# INSTALLATION

## Prerequisites

you need:

* perl (an interpreter for the perl language, see
 http://www.perl.com)

* ghostscript (an interpreter/raster image processor for the
                PostScript language, see
                https://www.ghostscript.com/)

* maybe an ANSI-C compiler if the provided binaries for bbox do not
 work for you. Sorry for the inconvenience, but I tried to write a
 bbox equivalent in perl and it was terribly slow. Therefore I stick
 to C, because of much better performance.  *Alternatively* you can
 use ps2eps option -g, then no bbox binary is required.

## How to install

 Please check that you have working
 <kbd>perl</kbd> and <kbd>ghostscript</kbd> packages.

### Linux/UNIX-based platform

1. install bbox

  If a bbox binary is included for your platform you simply move it
  into any directory of the system search path. Otherwise, you have
  to compile bbox.c first by invoking

  ```
  cc -o bbox bbox.c.
  ```

  (sometimes "make bbox" also works).
  Please make sure that bbox is executable (chmod a+x bbox).
  If you already have a working perl and a working ghostscript, you're
  finished here, else you have to install them first.

2. install ps2eps

  On Unix platforms you simply move the perl script ps2eps into a
  directory which is included in the system or personal search path
  (e.g., /usr/local/bin, $home/bin). Please make sure that ps2eps is
  executable (chmod a+x ps2eps).

### Windows-based platform

Use the command line interpreter:
Copy bbox.exe into a directory that is
in your's or the system's search path for executables. Please try
to invoke bbox -h afterwards.

The best possibility is to use associated file types under
Windows:

1. rename ps2eps to ps2eps.pl and

2. SET PATHEXT=.pl;%PATHEXT% or use the
  settings -> control panel -> system -> "advanced" tab -> environment variables
  and edit the PATHEXT entry accordingly.

3. then simply typing ps2eps should invoke ps2eps correctly

 Another option is to call perl directly:
```
 perl ps2eps ...
```

The script assumes that you have "gswin32c" as
postscript interpreter in your path. Under Windows ps2eps
can perform wildcard expansion on its own.