There are currently three methods for installing Box:
Download the tarball from http://sourceforge.net/projects/boxc. This is usually a file with name such as box-0.1.tar.gz. Then untar and configure the package with:
tar xzvf box-0.1.tar.gz cd box-0.1 ./configure --prefix=/usr
configure outputs a summary at the end. Be sure it looks like that:
Configuration summary: ---------------------- Support for the Cairo 2D graphic library: yes
If you get a "no" then check that the Cairo graphics library http://www.cairographics.org is installed on your system together with the development files. On Ubuntu and Debian derivatives, you can install it with:
sudo aptitude install libcairo libcairo-dev
You should enter the root password when necessary for the installation to proceed. If you were required to install Cairo, then reconfigure the package with ./configure --prefix=/usr. You can then proceed to the compilation with:
make
If the compilation is succesful:
sudo make install
The Box executable, libraries and headers will be installed on your system. You can take a look at the man page with:
man box
Further help and hints with the installation can be found on the README and INSTALL files inside the package.
The manual is online at http://boxc.sourceforge.net. If you need further help, take a look at the examples.
If you compiled Box from source on Mac OS and you experience problems when loading libraries (-l g seems not to work as it should), try to reconfigure Box with the additional option --with-included-ltdl, such as:
./configure --prefix=/usr --with-included-ltdl
and then compile it again. This should force the use of the provided ltdl (libtool) library and should fix the bug.
Download the Ubuntu package from http://sourceforge.net/projects/boxc. This is usually a file with name such as box_0.1-0ubuntu1_i386.deb. Install it with:
sudo dpkg -i box_0.1-0ubuntu1_i386.deb
Enter the root password when necessary. You may have to install libcairo with:
sudo aptitude install libcairo
This is often not necessary, as Cairo is usually preinstalled on an average Ubuntu distribution.
The manual is online at http://boxc.sourceforge.net. If you need further help, take a look at the examples.
Download the zip file from http://sourceforge.net/projects/boxc. This is usually a file with name such as box20080727.zip. Unzip it inside the directory which is more convenient for your needs. You'll find the Box executable in box20080727\bin\box.exe and some examples inside box20080727\examples. Make a check as follows: open the MS-DOS prompt and enter the examples directory:
cd box20080727\examples ..\bin\box.exe translucency.box -l g
You can then view the produced output file translucency.png with your favourite image viewer. As an alternative, to run a Box source file, you can just right click on the file icon and select "Open with...". Then browse the directory where you unzipped the binaries: select the file box-lg.bat under the directory box20080727\bin which was created when unzipping the Box binaries (box-lg.bat is equivalent to box.exe -l g). Proceed and open the file (tick on "Remember application" if you want Windows to use Box automatically when double clicking on Box sources). The file should be executed immediately and the output images should be generated, if any.
Remember that the directory box20080727 can be moved to another location, this won't affect the functionality of Box. However you have to move the whole directory, preserving its structure: the box executable searches for libraries and headers in the directory DIR\..\lib\box, where DIR is the directory which contains the executable box.exe.
The manual is online at http://boxc.sourceforge.net. If you need further help, take a look at the provided examples.