Subject: Re: [nmr_sparky] Sparky + Chimera
From: Thomas Goddard
Date: May 18, 2006

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Hi Fabian,

To make Sparky work with Chimera you need to use compatible versions of
the two programs. Only very specific version combinations work. Also
the CHIMERA environment variable needs to be set, or the Sparky startup
script has to be modified to specify the installation location of Chimera.
Unfortunately the Sparky/Chimera interaction is quite fragile in that
use of the correct versions with correct setup are essential.

I have tested Sparky 3.112 (release candidate) with Chimera 1.2154
(snapshot).

Here is the Sparky 3.112 manual describing other compatible versions:

http://www.cgl.ucsf.edu/home/sparky/distrib-3.112/manual/extensions.html#Chimera

Here is a little bit of that manual page:

Only certain versions of Chimera will work with Sparky. For Sparky
3.112 use Chimera version 1.2154 (known not to work with Chimera
version 1.2065 and earlier, nor with Chimera versions 1.2184 through
1.2199). For Sparky 3.110 or 3.111 use Chimera version 1.2065 (known
not to work with more recent Chimera versions). For Sparky 3.106 use
Chimera 1.1442. These restrictions are primarily because both
applications need to be using the same version of Python. Sparky 3.112
uses Python 2.4, Sparky 3.111 uses Python 2.3 and Sparky 3.106 uses
Python 2.1. Sparky 3.110 does not work with Chimera on the Mac as of
March 2004 because Chimera on the Mac requires a special version of
Python.

Currently it is only possible to start Chimera one time during a
Sparky session. If you close Chimera you will have to restart Sparky
to use Chimera again. This is a problem with Chimera. Chimera and
Sparky run within the same Python process so Sparky must start
Chimera. You cannot use a Chimera session you started
separately. Sparky uses the CHIMERA environment variable to determine
where Chimera is installed. Its value is a path to the directory
containing the Chimera bin, lib, share directories. You can set
CHIMERA in your environment or you can modify the Sparky startup
script to set CHIMERA. The Sparky startup script is bin/sparky.bat on
Windows, Sparky.app/Contents/Resources/bin/sparky on Mac, or
bin/sparky on other Unix machines. Edit the Sparky startup script if
Chimera is not installed in the standard location, C:Program
FilesChimera on Windows, or /usr/local/chimera on Unix.

Tom