2.6. Installing GNUMed on Mac OSX 10.3 (Panther)

There are a number of changes in MacOSX between Jaguar and Panther that necessitate some changes to the installation procedure.

  1. Mac Developer Tools (Xtools)

    Install the Developer tools which are on the disc called XTools. The default Easy Install is satisfactory.

  2. wxPython

    The correct version of Python is included with Panther. However, you need to install wxPython, which is a package that enables applications written in Python to use the native GUI (In MacOSX case, that is called aqua).

    Download and install the latest version of the wxPython installer for Panther from SourceForge To test your installation, run the application 'RunDemo' in Applications>wxPythonOSX-2.4.2.4-panther

  3. Install postgresql, which is the database used by gnumed.

    A binary package and instructions for the Panther version are available from here

    Take note of the command required to start postgres -
    /usr/local/bin/pg_ctl -D /usr/local/pgsql/data -l postgres.log 
    start

    If you want postgres to start at system startup, download the startup application from the same page.

  4. Setting the Command Path

    '/usr/local/bin' needs to be included in the command PATH, if not already included.

    In a terminal window, type

    echo $PATH

    the result will be a list of directories seperated by colons, like this

    /bin:/sbin:/usr/bin:/usr/local/bin

    if '/usr/local/bin' is one of the directories, you can skip this section. otherwise type

    echo "export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/bin" >> ~/.bash_profile

  5. Python add-ons (new) (egenix and pyPgSQL)

    The egenix extensions (Date/Time) and pypgsql (which allows python to interface with postgresql) can be downloaded using the mac python add-ons pack which you should download from here

    Install the package, then open the Package Manager (Applications>MacPython-2.3>Package Manager) In the File menu, select Open URL and type

    http://undefined.org/python/pimp/darwin-7.2.0-Power_Macintosh.plist

    Select the file egenix-mxbase and click install, pyPgSQL and click install

  6. Download gnumed

    The gnumed files are downloaded from cvs.

    Open a new terminal window and type

         export CVS_RSH=ssh
         export CVSROOT=:ext:anoncvs@savannah.gnu.org:/cvsroot/gnumed
         cd <some directory where you want the gnumed cvs checkout to go>
         cvs -z3 co gnumed OR cvs -z3 checkout gnumed (z3 is for compression)

    The gnumed cvs files will all be downlaoded to your computer. Repeat these commands to update these files at a later date.

    Test setup so far:

    pythonw ~/gnumed/gnumed/client/wxpython/gnumed.py

    If all is well, the gnumed log in window will be displayed. You will not be able to log in as the gnumed postgres tables are not yet set up.

  7. Install gnumed SQL tables

    Go to the directory /server/bootstrap

         cd ~/gnumed/gnumed/server/bootstrap/

    Run the shell program redo-public.sh

      	./redo-public.sh

    Answer yes to all the questions and enter the passwords as requested. The postgres password is the one you used when setting up postgres in section 3.

    The gm-dbo password, if not already set, will be remembered when you first enter it (so don't forget).

  8. Run Gnumed

    pythonw ~/gnumed/gnumed/client/wxpython/gnumed.py

    (Note - use pythonw rather than python for applications that use the wxWindows gui)

    The log in screen opens.

    Click Options, and select from the pop-ups

    database - gnumed
    host - localhost
    port - 5432
    OK

    Log in to gnumed using username test-doc, password test-doc

    All being well, a window opens tracking the modules as they are loaded, and then a clinical screen.

    Don't get too excited - wxPython on MacOSX is slooooow, and somewhat unstable, and there is nothing much to do in gnumed ...... yet.