that other package has been installed. The solution method used for question 6 will not work here, because "getPackage" calls "installPackage" and doesn't know about the UserMode option.

One solution is to edit the file /usr/share/Macaulay2/Core/m2/html.m2, where /usr should be replaced, if necessary, by the path to the Macaulay2 files on your system. In that file you will change the default value of the UserMode option to installPackage from false to true. Find the following line:

	  UserMode => false,

... and change it to this:

	  UserMode => true,

On linux systems where loaddata and dumpdata are working, you may wish to refresh the dumpdata file by running the following shell command.

	  M2 --dumpdata

To see whether, on your system, M2 tries to consult the dumpdata file, start M2 this way:

	  M2 --notify

Another solution takes advantage of the fact that the current directory, "./", is on the path: ensure that you start up M2 in the directory where the source code for that other package has been installed. The name of that directory varies, depending on the operating system, but can be obtained from Macaulay 2 as follows:

    i1 : applicationDirectory()|"local/"|LAYOUT#"packages"

    o1 = /home/25/dan/.Macaulay2/local/share/Macaulay2/