A simple Ferret installation manual by !

> () t @

The following is a guide to install Ferret on a computer with Ubuntu (Linux) OS.

I am a regular Ferret user and my first encounter with Ferret was during my
Masters Dissertation. I did all my computations, data analysis and plotting using
Ferret. The only thing I did not know up until then was the installation of Ferret.
Though I eventually gained an expertise in using Ferret, I was always pricked by
the fact that I never knew how to install it. It was only when my computer crashed
that I was forced to learn the installation. I must admit, it was a painstaking task to
learn it and that has inspired me to put together this short guide for all those
Experts and Beginners who want to an easy and quick installation guide.
The aim of this guide is simply to simplify the installation process. I can safely say
that, all you need to do is cut, copy and paste the commands into the terminal
and you will witness Ferret installed effortlessly. Go ahead, try it !!!

Attention :
A) Only the text in green is to be Typed/CopyPasted in the terminal.
B) You need to have an Internet connection.
C) You need to have a package manager. I suggest the use of Synaptic
Package Manager. You can download it from Ubuntu Software Center.
D) Make sure you have the vim editor. Install it using Synaptic Package
Manager.
E) Know the username of the computer you are working on. If you dont, do
the following:
Type in a new terminal:
cd ~/
pwd
The output will be something like:
/home/username
Where the username will be your username.

A simple Ferret installation manual by !> () t @

Make sure curl is installed. Check it by typing

which curl
You should get the following in the terminal:
/usr/bin/curl
If curl is not installed, you can install it with the following command:
sudo apt-get install curl

Now, check your OS, whether it is a 32bit or 64bit OS. To do this type:
file /sbin/init
You should get an output which will read something like:
/sbin/init: ELF 32-bit LSB shared object,
From the above display on the terminal, you will know if you have a 32-bit or 64bit Operating System.

Having done all this, we are now ready to download the files required for Ferret
installation.

Step 1
We will first make a folder to store the files that we will download from the
internet. We will create this in our Home folder.
Type in the terminal:
mkdir ~/ferret_downloads

A simple Ferret installation manual by !> () t @

Step 2
Now using your web browser go to the following site:
http://ferret.pmel.noaa.gov/Ferret/downloads/downloading_ferret

From above choose your desired version of Ferret you want to download either:
32-bit Linux (RedHat 6 and equivalent)
64-bit Linux (RedHat 6 and equivalent)

There are 3 files to be downloaded:

Ferret Executables
Ferret Environment
Ferret Datasets

These files will get downloaded to your Downloads folder by default.To copy
files from Downloads folder to the ferret_downloads folder, type the
following in your terminal:

cp ~/Downloads/fer_dsets.tar.gz ~/ferret_downloads

cp ~/Downloads/fer_environment.tar.gz ~/ferret_downloads

cp ~/Downloads/fer_executables.tar.gz ~/ferret_downloads

exit

A simple Ferret installation manual by !> () t @

Step 3
This is the step where we will install Ferret.
A) First we make a folder where we will install ferret.Open a new terminal and
type the following commands:
cd /usr/local
sudo mkdir ferret
cd ferret

B) Now we will have to extract and install the Support Files.

Check your present working directory by typing in terminal:
pwd
Make sure you get the following output on the terminal:
/usr/local/ferret

Now type in the terminal:

sudo tar -xzf ~/ferret_downloads/fer_environment.tar.gz
sudo mkdir fer_dsets
cd fer_dsets
sudo tar -xzf ~/ferret_downloads/fer_dsets.tar.gz

A simple Ferret installation manual by !> () t @

C) We will now Install Ferret, type in terminal:

sudo /usr/local/ferret/bin/Finstall
In the terminal, you will get a screen as shown below.

i) Input into terminal:

ii) For FER_DIR give the following path :

/usr/local/ferret
iii) Next you will be asked for the fer_executables.tar.gz file location. Give the
following path
/home/username/ferret_downloads
Note: Replace the username in the above command, by the username on your computer.

A simple Ferret installation manual by !> () t @

Next we have to Customizing the Paths. For this we will select Customize
ferret_paths files.
i) Input into the terminal:

ii) For FER_DIR give the following path:

/usr/local/ferret
iii) For FER_DSETS give the following path:
/usr/local/ferret/fer_dsets
iv) location for creating ferret_paths file, give the following path
/usr/local/ferret

Note: Some times, after you paste the above command in the terminal, you may get
the following on the screen:

Dont worry, just enter:

Finally, exit the installer by inputting:

A simple Ferret installation manual by !> () t @

We will now check if Ferret has been installed by trying to open it.
First, type in the terminal:
source /usr/local/ferret/ferret_paths
Then type:
ferret
You will see something as follows:

Now to exit Ferret, type

Then in the terminal type:

exit

Step 4
The last step of the installation is giving the path in the .bashrc file. This file is
located in the home folder. In a new terminal, type the following:
cd ~/
vi .bashrc

Scroll to the bottom of the fie and press

insert

(on KeyBoard)

Add the following line:

source /usr/local/ferret/ferret_paths

A simple Ferret installation manual by !> () t @

It should look like this:

To save and exit press the esc (on KeyBoard)

Then exit the terminal by typing:

followed by :wq

exit

Finally, open a new terminal type:

ferret
Then type :
go tutorial

GREAT JOB now you have successfully installed ferret. The tutorial should be a
good start to learn the basics of Ferret.

A simple Ferret installation manual by !> () t @

Finally we delete the folder ferret_downloads, type in terminal:

rm -rf ~/ferret_downloads

References
1) http://davies-barnard.co.uk/2011/08/installing-ferret-noaa-onto-ubuntu/
2) http://ferret.pmel.noaa.gov/Ferret/

A special thanks:
Ferret was taught to me by Ms. Vidya PJ and the installation of Ubuntu and Ferret
was first done by Mr. Vijith V, both of whom I would like to thank for all their
kind help encouragement, without whom, none of this would be possible. I would
also like to thank Mr Renjith for checking this guide.

Written and tested successfully by PraveenKumar

Contact me at pravkumar89@outlook.com

Happy Ferreting