Detailed Installation Instructions for Ginga¶

Dependences¶

Ginga is written entirely in Python, and only uses supporting Python packages. There is nothing to compile (unless you need to compile one of the supporting packages).

On recent Linux, Mac and Windows versions, all of the packages are available in binary (installable) form. It should not be necessary to compile anything, but as always, your mileage may vary.

REQUIRED¶

python (either v. 2.7 OR v. 3.4 or higher)
numpy (v. 1.7 or higher)

Highly recommended, because some features will not be available without it:

scipy
pillow
opencv

For opening FITS files you will need one of the following packages:

astropy
fitsio

For WCS resolution you will need one of the following packages:

astropy
kapteyn
astLib
starlink

BACKENDS (one or more)¶

Ginga can draw its output to a number of different back ends. Depending on which GUI toolkit you prefer (and what you want to do), you will need at least one of the following:

python-qt4
python-qt5
python-pyside (qt4 alternative)
python-gtk (gtk2) AND python-cairo
python gtk3 (gi) AND python-cairo
python-Tkinter
matplotlib
tornado
aggdraw
PIL (pillow)
OpenCv

RECOMMENDED¶

Certain plugins in the reference viewer (or features of those plugins) will not work without the following packages:

matplotlib (required by: Pick, Cuts, Histogram, LineProfile)
webkit (required by: WBrowser (used for online help))
scipy (required by: Pick, some built-in auto cuts algorithms used when you load an image)
astropy (required by: SAMP)

To save a movie:

mencoder (required by: Cuts)

Helpful, but not necessary (may optimize or speed up certain operations):

python-opencv (speeds up rotation, mosaicing and some transformations)
python-pyopencl (speeds up rotation, mosaicing and some transformations)
python-numexpr (speeds up rotation a little)
python-filemagic (aids in identifying files when opening them)
python-PIL or pillow (useful for various RGB file manipulations)

Notes on Supported Widget Sets¶

In the discussion below, we differentiate between the Ginga viewing widget, such as used in the examples/\*/example\*.py programs and the full reference viewer, which includes many plugins (scripts/ginga).

Note

For the full reference viewer, Mac and Windows users should probably install the Qt version, unless you are the tinkering sort. Linux can use either Qt or Gtk fine.

Qt/PySide¶

Ginga can use either PyQt or PySide, version 4 or 5. It will auto-detect which one is installed. There is support for both the basic widget and the full reference viewer.

Note

If you have both installed and you want to use a specific one then set the environment variable QT_API to either “pyqt” or “pyside”. This is the same procedure as for Matplotlib.

Gtk¶

Ginga can use either Gtk 2 (with pygtk) or gtk 3 (with gi). (If you have an older version of pycairo package you may need to install a newer version from github.com/pygobject/pycairo).

Tk¶

Ginga’s Tk support is limited to the viewing widget itself. For overplotting (graphics) support, you will also need:

“pillow”/PIL package
“OpenCv” module
“aggdraw” module (which you can find here ; supports Python 2 only).

Matplotlib¶

Ginga can render directly into a Matplotlib figure. Support is limited to the viewing widget itself. Any of the backends that Matplotlib supports is usable. Performance is not as good as to one of the “native” backends listed above, but oh, the overplot options!

HTML5 web browser¶

Ginga can render into an HTML5 canvas via a web server. Support is limited to the viewing widget itself. See the notes in example/pg/example1_pg.py. Tested browsers include Chromium (Chrome), Firefox, and Safari.

Installation from Source¶

Clone from github:
```
$ git clone https://github.com/ejeschke/ginga.git
```
Or see links on this page to get a zip or tar ball.
Unpack, go into the top level directory, and run:
```
$ python setup.py install
```
The reference viewer can then be run using the command ginga.

Alternatively you can download and install via pip:

$ pip install ginga

Platform Specific Instructions¶

Linux¶

Install the necessary dependences. If you are on a relatively recent version of Ubuntu (e.g. v14.04 or later), something like the following will work:

$ apt-get install python-numpy python-scipy python-matplotlib \
  python-astropy python-qt4 python-webkit python-magic git pip

Or:

$ apt-get install python-numpy python-scipy python-matplotlib \
  python-astropy python-gtk python-cairo python-webkit \
  python-magic git pip

(if you want to use the Gtk version)

Install ginga with pip:
```
$ pip install ginga
```
or by obtaining the source and installing as described above.

Mac¶

For Mac users, we recommend installing the Anaconda distribution. This distribution already includes all of the necessary packages to run Ginga.

As an alternative, you also have the choice of Enthought Canopy. The free version works fine. After installing this, open the Canopy package manager, search for “astropy” and install it. Also search for and install “pyside” (free version of Qt bindings).
After installing one of these distributions, open a Terminal and install Ginga via “pip install ginga”. You can then run the reference viewer via the command “ginga”.

Note

Ginga can be installed and run fine using a working Macports or Homebrew installation. Simply follow the package advice given above under the Linux instructions.

Windows¶

Anaconda¶

For Windows users, we recommend installing the Anaconda distribution. This distribution already includes all of the necessary packages to run Ginga.

After installing Anaconda, you can find the reference viewer script as:

Start -> All Programs -> Anaconda -> Anaconda Command Prompt
pythonw Scripts\ginga

Enthought Canopy¶

As an alternative, you also have the choice of Enthought Canopy.

Install the free version.
Open the Canopy package manager.
Search for and install “astropy”.
Search for and install “pyside” (free version of Qt bindings).

Start -> All Programs -> Enthought Canopy -> Canopy command prompt pip install ginga pythonw AppDataLocalEnthoughtCanopyUserScriptsginga