Installation Instructions
-------------------------

This distribution requires Python 2.2 or newer.  The software is for
Unix-style systems (e.g. Linux/Solaris/*BSD/MacOS X), and also works
on Windows using the Unix toolkit Cygwin. We have not tested it on
Windows (sans Cygwin) or MacOS 9.

If you have superuser privileges on your UNIX system:

  python setup.py build
  python setup.py install

This will install SnapPeaPython in the site-packages directory of your
python installation.

If are not a superuser and wish to install SnapPeaPython in your home directory:

  python setup.py build
  python setup.py install --install-lib ~

This will create a subdirectory of your home directory named SnapPea
containing the package.  In order for python to find the package you
must add this directory to your PYTHONPATH environment variable.  For
example in bash:

export PYTHONPATH=~


Documentation
-------------------------

There really isn't any.  For an idea of what SnapPea can do, use a GUI
version of SnapPea and/or consult SnapPeaC/headers/SnapPea.h.  To
figure out what functions are availible at the python level, consult
SnapPea/__init__.py.  Here is a very simple sample session:

# First, let's demonstrate that the census manifold "m004" and the
# complement of the figure-8 knot are the same.

>>> import SnapPea
>>> M = SnapPea.get_manifold("m004")
>>> M.volume()
2.0298832128193069
>>> N = SnapPea.get_manifold("4_1")
>>> M.is_isometric(N)
1

#  SnapPea.get_manifold can take a lot of different kinds of input.
#  Consult SnapPea/__init__.py and search for "kitchen sink"!

# What methods are available?  Try the Python way:

>>> dir (M)
['Dirichlet', '__del__', '__doc__', '__init__', '__module__',
'__repr__', 'canonize', 'clone', 'core_geodesic',
'current_fillings_become_meridians', 'cusp_is_fillable',
'drill_curve', 'fill_cusp', 'fundamental_group', 'get_cusp_equation',
'get_cusp_equations', 'get_cusp_is_complete',
'get_cusp_is_orientable', 'get_cusp_l', 'get_cusp_m',
'get_cusp_moduli', 'get_cusp_modulus', 'get_cusp_shape',
'get_cusp_shapes', 'get_drillable_curves', 'get_gluing_data',
'get_gluing_equations', 'get_name', 'get_normal_surfaces',
'get_num_cusps', 'get_num_tetrahedra', 'get_solution_type',
'get_triangulation_is_orientable', 'homology',
'install_current_curve_bases', 'install_shortest_bases',
'is_canonical_triangulation', 'is_isometric', 'randomize', 'reflect',
'remove_Dehn_fillings', 'same_triangulation', 'save', 'set_cusp',
'set_name', 'shortest_curves_become_meridians', 'simplify',
'split_on_normal_surface', 'symmetry_group', 'tet_shapes',
'triangulation', 'volume']

# Finally, there are many census to play with; let's just
# do the first few manifolds.  

>>> for M in SnapPea.Cusped5tetOrientable[:10]:
...     print M.get_name(), M.volume()
... 
m003 2.02988321282
m004 2.02988321282
m006 2.56897060094
m007 2.56897060094
m009 2.66674478345
m010 2.66674478345
m011 2.7818339124
m015 2.82812208833
m016 2.82812208833
m017 2.82812208833
>>> 

# For further census names see 

>>> SnapPea.__all__
('Triangulation', 'ClosedOrientable', 'ClosedNonorientable', 'Cusped5tet', 'Cusped5tetOrientable', 'Cusped5tetNonorientable', 'Cusped6tetOrientable', 'Cusped6tetNonorientable', 'Cusped7tetOrientable', 'Cusped7tetNonorientable', 'LinkExteriors2Comp', 'LinkExteriors3Comp', 'LinkExteriors4Comp', 'LinkExteriors5Comp', 'AlternatingKnotExteriors', 'NonalternatingKnotExteriors', 'get_manifold', 'sendable_to_triangulation')


Bugs and Comments
-------------------------

Please email bugs, comments, or offers of assistance, to any or all
of:

culler@math.uic.edu
nathand@math.harvard.edu
weeks@northnet.org

Last Update
-------------------------

The date of the last update is contained in the file named timestamp
in the root directory of the distribution.