Starting DX

No special privileges or quotas are required to run DX. DX (and, indeed, visualisation software in general) tends to be quite profligate in its use of computing resources. Files containing generated images can require a significant amount of disk space, and in particular files containing animations can be extremely large. Generating visualisations is computationally intensive and can require substantial amounts of computer memory. Therefore it is sensible to run DX on the computer with the fastest processor and largest physical memory to which you have convenient access.

DX is available for Digital Unix/alpha and Solaris/Sun. Your site manager should be able to advise which is available at your site.

To use DX you need a display capable of receiving X-output (typically an X-terminal or a workstation console). DX will run on a black and white display, but realistically you need a colour display³.

To start DX, ensure that your display is configured to receive X-output and then simply type:

dx

The following message should appear on your command terminal:

Starting DX user interface

and a new window (technically the canvas for the DX visual programming editor) should appear. If DX fails to start properly then consult your site manager who should be able to advise. The most likely reason is that DX is not installed at your site. The Starlink extensions to DX, SX, should be automatically available when you start DX. If they are not available then check that your site manager has installed them.