MarcEdit 5.2 update/Linux download

For some time, I’ve been working on a development branch of MarcEdit to provide better (i.e., official) support for the application on Linux.  This was actually one of the big reasons behind the change in program languages from a mix of Assembly/Delphi to C#, as well as my interest and periodic activity with the Mono project. 

Over the past few months, I’ve been working on trying to smooth out the wrinkles in the Linux version — as well as work around a few known issues in the Mono runtime.  I’d honestly hoped to have this work finished back in November, but it never happened, well, it did happen, but then I ran into a new problem — a forked version of MarcEdit.  In November, I’d created a version of MarcEdit that worked great under Linux, but was pretty different in some significant ways (code-wise) from the Windows version, and that simply wouldn’t do. 

So, since November, I’ve been reconciling the two versions — making tweaks to the Windows code to make it more Linux friendly, and working with the Linux code to make it less Linux specific.  It’s taken some time, but I finally finished the process last night.  So, it is with some trepidation, that I can finally provide an official download, complete with Install instructions and support, for the Linux platform.

To that end, I’m providing an update for all versions of MarcEdit.  The Windows version is being updated to complete the reconciliation process.  As of today, the branches have been merged and there is now a single codebase for MarcEdit.  So, going forward, I will ensure that I test MarcEdit on both the Windows and Linux platforms (specifically, Ubuntu). 

Now, to the next question…what about Mac?  Well, what about the Mac?  Long-term, I hope to eventually have Mac support as well, but in many respects, when Mac support happens will be dependent on the Mono Runtime, and the Mono project finding Mac developers interested in doing that work.  I had hoped, some time ago, that Mac switching to a Unix infrastructure would help with compatibility — but the UI used on the Mac has actually made that process much more difficult in many ways (at least, that’s been the case for projects I’ve been associated with).  So, while I hope to extend support to the Mac platform at some point, I am not there yet.  While you can certainly run MarcEdit on a Mac (especially the command line version of MarcEdit [cmarcedit.exe], you will find that there are severe UI issues when running the MarcEdit GUI.  As the Mono runtime moves to 3.0, maybe some of these issues will disappear.  I’ll keep watching, testing, and maybe even simplifying the MarcEdit UI to mitigate some of these problems — but that’s where we stand right now.

*************

For MarcEdit users, the Linux/Other distribution package will be provided as a simple zip file.  Within the Zip file, you will find and Install.txt file.  This file provides install information for Windows users that don’t want to use the MSI installer, as well as Linux users that want to run MarcEdit.  As always, MarcEdit can be downloaded from: http://people.oregonstate.edu/~reeset/marcedit/html/downloads.html or directly, from:

• Windows: http://people.oregonstate.edu/~reeset/marcedit/software/development/MarcEdit_Setup.msi
• Linux/Other: http://people.oregonstate.edu/~reeset/marcedit/software/development/marcedit.zip

*************

The MarcEdit install instructions have been kept fairly simple…Maybe too simple.  I’m hoping to hear back from users — if you have trouble, find steps missing, etc., I would love to hear from you.  Below, I’ll recreate the install instructions for those interested — otherwise, you can find these in the Zip archive.

–TR

*************

*****************************************
MarcEdit Installation Instructions
MarcEdit 5.x
Author: Terry Reese
Install.txt Last Modified: 12/28/2009
*****************************************

Contents:
  1) Windows Users
     a) Installation using Supported Installer
     b) Installation using Zip File
  2) Linux/Other Users

WINDOWS INSTALLATION PROCEDURE:

1.1 WINDOWS Installer

MarcEdit’s supported Windows installation program can be found at: http://people.oregonstate.edu/~reeset/marcedit/html/downloads.html.

1.2 WINDOWS INSTALLATION FROM ZIP

For those users wanting to utilize MarcEdit but cannot run the installer due to permissions restrictions, MarcEdit can be installed from the Zip file.  Installation of MarcEdit on Windows from the Zip file will remove the ability to utilize MarcEdit’s scripting capabilities — but otherwise, the program will function normally.

Instructions:

a) Unzip marcedit.zip.
b) Open the command console (cmd)
c) Navigate to the MarcEdit program directory, and run bootloader.exe

CONGRATULATIONS, MarcEdit should now be ready to run on your PC.

LINUX/OTHER INSTALLATION PROCEDURE:

1.1  INSTALLATION FROM ZIP

a) Ensure that the dependencies have been installed
   1) Dependency list:
      i) MONO 2.4+ (Runtime plus the System.Windows.Forms library [these are sometimes separate])
     ii) YAZ 3 + YAZ 3 develop Libraries + YAZ++ ZOOM bindings
    iii) ZLIBC libraries
     iV) libxml2/libxslt libraries
b) Unzip marcedit.zip
c) Navigate to the MarcEdit program directory and run linux_bootloader.exe (example, mono linux_bootloader.exe)
d) Yaz.Sharp.dll.config — ensure that the dllmap points to the correct version of the shared libyaz object.
e) main_icon.bmp can be used for a desktop icon
f) On first run:
   a) mono MarcEdit.exe
   b) Preferences tab will open, click on other, and set the following two values:
      i) Temp path: /tmp/
     ii) MONO path: [to your full mono path; likely /usr/bin/mono]

If you encounter problems with these instructions, please contact: <Terry Reese> terry.reese@oregonstate.edu.