What machines does Flat run on?

Flat has been compiled for the department's Sun and x86-Linux machines, as well as the Robot Lab machines. Flat Client is compiled for Allegro Common LISP. The Flat Display is Java-based and has been run on Sun, Linux and Macintosh machines.

Where are the files?

On the UTCS machines, the Flat program is /u/robot/flat-root/flat4/flat. The Flat Display program is in /u/robot/flat-root/flat5/. Flat Client is in /u/robot/flat-root/flat5/flat/controller/flat-client. At startup, Flat reads a configuration file named .flat. You should make a copy of the one in the flat4/ directory. Place it in your home directory.

Some example Flat World files (called environment files) are in /u/robot/flat-root/flat5/env/.

Note: The pathnames are identical on the UTCS Robotics Lab machines.

Computing power requirements

Currently, running all three programs (the Simulator, the Display and your controller) on the same machine will overload some of the department machines. This is particularly noticeable when running the Flat Display on a Linux machine, because the current Java2 JVM for Linux is very slow. It is better to run the display on a Sun or a Macintosh, while Flat and a controller can run on the same machine.

The department has a wide variety of machines. Read the department computing information to determine which machines are the most powerful at this time.