TalJechin wrote on 03/19/10 at 22:27:02:


Ah, .exe files are Windows-only executables. You'll have to redownload the Linux version from the Spark website.

Also, just to be sure, open up Scid again, go to the help menu, click About, and see what version you're running. The old 3.6.1 version may not have the UCI engine configuration window.

The reference picture from the Scid website for the Analysis Engine windows: http://scid.sourceforge.net/screenshots/uci.png

[quote author=6C5954725D5B505156380 link=1262702059/25#25 date=1268928342]
So all I need now is to find out how to compile & install all the engines I downloaded and how to associate them with scid?

Btw, is there a way to reuse what you've already typed in the terminal and just change the file name to install yet another engine?[/quote]

Sure. To reuse commands in the command line, hit the up arrow key on your keyboard to scroll through the command history. Another tip is to hit the Tab key at the command line to auto-complete folder and file names, e.g., you start typing the first few letters of a folder to distinguish it from the rest, then hit Tab and it'll fill in the rest.

As for your question, some engines come in pre-compiled executables like on Windows, but I'll explain that afterwards.

For example, I had downloaded the latest Stockfish, 1.6.3. I extracted it to a folder in my home folder. /home/vlad/Chess/Engines/stockfish-163-ja

There is a subfolder in there called "src" where the source code is. Go to a terminal, and navigate to that folder using the [b]c[/b]hange [b]d[/b]irectory command (cd):

[code]
cd Chess/Engines/stockfish-163-ja/src
make[/code]

If you get lost in the directory structure, the [b]ls[/b] command will list what files are in the current folder so that you can find what you're looking for. If you enter a folder but want to go back a level, type "[b]cd ..[/b]"

After typing "make," the engine should start compiling. Once it's finished compiling, there should be a new file named "stockfish" among all the other files of code in that folder. For compiling these engines, don't type "make install" afterwards.

Next, open up Scid by typing "scid&" in the command line. The ampersand runs it in the background so that you can keep typing commands. In Scid, go to Tools -> Analysis Engine... In the window that opens, hit New. In the new window that opens, type what you want the name of the engine to be in the name field (Stockfish 1.6.3 64bit or so). In the Command field, hit the ... button and navigate through your folders for the executable, Chess -> Engines -> stockfish-163-ja -> src, until you find it and open it. The rest of the fields are optional, so skip them for now. Click on the "Configure UCI engine" button to see if it's loading correctly.

You should get a large window with dozens of obscure engine parameters. The default hash table size is rather small (32 MB) so bump that up to whatever you want. Hit the save button at the bottom, then hit OK on the previous window. Go back to the Analysis Engine List window, and its name should be there. Click on it and hit ok, and it should start analyzing.

Other engines on Linux sometimes come in pre-compiled executables like on Windows. For example, Spark and Komodo are closed source, so they will only be available as executables. There's one hitch when using them, however.

I've downloaded Spark 0.3a, and extracted it to my chess engines folder as well. The executable is just sitting there, but you can't install it in Scid just yet. Right click the executable (named spark-0.3-linux64 in my case), hit properties, and then the Permissions tab in the properties window. Check the "Allow executing file as program" box and then hit close. Alternatively, you could do the same thing in the command line by changing directory to Spark's folder, and typing the command

[code]
chmod +x spark-0.3-linux64[/code]

The chmod command [b]ch[/b]anges the [b]mod[/b]e of the executable to actually be executable (+x), i.e., since you just downloaded it, the file didn't have the correct permission to execute.

You can then install it into Scid much the same as you did Stockfish, making sure it runs correctly. I think that's it, but if something goes wrong or you have any more questions, feel free to ask.

Wow, and here I've been using an obsolete version all this time.  Thanks for the word.

TalJechin wrote on 03/17/10 at 11:39:31:


With Ubuntu I usually rely on the built-in Synaptic package manager.  You'll readily find scid, click to select it, click on "apply," and off you go.  I would never do a hand install of software available through Synaptic, which scid is.

DeepShredder12, now that I had to install by hand, but it was a piece of cake.

You can try the following (command line):
$ sudo apt-get update (to be sure your sources are up to date)
$ sudo apt-get upgrade (to upgrade your system to the newest packages)
$ sudo apt-get -f install scid (to install scid)
$ sudo apt-get -f install scid-rating-data
$ sudo apt-get -f install scid-spell-data
$ scid

By the way, you will not find sudo in the menus - it is to be used in a terminal.

With Linux you can also have the choice of to which directory you will download files. it is just a question of configuration. Firefox is not the only browser, you can also use Opera, Konqueror, Epiphany, Dillo,...
Login: if you use the KDE or Gnome Desktop environement, then it is possible to have the same comfort as under Windows. And so, Xubuntu might not be the best choice for you. If you want to stick to Ubuntu, I'd then recommend the "real" Ubuntu or Kubuntu but this last is not so much appreciated by the "specialists".
You do not like to work with "root" and your own user? Then, you can use sudo which is installated by default on Ubuntu. Another possibility is to temporaly become root under your own user, this is possible with the "su" (superuser) command.

TalJechin wrote on 03/15/10 at 19:52:27:


I have little doubt that Scid is the best chess database that runs on Linux.  Development is ongoing, and there is a very active list server to which I subscribe (the list concerns Scid in all its forms, not only on Linux).  I will vouch for DeepShredder12 and I assume plain Shredder12 would work fine as well.  I can't vouch for any other chess software.

While I love Linux and really hate Windows, there are of course many reasons to prefer Windows 7.  One is that it comes pre-installed; another is that if your focus is multi-media, there is a lot more software for Windows that Just Works.  While distros like Ubuntu try to take the work out of it, with Linux you sometimes have to spend time configuring.  If multimedia is not your thing, that is all the more reason to prefer Linux, which is free, can be installed to run just fine on small or obsolete machines, and unlike Windows, actually works. 

My pet complaint against windows is the perpetually rebooting that the system demands.  With Linux, the only time you need to reboot is when you've installed a new kernel.  Indeed, I keep my Linux machine on for weeks on end with absolutely no ill effects.  The only time I have to reboot is when I suffer a power failure.

Then there is that Windows is perpetually under attack by hackers, requiring everyone to run expensive and cpu-draining anti-intrusion software.  There is a threat to anyone connected to the internet, of course, but so far Linux has not been a target, partly because it's more difficult to take control of a moderately-well-defended Linux machine.

Then there is that Windows always wants the lion's share of your cpu for its d--m widgets, 3-D effects and whatnot.  With Linux if you want a minimalist window manager, you can have a nice interface that doesn't make any significant demands on your processors, saving them for your own work.

P.S. TalJechin: of course you get to choose where you download files.  This however is not an operating system property but a property of whatever software you use to download files.  If for example you use Firefox, my standard tool, you can change the download destination from the options menu.  This applies to Firefox both on Windows and Linux.  If you're using an ftp client, there too you have full control of where you download files.

Of course on Linux, which directories you can write to depends on your permissions.  You can read up on that in any good Linux book.  Normally I download to my home directory, which of course I have permission to write to.

well, stab one failed 

I chose Xubuntu since I liked the name, but when I rebooted I got stuck with a f*ing command line screen 

Are there no versions with a graphical interface and if so - which is closest to "windows intuitive"?