Grammar Engineering Frequently Asked Questions

I want to install the LKB on my local machine, what should I do?

The LKB can downloaded from the DELPH-IN website, for both Windows and Linux. (There is a Mac version as well, but with only limited support.) If you want the full functionality, including [incr tsdb()], you need to install the Linux version. There are at least three options for doing this:

Option 1: Install Ubuntu (or another Linux distribution)

This gives you a full Linux installation, and may be the best choice if you want to learn Linux or plan to do a lot of linguistics work on your machine. There is far more linguistics software for Linux than for any other operating system.

Mayo Kudo and Emily Bender have put together a guide to installing Ubuntu and LKB.

Advantages:

• Gives you a full Linux installation to work with.
• Fast, stable, and well-supported.
• Works on PCs and Intel Macs (including under Parallels).

Disadvantages:

• Requires repartitioning your hard disk (unless running under Parallels)
• Switching between Linux and Windows requires a reboot.

Option 2: Install andLinux

andLinux is a special Linux version that runs in parallel with Windows. For step-by-step instructions on installing it and getting LKB running, see this tutorial.

Advantages:

• No need to repartition.
• Linux LKB can be run alongside Windows applications.

Disadvantages:

• Beta-test software; does not always install cleanly.
• Requires a lot of RAM, since you're running Windows and Linux alongside each other.
• Requires Windows.

Option 3: Knoppix+LKB

Knoppix+LKB is a bootable CD with Emacs and LKB pre-installed.

Advantages:

• No partitioning or installation required.
• LKB is pre-installed -- just boot and go.
• Works on PCs and Intel Macs.

Disadvantages:

• Limited hardware support. Laptop touchpad mice and wireless network adapters seem to be the main sore points, although support for these has improved markedly in recent versions.
• Slower than a "real" Linux installation, due to the relatively sluggish speed of a CD drive compared to a hard disk.
• Can't install your own software.

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-- brodbd - 08 May 2009