Installing ORMSware's modeling environment

In addition to ORMSware's network translator (NETrans) and NMOD engine library, support tools from three vendors are necessary to create standalone EXE files of NMOD models. Once created, NMOD models can be distributed freely without the modeling environment (i.e. ORMSware + support components). All three support components have free trial periods.

The three third party components ORMSware modeling system uses are the following:

• Microsoft Visio 2002: For visually formulating quantitative models in terms of ORMSware networks. Standard version of Visio 2002 is sufficient. We do not have any special arrangements with Microsoft, yet, so this has to be ordered online and obtained through mail from Microsoft.
  
  

• UltraEdit Browser: For entering additional logic into Visio files and for hosting ORMSware's modeling process manager.
  
  

• Compiler: For turning intermediate source produced by ORMSware's NETrans into machine instructions executable on any given platform you will need a Fortran 95 compiler hosted on the target platform. For the PC platform you can use Lahey/Fujitsu Fortran 95 compiler. Please contact us if your target platform is not a PC.

We hope to be able to bundle all components of ORMSware modeling environment into one package in the future, but for now these tools have to be downloaded/obtained separately for free trial.

We recommend machine speed of 1 GHz or higher and minimum memory of 128 MB. Memory is primarily for keeping Visio, UltraEdit and Excel open during modeling. Please also check system requirements for Visio 2002 Standard, and Lahey/Fujitsu compiler. UltraEdit browser requirements are modest. ORMSware requires only minimum configurations from all three support products.

The footprint for core ORMSware files is about 5 MB. The EXE file for every model you create will be a minimum of 1.3 MB in size to carry NMOD's engine core. It takes only a few seconds to create a model's EXE file from source files created by NMOD's NETrans. Therefore, you may want to store only source files of models unless a given model is used in daily operations.

We have not yet tested non-default combinations of installation options while integrating the use of these tools. So, please stay with the defaults.

If you have problems during installation, please contact us for assistance.

ORMSware NMOD's network translator and structured code generator (NETrans.EXE) translates networks and their content logic in NMOD models to Fortran 95 source. Since this code is always in strict compliance with ANSI standards, it can be compiled and linked on any platform (from PC to supercomputers) hosting a Fortran 95 processor.

In all likelihood, you will not get around to looking at this intermediate source generated by NETrans. ORMSware's hierarchical logical network-structured modeling paradigm helps analysts stay at the problem level, eliminating the need to worry about numerous programming chores.

The compiler we used to develop NMOD is Lahey/Fujitsu Fortan 95 v5.7 for the PC platform. If you would like to continue using Lahey after the trial period, you will be able to purchase LF95 Express from Custom Solutions for $225. We do hope to bring this price down by August 2003 to $195 or less for personal and paid licensees, and to $79 for educational licensees.

• A 14-day free trial version of Lahey/Fujitsu Fortran 95 Express v5.7 can be downloaded at the link below. This is the best Lahey can offer at this point. Because of the short trial period available with this complier, we suggest that you go through as much of ORMSware Primer and Hands-on Tutorial as possible before downloading the trial.
  
  http://www.lahey.com/triexp57.htm (14.3 MB)

Double-click downloaded file to install the compiler. Accept default installation folders.

You won't need a Fortran manual to go through the Primer or this Tutorial. However, if you would like to have a Fortran reference manual, Lahey has one online at Language Reference Revision G (5.00 MB).

 

You can download a free 45-day trial version. If you decide to keep it beyond the trial period, you can purchase it from IDM for $35.00.

http://www.ultraedit.com/downloads/index.html (1.47 MB)

Instructions

User manual is available on-line, but it is unlikely that anyone with experience in using Windows products will need any instructions to install and/or use UltraEdit in connection with NMOD.

Double-click downloaded file to install UltraEdit. If you already have UltraEdit, you will still need to set up the shortcut described below and launch UltraEdit after ORMSware downloads are installed using the shortcut you setup below.

Accept default installation folders. All we have to do after installation is set up a shortcut as described below and UltraEdit will serve as ORMSware's browser.

Using Windows Explorer locate UltraEdit for ORMSware shortcut in c:\ORMSware folder. Whenever you launch UltraEdit, you can choose to launch it from here by double-clicking this shortcut, or you can move or copy this shortcut to desktop, Start menu, Taskbar, or wherever you prefer. You may already know that you can achieve this by simply dragging and dropping the shortcut to the desired location. It is also easy to remove shortcuts from any of these locations. Simply right-click the shortcut and choose Delete or Remove depending on what is offered in the menu. 

When you bring up UltraEdit browser for the first time after installing ORMSware, the files c:\ORMSware\ORMSware.INI and c:\ORMSware\ProgramFiles\CommandList.TXT will be automatically loaded into the browser. If you want to test-fire UltraEdit now, go ahead, and then close it. Then please follow instructions in Step 3 in Section 3 below before bringing it up again.

We recommend that you download ORMSware files to a folder other than c:\ORMSware and let the zipped files extraction process set up c:\ORMSware and subfolders.

Note: If and when you want to remove ORMSware from your system, you only have to delete  c:\ORMSware and remove the handful of shortcuts you may have chosen to set up per suggestions in these 4 sections. Visio, compiler and UltraEdit can be removed separately as you wish using the Windows Add/Remove Programs process from the Control Panel.

We are continuing to add features and modify ORMSware. Therefore, it is a good idea to come back to this download section every once in a while to see if there are any updates you can download.

Click to download	Size	Date of posting	Notes
TotalORMSware	2.84 MB	May 09, 2003	This download contains all ORMSware files and libraries, Primer, Examples, and Hands-on Tutorial. Be sure to download and install the patch below if the date of the patch is later than the date of TotalORMSware. Do not download the patch if its date is earlier than TotalORMSware date.
Cumulative patch	0.03 MB	Apr 12, 2003	You will need the patch at left if the TotalORMSware download above is dated earlier than the date of this patch. Alert: Do NOT download this patch if it is dated earlier than TotalORMSware.

Instructions

You will need a license key to install and use ORMSware. License is required whether you desire free personal or academic license, free trial license, or paid for-profit/non-profit/government license.

You can obtain your license key by registering here. You will receive your key by email in one business day. You can then come back here for the instructions below for installing ORMSware.

1. In case you have UltraEdit open at this time, please close it now. When a download is complete (every download is an EXE file), double-click it from Windows Explorer (or click Open in the download dialog box if it is still open). Unzip to folder text box in the WinZip Self-Extractor dialog box will show c:\. This is okay. The files were zipped with full path, so all files will be extracted to c:\ORMSware and its subfolders. Click Unzip in the dialog box. This process will create c:\ORMSware and all necessary subfolders so that the next steps here and the modeling process will work correctly. When each extraction is complete, Close WinZip Self-Extractor dialog box.

2. When all downloaded files are unzipped, install UltraEdit next if you have not already done so (following instructions in Section 2 above), but do not open the editor/browser now. Also, install the compiler (per Section 1 above) if you have not already done so. Reboot your machine after installing the compiler. If you had already installed the compiler earlier, but had not rebooted your machine, please do so now and come back here to continue.

3. Bring up UltraEdit using the shortcut you set up in Section 2 above. (If you bring up UltraEdit without using this shortcut, it will load with a default INI file which does not contain the tools necessary to enable ORMSware's installation and modeling process manager.) When UltraEdit comes up, a file named c:\ORMSware\ORMSware.INI will already be loaded and the yellow highlighter will be on the line containing a command string for evoking the Lahey/Fujitsu compiler. If you will be using Lahey/Fujitsu Fortran 95 v5.7 Trial compiler, comment out (with a ! at the beginning of the line) this licensed version compiler command line and uncomment the line below it for the trial version.

4. Verify that full path and executable for the compiler is correct. You need to look only till the exe file portion at the beginning of the command. No need to be concerned with anything to the right of the > sign. Making sure that the path is correct is critical in ensuring that the next step for installing ORMSware works properly. However, if you do make a mistake, the installation manager will stop with an explanation and further instructions, allowing you to correct the path and restart installation. If you installed the trial compiler as per instructions in Section 1 above, you should not have to be concerned about verifying compile command path.

Alert If you already have a Lahey/Fujitsu compiler, make sure that you have the latest version (v5.7). Certain compiling and linking options in this version will not be recognized by previous versions. Though ORMSware source code as well as the source it generates totally comply with ANSI Standards so that the product, and models created with it, can be executed on any platform with a Fortan 95 processor, other compilation and linking options ( such as trace-back, optimization, etc.) may not produce desired effects when a given compiler does not recognize the flags for those options in another compiler. If you have an earlier version of Lahey/Fujitsu and do not want to use v5.7 Trial version, feel free to contact us. We can find out the corresponding compiler flags for your version and send you appropriate configuration files. If you will be using Lahey Trial version on a pre-Windows-XP machine, Lahey's in-your-face popup message boxes reminding the user it is a trial version may cause status messages to screen from the modeling process manager, as it executes a chain of tasks, to be displayed out of sequence. This is not a significant problem, since actual model results are typically written to files rather than the screen. ORMSware uses a relay method to manage its installation and modeling processes. When a step in a process is successful, the next step is automatically triggered immediately. The message boxes of Lahey Trial version, slow disks on machines, and pre-XP operating systems may cause problems when these processes execute in rapid succession. If you observe such problems, you can turn off this automatic relay operation so that you can take control of the process. We will explain how to do that shortly. We hope the automatic relays work okay on your machine so that you can get the true touch and feel of the smooth flow of the ORMSware modeling process.

5. Click Advanced on the main menu of UltraEdit. If Alternate Capture Method option is checked, please uncheck it.

6. Click on CommandList.TXT tab at top left of the browser. The yellow highlighter will be on a line with the string InstallORMSware. Double-click to select it. Choose Advanced -- Execute Selected Command from the main menu.

This starts a process that ensures that your compiler path is correct and that calls to the compiler will work properly.

Note: If you encounter any problems because of Lahey Trial's message boxes, or because of sluggishness of the c: drive on your machine or a pre-XP operating system, you can step through the installation process as follows: 1. Click ORMSware.INI tab towards top left of the browser. Locate the Relay option towards the bottom of the file. Change Relay to nRelay. 2. Click CommandList.TXT tab. Instead of InstallORMSware, select CreateCompilerCheck below it. Do Advanced -- Execute Selected Command. A feedback message will tell you the result and advise you of the next step to take. Since you have turned off the Relay switch at this point, anytime during the modeling process you see instructions to choose NETrans + Compile.Link.Run from the Advanced menu, you will have to execute the three individual components of that command in sequence (JustNETrans, ForceCompile, and Run). You can reduce the pain by using hot keys. We will explain this further during modeling.

If the compiler check fails, the process will stop with a message showing the compiler command string you have specified in c:\ORMSware\ORMSware.INI and ask you to come here to these instructions for suggestions on what to do.

In case that occurs, it is either because the compiler command is not referring to the compiler path and executable correctly, or c:\ORMSware\ProgramFiles\CompilerChk.FIG got corrupted during download.

To fix the path/command problem you can use the File Search/Find utility of Windows to find where LF95.EXE is located, and replace existing path and command with the right one. Refer to Step 4 above to see what portion of the compilation command string should be replaced.

In the unlikely event of CompilerChk.FIG being corrupted, you will need to download Installation and modeling process manager again from the download table above.

Once the compiler command statement is corrected in c:\ORMSware\ORMSware.INI, you can restart the installation process (Step 6). Installation will then be able to get past this point and create all necessary executables for the modeling environment.

7. When the installation process finishes successfully, your license information will be displayed in the output window at the bottom of the browser.

Note: If you have a paid license, you will not see your name, your company's name, etc. at the end of installation; you will only see messages indicating that the license installation process ended normally. This is because the installation process uses an NMOD model to do the installation. For paid licenses, license information is displayed only when NETransing a model, not while executing it. You will learn about NETransing and the steps leading to creating executables of models in the remaining chapters of this tutorial.

You can now bring up Visio per instructions in Section 4 below. When Visio is set up per instructions, all components of the modeling environment will be ready for modeling and you will be able to proceed with the rest of this tutorial.

If you do not already have Visio 2002 Standard (or higher), you will need to order a 30+ day trial version CD from Microsoft. Unhappily, no download is available. Though Microsoft calls it "free," it does cost $7.50 for shipping & handling. Regular price of Visio 2002 Standard is $200. Upgrade price is $100. Educational price is $100.

Trial CD can be ordered online from Microsoft at the following link:

http://www.microsoft.com/office/visio/evaluation/trial.asp

Instructions

Use the CD you ordered from Mircosoft to install the product. Accept default installation folders. You only need Flowchart objects for ORMSware, so you can do a very minimal installation if you would rather not install things we will not be using. If Visio 2002 is already installed on your computer, you should be all set to continue from this point.

When you bring up Visio for the first time after ORMSware is installed, per instructions in Section 3 above, do the following:

• Open any of the VSD files in any subfolder in c:\ORMSware.
• From main menu choose Tools-Options. Click File Paths tab.
• Copy and paste the following path into text box for Drawings.
  
  c:\ORMSware\ProgramFiles
  
  Caution: The hub of ORMSware activities is located in the above folder. ORMSware modeling process manager assumes that the Drawings file path is defined as above. You will not be able to leverage the easy translation-compilation-linking-execution process we have set up unless the file path for Drawings is set as above while you are modeling with ORMSware.
  
  
• Click the View tab.
• In Text quality frame choose faster display. Click OK.
• Keep this option if the overall model display looks better to you.
• Close the VSD file.

Go to Chapter 2 to learn how to launch Visio from the browser and to create ORMSware models with Visio.