Launching Mathematica on Unix and Linux
Launching Mathematica Locally
To run
Mathematica using a network license, both the client machine and the license server must be on the network and
MathLM must be running.
To launch Mathematica:
Make sure that you are running
MathLM. Then, from a shell, type
mathematica and press
Enter.
To launch only the Mathematica kernel:
From a shell, type
math and press
Enter.
Launching Mathematica from a File Server
Rather than installing
Mathematica on every client machine, you can install
Mathematica on a file server and export the installation directory to the clients. To display the front end, the clients must have access to the
Mathematica fonts. For information about configuring the X server on the client machines to find the
Mathematica fonts, see
"Fonts on Unix and Linux". Once the fonts are properly configured, the client machines can run
Mathematica as though it were a local installation.
Mathematica Command-Line Options
math
The
math command starts the kernel from within a shell. The kernel is the part of
Mathematica that handles calculations. This is also used by the front end.
Command-Line Options
-initfile file
Specifies the name of a file containing commands to be run on startup.
-lmverbose
Prints diagnostic information to
stderr on connecting to the license manager. This is useful for debugging problems related to the license server.
-mathlink
Specifies that the kernel should be run in
MathLink mode. See
www.wolfram.com/solutions/mathlink for additional information about
MathLink.
-noinit
Specifies that no initialization file should be read at startup.
-password str
Specifies a password to use instead of the password or passwords stored in the
mathpass file. The password should have the form "
!servername" or "
machinename mathid licensenumber password".
-pwfile file
Specifies the name of a file that has a valid password.
-run
Takes a command to be run on startup as an argument.
mathematica
The
mathematica command runs the X front end. In order for the front end to run, the
DISPLAY environment variable must be set and the front end must be able to locate the fonts included with
Mathematica.
Command-Line Options
-appHelper
Combines the options
-querySingleLaunch and
-forceSaveAs. This option is typically used when configuring
Mathematica as a helper application for web browsers.
-backgroundTaskDelay
Specifies the time the front end delays background tasks like PostScript rendering when waiting for input. The delay is measured in milliseconds and the default setting is 100.
-cleanStart
Tells the front end to ignore caches stored in the directory $UserBaseDirectory/FrontEnd/6.0_Caches, and rebuilds the front end preferences file, $UserBaseDirectory/FrontEnd/init.m. This option can also be abbreviated as
-clean.
-copyright
Tells the front end to display copyright information from the command line.
-dontUpdatePrefs
Prevents changes to the user's preference settings.
-font f
Specifies the font the front end uses in menus, buttons, and so on. The X program
xfontsel can be used to obtain a font name. The font name may be expressed either as an X Logical Font Description or as a valid font alias.
-forceSaveAs
Forces the front end to bring up the Save dialog box when closing a file passed to it on the command line. This option is typically used when configuring
Mathematica as a helper application for web browsers.
-help
Prints a listing of all available command-line options.
-lmverbose
Prints diagnostic information to
stderr on connecting to the license manager. This is useful for diagnosing problems related to the license server.
-mathlink
Causes the front end to run in
MathLink mode. In
MathLink mode, the front end runs as a child process that is capable of accepting
MathLink packets. This option may be useful when the front end is used as a typesetting or graphics rendering service.
-noSplashScreen
Prevents the splash screen from being displayed on startup.
-nostderrWindow
Tells the front end not to display
stderr messages in a pop-up window.
-preferencesDirectory dir
Specifies the location where preference settings are stored. The default location is ~/.Mathematica.
-printCommand command
Specifies a command for sending a file to the printer, such as
lpr or
lp. This command appears in the Print dialog box.
-pwfile file
Specifies the name of a file containing a valid password.
-querySingleLaunch
Brings up a dialog box to ask the user if a file specified on the command line should be opened in the currently running front end. The dialog box appears only if the current front end was also launched with the
-querySingleLaunch option.
-singleLaunch
Allows only one copy of the front end per display. Multiple launches are prevented only if the currently running front end was launched with the
-singleLaunch or
-querySingleLaunch option.
-style s
Specifies which widget style the front end should use. Valid values are
motif,
motifplus,
windows,
cde,
platinum,
sgi, and
compact.
-topDirectory dir
Specifies the directory in which
Mathematica is installed. The default location is /usr/local/Wolfram/Mathematica/6.0.
-version
Prints the current version of the front end from the command line.
-wwwBrowser command
Specifies the command to execute when opening URL links from the front end. The command can include a
%s format argument that is replaced with the URL.
