Installation

Installing HNN on Windows

This guide describes installing HNN on Windows 10.

We recommend the Microsoft Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) installation because:

  1. The simulation code is compiled into a Linux system compatible format, which actually runs faster than when compiled to run directly on Windows.
  2. With WSL installed, the installation process becomes nearly identical to that on a Linux system, which helps ensure that the installation process remains reliable with common troubleshooting steps.

The major drawbacks to the recommend option are:

  1. Using WSL requires running a X server on the Windows OS to display graphics from the WSL environment. The steps to install VcXsrv (a free X server for Windows) are part of the HNN installation instructions above.
  2. The data and parameter files from HNN simulations are stored in a filesystem specific for the Ubuntu application. You can read Windows files from Ubuntu in the Ubuntu command-line (e.g. via /mnt/c/users/). However, you cannot access simulation results from Windows applications without copying the file to the mount directory first. See WSL FAQ. If this is a limitation for your workflow, please try the Windows-native install instructions.