How to install

Installing Pontos

Prerequisites

Pontos is completely written in pure Java, and therefore does not depend on any other software... except of course a Java Virtual Machine. Now, many (most?) computers come with Java already installed -- or you have installed it previously because of another program. If that is the case, to run Pontos, all you need to do is double click on the JAR file (on a Windows os Mac OSX machine, and many Linux ones). More details in the [How to run] page.

If you do not have Java installed, please go to the Java website to download and install it. It should take a couple minutes only.

If you are on a Linux machine, you can use your favorite package manager (Synaptic, YUM, apt-get, etc.) to install Java -- but then again, if you are running Linux odds are you already have Java installed.

What to download

First of all, you need to download the JAR file containing the program, which is a small file (about 37 kilobytes only).

Download file Pontos-3.0.jar, by clicking on the button, if you only want the program itself.

If you want Pontos' source code, download Pontos-3.0-src.zip (you only need this if you are a programmer and want to change the program, or see how the code works; otherwise, ignore this file).

If you are running a UNIX-based system and want to put the program in a location that is accessible from anywhere in the command line environment (see below), you might also want to get file pontos (if you didn't understand this last sentence, then you can ignore file pontos).

If you want the documentation in PDF file, download the Pontos-3.0_Manual.pdf file (coming soon). It will probably never be as up-to-date as this site, but it is a good idea to have it around for those times when an Internet connection is not available. Although Pontos is so easy to use that you will not need a manual anymore after using the program a couple of times...

Installation

There is actually no installation per se, since this is a very simple program, contained in a single file. Therefore, in its simplest for, installation consists in moving the JAR file to some directory (aka folder) where you want to keep it. If you are going to be simply double-clicking on the downloaded file, then you are done, no need to read any further.

However, in some systems (e.g. Ubuntu, where this program was developed, by the way) double-clicking the file will open it as a package of files (which it is, but let's ignore that for the moment) instead of executing it. If that happens on your system, here is what to do (instructions for Ubuntu, your system might be a little different):

• right click on the file;
• choose "Properties";
• find where the permissions for the file can be set;
• choose "Allow executing file as program";
• close the properties window;
• right click on the file again and choose "Open with Sun Java 6 Runtime" (or whatever runtime you have installed).

In some systems where double-clicking should work, you might still need to change permissions, similar to what is described as described above.

Command-line access from anywhere

If you want to be able to access the program from anywhere on the command-line of your system (in Linux or other UNIX-based systems), you will have to also copy the file pontos (which is a simple bash script calling Pontos in the appropriate way), mentioned above, to an appropriate place (in your $PATH, see below).

• download files Pontos-3.0.jar and pontos;
• make sure pontos is executable by running "chmod +x pontos" (or right-click on the file in your file manager, go to "Properties", and choose the correct option to make the file executable, as described above);
• place the files, together, in a directory that is in your $PATH;
• to see directories that are in your $PATH, go to the command line and type: "echo $PATH", without the quotes, and see the output (choose one, like /usr/local/bin);
• you might need administrative access to move the files there;
• change the line that says "java -jar $HOME/bin/Pontos-3.0.jar" to read "java -jar /usr/local/bin/Pontos-3.0.jar" (or whatever the directory where the JAR file is);

If everything worked as intended, you should be able to write "pontos" from any directory in your command line environment and have Pontos run.

Placing an icon in the Linux desktop for easy access

If you want to have an easy-to-reach icon, you can do it like this (again, instructions for Ubuntu, although even here there are multiple ways of doing it and you will have to find what works for you):

• right click on the Desktop;
• choose "Create Launcher..."
• in the window that appears, add the command needed (see below) and whatever else you want for "Name" (which is what will show below the icon);
• the command to use depends on how you got Pontos installed;
• if you successfully got Pontos to run using the pontos script from anywhere, as described above, you can simply use pontos in the "Command" field;
• if you just have the .jar file somewhere in the computer, you will have to type "java -jar /full/path/to/Pontos-3.0.jar" (without quotes) in the "Command" field;
• for example, if your put the file in "/home/joe/files/", your command should be "java -jar /home/joe/files/Pontos-3.0.jar" (without quotes);
• click OK and test the launcher by double-clicking it; Pontos should open after a second or two.