Home | Previous | Next | Huddart Site Map

Using Mathematica on hammer.aset.psu.edu

In this course, you will need to be able to perform some mathematical optimization and algebraic manipulation. I suggest that you use Mathematica for these purposes, but you may use any software package you like.

If you do not wish to buy your own Mathematica license (available here http://computerstore.psu.edu/search/node/mathematica), then I suggest that you make use of the version that the University has licensed for use on the high-performance unix box called hammer.aset.psu.edu (http://gears.aset.psu.edu/hpc/systems/hammer/userguide/). To gain access to hammer, you must apply by e-mail to jholmes@psu.edu.

It is useful to know a few Unix commands. Here is a link to a quick and basic introduction: http://kb.iu.edu/data/afsk.html.

Configuration instructions

For Windows users:

You should install Xming or some similar X11 server. You also need to do make some configuration adjustments to your X11 server to make it work nicely with hammer and Mathematica:

1. Download Putty from http://gears.aset.psu.edu/hpc/guides/putty/ and follow the instructions on that page.

2. Download Xming from http://gears.aset.psu.edu/hpc/guides/xming/, along with the Xming fonts. Follow the instructions on that page.

3. Download Mathematica Fonts from http://gears.aset.psu.edu/hpc/software/math/mathem/fonts.shtml. Extract the fonts and place them in the Xming Fonts folder.

4. Launch Xming, which runs in the background.

5. Launch Putty and then connect to hammer by typing

   ssh -Y YOUR-PSU-USERID@hammer.aset.psu.edu

6. At the prompt, type mXming.sh to launch Mathematica.

For Macintosh users:

You should set up your computer to make access to the GUI interface for Mathematica convenient. After completing the suggested configuration below, you should be able to start Mathematica by doing the following:

1. Double click on the X11 application icon.

2. In the terminal window, type xhamm, and enter your PSU password.

3. Type mathematica and hit return. The Mathematica splash screen and a blank Mathematica workbook should open.

On a Mac, the easiest way to make these changes is to install TextWrangler (freeware available at http://www.barebones.com/products/textwrangler/download.shtml) and use this program to edit the files. To edit files on hammer, connect to hammer with Fetch (licensed for PSU users and available for download here https://downloads.its.psu.edu/ ---look under the file transfer tab), single-click on the file within Fetch, and press Command-J to edit the file. Before you do this for the first time, open Fetch's preferences, select the Obscure tab and select TextWrangler in the drop-down box corresponding to the "Edit text files with" option.

1. On your machine, add these lines to ~/.profile

   #These aliases automate ssh connections to hammer.

   alias ssx='ssh -C -Y -c blowfish'

   alias shamm='ssh YOUR-PSU-USERID@hammer.aset.psu.edu'

   alias xhamm='ssx YOUR-PSU-USERID@hammer.aset.psu.edu'

   #While you are it, make it easy to access WRDS.

   alias swrds='ssh YOUR-WRDS-ID@wrds.wharton.upenn.edu'

   alias xwrds='ssx YOUR-WRDS-ID@wrds.wharton.upenn.edu'

2. On your machine, in /etc/ssh_config, change

   # StrictHostKeyChecking ask

   to

   StrictHostKeyChecking no

   This prevents blather about man-in-the-middle attacks. You need to use an administrator userid to edit this file. TextWrangler will prompt you for an administrator password.

3. On your machine, in the /etc/sshd_config, change

   #X11Forwarding no

   to

   X11Forwarding yes

   This prevents BadAtom errors. Again, you need to use an administrator userid to edit this file. TextWrangler will prompt you for an administrator password.

4. Place a nice .Xdefaults file in your home directory, ~/, on hammer. To log in to hammer before X11 is configured, open the terminal application on your Mac and type:

   source ~/.profile; shamm

   After you enter your password, issue this command:

   cd ~; curl -O http://www.personal.psu.edu/sjh11/.Xdefaults

5. Install the fonts Mathematica needs. This involves several steps, so look here: Installing Mathematica fonts.

---

Steven Huddart
Smeal College of Business, Penn State University, University Park, PA 16802-3603 USA
(814) 865-3271
(814) 863-8393 fax
huddart@psu.edu
vCard Home | Previous | Next | Huddart Site Map

http://www.personal.psu.edu/sjh11/Courses/ACCTG597E/mathHammer.shtml
was last updated on Wed, Oct 7, 2009.
Today is Fri, Nov 27, 2009.

Unless otherwise noted, all material is:
Copyright ©1995-2009 Steven Huddart. All rights reserved.