Download

Binaries packages for Linux, Mac OS X and Windows can be found on these pages. The source code, available below, should compile on most Linux and Mac systems as well as under Cygwin on Windows. However, I only have limited access to various distributions and versions of these operating systems. If you try to compile it yourself and encounter problems, please let me know.

After installation, the command cadabra will start the command line version and xcadabra will start the graphical front-end; on some systems there will also be an entry for Cadabra in your Applications or Start menu.

Linux

Ubuntu

The latest Ubuntu version, 'Karmic Koala', has cadabra packages in the standard repositories. Just install with

sudo apt-get install cadabra

or use e.g. synaptic. If you want the latest version, add ppa:kasper-peeters/ppa to your system's Software Sources.

Users of older versions of Ubuntu should preferably add the cadabra repository to their system and then install cadabra using any of the standard installation tools (e.g. synaptic or apt-get). To do this, add the following lines to /etc/apt/sources.list: (you can also do this using the GUI by going "Administration/Software Sources", clicking on the "Third Party Software" tab and then clicking "Add" for each line)

Jaunty (9.04):

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/kasper-peeters/ubuntu jaunty main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/kasper-peeters/ubuntu jaunty main

Intrepid (8.10):

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/kasper-peeters/ubuntu intrepid main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/kasper-peeters/ubuntu intrepid main

Hardy (8.04):

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/kasper-peeters/ubuntu hardy main
deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/kasper-peeters/ubuntu hardy main

You may also want to install the pgp key which is used to sign these packages; import this file using the "Authentication" tab.

You can then install cadabra using

sudo apt-get install cadabra

or using any of the graphical installation tools. You will automatically be notified about updates.

Optionally, install the cmtt12.ttf font into your .fonts directory to improve the GUI display.

If you want to install the packages by hand (using e.g. gdebi or dpkg), use the direct link to the modglue packages and the direct link to the cadabra packages.

After installation, the command cadabra will start the command line version and xcadabra will start the graphical front-end (or choose cadabra from the Applications/Education menu).

Debian

Cadabra is now also part of Debian, and is available in the 'sid (unstable)' branch. Thanks to Gürkan Sengün for making this happen.

Packes for older Debian systems (Etch and Lenny) are available thanks to the work of Burkhard Bunk. Please consult the Debian packages page at the physics department of Humboldt University Berlin for instructions on how to install these. Note that their repository does not have the latest Cadabra version.

Fedora

The packages below were created and tested on Fedora 9, but work on more recent versions as well. These packages are relocatable. If you need packages for an older version of Fedora, please drop me an email.

packageFedora 9 RPMFedora 9 SRPM
breqn breqn-0.94-1.i386.rpmbreqn-0.94-1.src.rpm
LiE lie-2.2.2-1.i386.rpmlie-2.2.2-1.src.rpm
libmodglue modglue-1.13-1.i386.rpmmodglue-1.13-1.src.rpm
Cadabra cadabra-1.23-1.i386.rpmcadabra-1.23-1.src.rpm
extra font (optional)cmtt12.ttf

Store the font in the .fonts directory in your home directory; this will improve the GUI display.

After installation, the command cadabra will start the command line version and xcadabra will start the graphical front-end (or choose cadabra from the Applications/Education menu).

Scientific Linux

The packages below were created and tested on Scientific Linux 5.3, but work on more recent versions as well. These packages are relocatable. If you need packages for an older version of Scientific Linux, please drop me an email.

packageSL-5.3 RPMSL-5.3 SRPM
breqn breqn-0.94-1.i386.rpmbreqn-0.94-1.src.rpm
LiE lie-2.2.2-1.i386.rpmlie-2.2.2-1.src.rpm
libmodglue modglue-1.15-1.i386.rpmmodglue-1.15-1.src.rpm
Cadabra cadabra-1.23-1.i386.rpmcadabra-1.23-1.src.rpm
extra font (optional)cmtt12.ttf

Store the font in the .fonts directory in your home directory; this will improve the GUI display.

After installation, the command cadabra will start the command line version and xcadabra will start the graphical front-end (or choose cadabra from the Applications/Edutainment menu).

openSUSE

The packages below were created and tested on openSUSE 11.2, but hopefully work on more recent versions as well. These packages are relocatable. If you need packages for an older version of openSUSE, please drop me an email.

packageopenSUSE 11.2 RPMopenSUSE 11.2 SRPM
LiE lie-2.2.2-1.i386.rpmlie-2.2.2-1.src.rpm
libmodglue modglue-1.16-1.i386.rpmmodglue-1.16-1.src.rpm
Cadabra cadabra-1.23-1.i386.rpmcadabra-1.23-1.src.rpm
extra font (optional)cmtt12.ttf

Store the font in the .fonts directory in your home directory; this will improve the GUI display.

After installation, the command cadabra will start the command line version and xcadabra will start the graphical front-end (or choose cadabra from the More Applications/New applications menu).

Gentoo

Packages for Cadabra, modglue and LiE are available in the science overlay of Gentoo. Users can access the science overlay using the layman utility:

  1. Type "layman -a science" to add the science overlay,
  2. add "sci-mathematics/lie", "sci-libs/modglue" and "sci-mathematics/cadabra" to your package.keywords (in /etc/portage)
  3. Type "emerge cadabra" to install cadabra and its dependencies.

Thanks to François Bissey for making this happen.

Other Linux distributions

If you need a package for a different Linux distribution, contact me by email or try to compile from source.

Mac OS X

Fink

Thanks to Kevin Horton, Martin Costabel and Pierre-Henri Lavigne, you can now get cadabra through Fink, for Tiger (10.4) and Leopard (10.5) systems on Intel and PPC. For more details see the Fink database record for cadabra. The breqn, LiE and modglue packages will be installed automatically.

Note: Installing through Fink can take quite a while, because various libraries and other tools will have to be installed if you do not have an up to date Fink installation already. Be patient, it will complete eventually.

Follow these steps:

  1. Make sure that you have the Apple XCode tools installed (this requires a free registration).
  2. Install Fink and update the basic installation according to the instructions on the Fink web site.
  3. Enable unstable packages (there is an option in the Fink Commander, or you can edit "/sw/etc/fink.conf" or run "fink configure").
  4. Make sure that the "SelfUpdateMethod" in "/sw/etc/fink.conf" is set to "rsync".
  5. Rebuild the fink index and package list with "fink selfupdate; fink update-all"
  6. Install cadabra with "fink install cadabra". When asked about your TeX installation, choose option 1. Do the same when asked about ghostscript and giflib.
  7. If you already have an installation of TeX, copy the newly installed "breqn" style files to your style directory using "cp -R /sw/share/texmf-local/tex/latex/breqn/ ~/Library/texmf/tex/latex/macros/".

After installation, the command cadabra will start the command line version and xcadabra will start the graphical front-end. If it doesn't, send me an email.

MacPorts

Thanks to Greg Wright, cadabra is available for Mac OS X users through MacPorts; see the record for cadabra for details and the currently available version.

Simply type "sudo port install cadabra" and all required software will be installed automatically (note: this may install some software which you already have installed from other sources). If you do not want the graphical user interface, add the +no_gui option at the end.

After installation, the command cadabra will start the command line version and xcadabra will start the graphical front-end.

Windows

Windows

I lack the time to continue the battle with the idiosyncrasy of Windows. If you absolutely have to run this abomination, your best option for getting Cadabra to work on it is to install a virtual machine, install Ubuntu Linux in it, and then install the Ubuntu packages listed above. This will automatically install all required additional libraries, so it is a relatively painless procedure (and it has the added benefit that you can also run other Linux software from within Windows). This is easier than you might think.

Virtual machines used by cadabra users include VirtualBox and VMware.

If instead you want to install Ubuntu alongside a Windows installation, this is a one-click procedure with Wubi.

Source code

Installing from source should be no harder than with any other well-behaved GNU tools, i.e. it should be as simple as configure/make/make install. However, you will need to have some additional libraries and tools installed before you can compile cadabra itself. In particular,

In order to compile the graphical front-end (add the --enable-gui flag to configure) you also need

Cadabra's configure script will look for these libraries and programs, and tell you when you need to install them. Consult the documentation of these programs/libraries for installation instructions.

You then need to compile and install my modglue library, which is used to connect the various pieces of cadabra together. Download this version here, since it's tuned to cadabra:

This should be a matter of configure/make/make install. Finally, compile and install cadabra itself,

Again, this should be a matter of configure/make/make install. If compilation succeeds, you can also try "make test" for some self-tests (which should all pass).

As always, please mail me if you need help.

After installation, the command cadabra will start the command line version and xcadabra will start the graphical front-end.

Development version

The latest version can always be obtained from the public GIT repository at http://repo.or.cz/w/cadabra.git.

If you play with the development version and find any problems, please let me know.