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@@ -1,123 +0,0 @@ -************************************************************************* -* README file for the kepler library * -* Copyright (C) 2016 Shiva Iyer <shiva.iyer AT g m a i l DOT c o m> * -* * -* This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify * -* it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by * -* the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or * -* (at your option) any later version. * -* * -* This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, * -* but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of * -* MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the * -* GNU General Public License for more details. * -* * -* You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License * -* along with this program. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>. * -************************************************************************* - -Introduction ------------- - -This is the kepler library, version 1.0.0. kepler provides a set of routines for -performing astronomical calculations. The library is implemented in ANSI C and -the optional pykepler package provides support for programs written in Python. - -The intent is to provide the basic building blocks necessary for more advanced -applications. Consequently, no attempt has been made to provide an user interface -or to write programs that meet various needs (observation, historical research -etc.). - -The kepler library is free software, distributed under the terms of the GNU -General Public License <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>. - -Prerequisites -------------- - -Make sure your Unix installation has the GNU C compiler and build tools -installed. The following are the minimum version requirements. - - * GNU gcc 4.4.1 - * GNU Make 3.81 - * Python 2.6.5 (needed only if you use the Python interface) - -kepler can also be used with Microsoft Windows provided you have MinGW and -MSYS installed. These tools may be downloaded from <http://www.mingw.org/>. - -Installation ------------- - -Instructions for downloading the source archives and accessing the development -repository may be found at <http://savannah.nongnu.org/projects/kepler>. - -Run 'make target={posix|windows}' in the kepler installation directory to compile -all the library files and example programs. In order to call kepler's functions -from your own applications, you will need to create your own makefile along the -lines of the one in the 'examples' subdirectory. - -Run 'make target={posix|windows} install' to deploy the shared library that is -created in the previous step. On most systems, you will need to run this as root. -You will need to do this before you run the example programs or use the pykepler -Python package. On Windows, please copy src/libkepler.dll manually to your -application or Windows system directory. - -Run 'make target={posix|windows} clean' to remove all the files created by -running 'make'. This will not remove the shared libraries or symbolic links -in /usr/lib. - -The 'pykepler' subdirectory contains the sources for the pykepler Python package. -This package allows you to call kepler routines from Python. - -Documentation -------------- - -The C library is documented in the file kepler.html under the 'doc' subdirectory. - -The 'pydoc' utility or the help() function in the interactive Python interpreter -may be used to view the documentation for the Python interface. - -Examples --------- - -The following sample programs may be found in the 'examples' -subdirectory: - -kepler_test.c calls most of the functions in kepler and displays the -results in a terminal window. To test the routines in mpc_file.c, you -must download the MPC Orbit Database files from -<http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/iau/MPCORB.html>. - -rise_set.c is a program that accepts command-line arguments and displays -the rise, transit and setting times for the Sun, Moon, planets and Pluto. - -planpos.py demonstrates the Python wrapper by calling routines in the -VSOP, ELP and Pluto modules to display the positions of the Sun, Moon, -planets and Pluto at the time specified on the command-line. - -flightseg.py displays the great circle distance and bearing angles for -flight segments between the airports specified on the command line. -The airport database from <http://openflights.org/data.html> must be -downloaded into the examples folder. - -References ----------- - -kepler is targeted towards users with a sound grasp of positional astronomy. -However, it has been thought fit to include references to the relevant -astronomical literature in the source code. - -No work of this nature would be possible without the following standard works on -astronomical algorithms: - - * "Explanatory supplement to the Astronomical Almanac" by P. Kenneth Seidelmann - * "Celestial Mechanics" by Forest Ray Moulton - * "Astronomical Algorithms" by Jean Meeus - -Bugs ----- - -Comments, criticisms and bug reports are very welcome and may be sent to the -kepler maintainer by email or the project's website. - -Shiva Iyer -shiva.iyer AT g m a i l DOT c o m |