Installation#

Pip#

The preferred way to install the alpaqa Python interface is using pip:

python3 -m pip install --upgrade --pre alpaqa

(PyPI)

To compile problems using the Python interface, you will need a C compiler, such as GCC or Clang on Linux, Xcode on macOS, or MSVC on Windows (see the Tips and tricks page for details and alternatives).

From source#

Building alpaqa from source requires the installation of some C++ dependencies, see Installation (Doxygen) for detailed instructions.

C++ Library#

Pre-built binaries for Linux are available from the Releases page on GitHub.

For Debian-based systems, the .deb packages can be installed using

sudo apt update
sudo apt install ./libalpaqa*_1.0.0a18_amd64.deb

Different components are available:

  • libalpaqa contains the shared libraries needed to run applications that use alpaqa.

  • libalpaqa-debug contains the debugging symbols for those libraries.

  • libalpaqa-dl_dev contains the C header files needed to compile problem specifications that can be dynamically loaded by alpaqa.

  • libalpaqa-dev contains all development files such as headers and CMake configuration files needed to compile software that invokes alpaqa solvers.

  • libalpaqa-extra contains additional solvers and problem loaders that fall outside of the core library.

  • libalpaqa-extra-dev contains all development files for the extra libraries.

  • libalpaqa-casadi contains classes for loading and building problem definitions using CasADi.

  • libalpaqa-casadi-dev contains classes development files for those classes.

  • libalpaqa-tools contains command line utilities such as alpaqa-driver, which can be used to invoke the solvers directly, without the need to write any C++ code.

More information about the different components of alpaqa can be found in the CMake example.

The following distributions are tested:

  • Debian: 11 (Bullseye), 12 (Bookworm), Sid

  • Ubuntu: 20.04 (Focal), 22.04 (Jammy), rolling

Alternatively, the .tar.gz file can be extracted and installed manually.

sudo tar xzf alpaqa-1.0.0a18-Linux-x86_64.tar.gz -C /usr/local --strip-components=1

This requires glibc 2.17 or later. You may need to install or pre-load the following additional runtime dependencies:

  • libgfortran5 (GFortran 10 or later)

  • libquadmath0

When using the development packages, it is important to use the correct version of Eigen (currently 3.4.0) to avoid ABI incompatibilities. Adding architecture-specific flags (e.g. -march=skylake, -mavx512f) can also affect ABI, and building from source for optimal performance may be advisable.

MATLAB interface#

The experimental MATLAB/MEX interface can be installed by running the following command in the MATLAB command window:

unzip(['https://github.com/kul-optec/alpaqa/releases/download/1.0.0a18/alpaqa-matlab-' computer('arch') '.zip'], userpath)

You need CasADi to be installed as well: https://web.casadi.org/get

To uninstall the alpaqa MATLAB interface, simply remove the +alpaqa folder:

rmdir(fullfile(userpath, '+alpaqa'), 's');