Steps to install and set up Aliqueit on an Ubuntu* computer
(including gmp, ecm, ggnfs, msieve, YAFU, Aliqueit)

Last update: 11 Dec 2012 for 32-bit / 4 Dec 2016 for 64-bit

The updated information for these steps is now located in a set of pages at How I Install...

*These steps will work with both 32-bit and 64-bit systems and other distributions as well as Ubuntu, but there may be differences such as installation locations, etc. for other distributions. Therefore, the steps on this page are specifically tailored toward Ubuntu.

Although this is intended to be the steps to create a working version of Aliqueit, it is in fact steps to set up all the other packages listed above, as well. As long as these steps are taken in order, you should be able to stop anywhere along the way and have working packages up through that point.

Various linux distributions include some of the math packages, such as gmp-ecm in their repositories. However, due to the delay between package releases and repository inclusion, and expecting that those using these packages will be trying to stay on the leading edge, I will be describing the steps that acquire, compile and (possibly) install the latest versions of the packages available in most cases. (It may be necessary to uninstall a repository version to properly install the latest.) That being said, feel free to use repository versions of packages if you would rather.

In some cases, you might want to compile with different options than the ones I will suggest. It is fine to experiment with such changes, but I suggest going through the setup with the options below and comfirming a working system prior to those changes. Although the one created by these steps may not be optimum, I am trying to get everything up and running for your installation. Once everything is working, you'll have a base to try alternate setups from.

Nearly all of the current (and past) workings for these installations are being (and have been) discussed to some length on the Mersenne Forum Factoring Pages and it is suggested that all installation issues be brought up there.

As mentioned earlier, if you would prefer to try repository versions for some of the packages, that is OK as well. They may work fine and save some time and installation hassles.

Note 1: Proceed at your own risk! I accept no responsibility for the accuracy of, or how you use the information provided. Proceed at your own risk!

Note 2: It is expected that you have some familiarity with Ubuntu, or at least a linux distribution, but most information is pretty basically presented. You will need to know how to open a terminal, navigate through directories via a file manager such as nautilus and edit files via a text editor such as gedit. You will also need administrator privileges to use sudo commands.

Note 3: I will be using the user ID of math and the main folder of Mathwork for these steps. You are free to use another user name and/or folder. Simply replace my suggestions with yours.

  • 1. ONLY PERFORM THIS STEP IF YOU ARE DELETING A PRIOR OS OR INSTALLING A NEW HARD DRIVE (OR, YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH INSTALLING FOR DUAL-BOOT) - THIS CAN/WILL DESTROY A PREVIOUS OPERATING SYSTEM!! Install Ubuntu as appropriate for your system.
  • 2. Create a user named math, either at installation or later (and log in as math, if necessary).
  • 3. Update Ubuntu
  • 4. Open a terminal and check Perl and Python:

    The following steps are provided in the necessary order to allow those packages that depend on others to be addressed in that workable order. You should be able to stop at whichever package is the last one you are interested in, but install all previous ones. Overall end purposes may suggest changes to the options I will suggest, but for now the provided steps should create a fully working setup. A specific example is that for YAFU to run NFS, it is necessary to compile msieve using the NO_ZLIB=1 option. You may wish to skip that for Aliqueit, where YAFU won't be used for that type of work. Alternate installations of many packages can be experimented with on your own later.

  • 5. Check for and install, if necessary, the following from the repositories for all linux platforms:
  • 6. Create a folder called Mathwork within the math (/home/math, but also called home) folder.

  • 7. Step through the following as far as to include all your desired programs/packages:

    Testing your installation:

    You should now be able to run aliquot sequences using aliqueit and all the associated packages. The following is a procedure to do just that, based on the above installation:

    Automating Aliqueit:

    If you would like to run Aliqueit on several numbers, this can be accomplished via a bash script. Here is a simple example:

    ---start of script---
    #!/bin/bash

    cd /home/math/Mathwork/Aliqueit

    alq=4788
    wget 'http://www.factordb.com/elf.php?seq='${alq}'&type=1' -O /home/math/Mathwork/Aliqueit/alq_${alq}.elf
    /home/math/Mathwork/Aliqueit/aliqueit -d 180 $alq
    /home/math/Mathwork/Aliqueit/aliqueit -s 0 $alq

    alq=######
    wget 'http://www.factordb.com/elf.php?seq='${alq}'&type=1' -O /home/math/Mathwork/Aliqueit/alq_${alq}.elf
    /home/math/Mathwork/Aliqueit/aliqueit -d 120 -c 95 -b -e $alq
    /home/math/Mathwork/Aliqueit/aliqueit -s 0 $alq

    ---end of script---

    You can run the script by typing bash scriptname Enter.

    You can choose individual parameters for each Aliqueit run within the specific calls. To add more sequences to work on, simply copy/paste the last set of lines and edit appropriately.

    If you find errors or wish to make comments about this page, please post on the Mersenne Forum Factoring Pages under the appropriate package pages, such as under the yafu pages for an issue with YAFU.

    Additional Notes:

    At this point you also have working copies of gmp-ecm, msieve and YAFU that can be run by themselves. For example, to start YAFU: