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Visit this page to get important information on Capsim support topics for various platforms.

Support Topic

Item	Platform	Description	Link
1	Windows MSYS	Command Line support in MSYS Windows Capsim v6.1 for TCL and Text Mode Support.	Command Line
2	Windows MSYS	Tips on Multiple Runs and Storing Topologies.	Tips
3	Windows MSYS	Plot Color (Either Color or White Background with Black and Blue forground)	Plot Color
4	Windows MSYS	Compiling and Linking C Code	Compiling

 

Windows MSYS Capsim V6.1 Command Line Support for TCL

Due to the nature of Windows Graphical Interface, command line arguments are not directly supported as in UNIX using X Windows. Since running batch TCL scripts or just running a topology under PERL control is a key feature of Capsim we have added command line support under windows using environment variables. It is very straight forward.

To execute Capsim in graphical mode without TCL support just run capsim.

To run Capsim with interactive TCL interpreter and Graphics set the following environment variable:

export CAPSIM_COMMAND_LINE="capsim -c"

Then run Capsim. The console window will show the TCL prompt "%". Make sure to hit "RETURN" in the console window to kick start the graphics ( always view the console for important messages).

To run Capsim by first executing a TCL script, set the environment variable as follows:

export CAPSIM_COMMAND_LINE="capsim -t mytclscript.tcl"

Then type capsim. The TCL script will be executed. To quit TCL type exit.

To run Capsim and load and run a topology and exit Capsim, set the environment variable as follows:

export CAPSIM_COMMAND_LINE="capsim mytopology.t"

Then type capsim. The topology "mytopology.t" will be loaded and executed and then Capsim will exit. This is very useful especially saving time or when Capsim is run under the control of a script such as PERL.

 

To run Capsim in the Text Mode Interactive mode, set the environment variable as follows:

export CAPSIM_COMMAND_LINE="capsim -b"

To run Capsim in the Graphics mode, set the environment variable as follows:

export CAPSIM_COMMAND_LINE="capsim"

or

export CAPSIM_COMMAND_LINE=""

MSYS supports the UNIX shell commands (sh) so you can create scripts to set the environment variable (CAPSIM_COMMAND_LINE) and to execute Capsim. If you create a file (e.g. command_file ) with the commands use "chmod +x command_file" to make the file executable. Then use ./command_file to execute.

Windows MSYS Tips

Note that Capsim is designed to be run many times within the same session. Always save your work prior to running a simulation. Unless of course you are just changing parameters. Also the close button in Capsim will exit WITHOUT WARNING. The idea is to speedup running/exiting ( to refresh the windows environment) and running again. Also a warning becomes a pain after a while.

Also when you select the delete all plots there are no warnings. But individual plot deletion gives a warning ( in case you had that all important FIR CAD or Pole-Zero design).

In general exiting and running Capsim again speeds up graphics in Windows ( this is not an issue in UNIX).

Under Windows when you save a topology MAKE SURE THAT YOU SAVE IT IN THE CURRENT DIRECTORY. Use the file dialog to go to the current directory. It was decided that the file dialog was more useful than forcing the issue. So if you can't find your topology and associated .g file, it was stored some place else!

Plot Color in MSYS Windows Capsim

By default the plots are in color with black background. On many occasions you may want white background with black foreground (screen shots, documentation etc.). You can change the plot color to black and white using the environment variable "CAPSIM_PLOT_COLOR".

export CAPSIM_PLOT_COLOR=bw

To set the color mode back to color with black background set as follows:

export CAPSIM_PLOT_COLOR=""

Compiling and Linking C code on MSYS

To compile C code with the MSYSDEV installation, use the following when compiling:

gcc -c test.c -I/mingw/include

Then link using

gcc -o test test.c -lm

Or in one shot:

gcc -o test test.c -I/mingw/include -lm

This will create test.exe. If the -o option is not used, the default executable will be a.exe.

Also to debug use gdb. For example:

gdb test.exe

In gdb to run with arguments type: run arg1 arg2 ... after running gdb. gdb is very powerful and there are O'Reilly books on debugging with gdb. One of the commands is "where". You can also display the variables. This includes all variables in structures allocated in run time etc. Note in Capsim Parameters and States variables are in structures and are defined with #define statements. To check their values use the C code to see what the #define is for the parameter or state variable.