Help

For questions that are not addressed here or in the manual, send email to https://groups.google.com/group/bcvtb

1. Compilation problems

1.1. Error when compiling MATLAB

1.1.1. Windows

Under Windows, if the BCVTB is compiled using the Microsoft compiler, then the MATLAB libraries also need to be compiled with the Microsoft compiler. If, however, the gcc compiler has been used when compiling the BCVTB, then the following compilation error may be obtained when compiling the MATLAB libraries:

Writing library for establishBSDSocket.mexw32
c:\docume~1\mwetter\locals~1\temp\mex_ae679\simulinksocket.obj .text: undefined reference to '_establishclientsocket'
c:\docume~1\mwetter\locals~1\temp\mex_ae679\simulinksocket.obj .text: undefined reference to '_exchangewithsocket'
c:\docume~1\mwetter\locals~1\temp\mex_ae679\simulinksocket.obj .text: undefined reference to '_closeipc'

To fix this problem, open Matlab, run

mex -setup

and select the Microsoft Visual C++ compiler from the menu. This need to be done only once as it updates your Matlab settings.

1.1.2. Linux Ubuntu 10.10 64-bit

In MATLAB R2010b, the command

cd lib/matlab
ant all

may fail with the error message

Warning: You are using gcc version "4.4.4-14ubuntu5)".  The version
     [exec]          currently supported with MEX is "4.3.4".
     [exec]          For a list of currently supported compilers see: 
     [exec]          http://www.mathworks.com/support/compilers/current_release/
     [exec] 
     [exec] /usr/bin/ld: cannot find -lstdc++
     [exec] collect2: ld returned 1 exit status
     [exec] 
     [exec]     mex: link of ' "establishBSDSocket.mexa64"' failed.
     [exec] 
     [exec] ??? Error using ==> mex at 208
     [exec] Unable to complete successfully.
     [exec] 
     [exec] Error in ==>
     [exec] /usr/local/matlab/R2010b/toolbox/simulink/simuli>> nk/+legacycode/@LCT/compile.p>compile
     [exec] at 264
     [exec] 
     [exec] 
     [exec] Error in ==>
     [exec] /usr/local/matlab/R2010b/toolbox/simulink/simulink/+legacycode/@LCT/legacyCodeImpl.p>legacyCodeImpl
     [exec] at 84
     [exec] 
     [exec] 
     [exec] Error in ==> legacy_code at 87
     [exec] [varargout{1:nargout}] = legacycode.LCT.legacyCodeImpl(action,
     [exec] varargin{1:end});
     [exec] 
     [exec] Error in ==> compile at 90
     [exec]       legacy_code('compile', def, ...
     [exec]  

This problem is caused by /usr/bin/ld not finding the stdc++ library. As a work-around, proceed as follows:

Type

sudo emacs ~/.matlab/R2010b/mexopts.sh

In the section  glnxa64) , change the line

CLIBS="$CLIBS -lstdc++"

to

CLIBS="$CLIBS"

Now, the command ant all should work and produce the files libbcvtb_thunk_glnxa64.so, establishBSDSocket.mexa64, exchangeDoublesWithBSDSocket.mexa64 and closeBSDSocket.mexa64.

2. Runtime problems

The following steps typically help analyzing problems if a simulation program does not work as expected.

2.1. Running the BCVTB on Mac OS X version 10.11

Apple has enabled a new default security oriented featured called System Integrity Protection, often called rootless, in OS X 10.11 onwards. This new feature prevents the BCVTB version 1.5.0 and older to set environment variables which are required by the BCVTB to run. As a work-around, proceed as follows:

create a symbolic link to libbcvtb.dylib with:

ln -s $BCVTB_PATH/lib/util/libbcvtb.dylib /usr/local/lib/libbcvtb.dylib 

where $BCVTB_PATH is the path to the BCVTB version to use.

Furthermore, Mac OS X 10.11 does not set the computer's HostName correctly. This is needed by all versions of the BCVTB. As a work-around, proceed as follows:

Check if a HostName is set on your machine from a terminal with:

scutil --get HostName

If there's no HostName set, then set your HostName.

Your HostName must be the same as your computer's local network name.

To find out your computer's local network name,

Open Sharing preferences (choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Sharing).

The local network name is displayed beneath the computer’s name at the top of the pane.

The local network name is your computer’s name with “.local” added, and any spaces are replaced with hyphens . For example, if your computer’s name is My Computer, your local network name is “My-Computer.local.”

Set your HostName with:

sudo scutil --set HostName 'YourLocalNetworkName'

Check your HostName with:

echo $HOSTNAME

See issue#32 on github for more information and updates.

2.2. Check program output

By default, the Simulation actor in Ptolemy writes a copy of the console output of the simulation program to a file called simulation.log. This file can typically be found in the directory from which the simulation program has been started.

2.3. Check log files

If something goes wrong during the simulation, check the files simulation.log, utilSocket.log and utilClient.log. They contain log messages that may indicate the cause of the problem. If these files do not exist, go to the directory bcvtb/lib, open the file defines.h and add the line

#define NDEBUG

Then, from the directory bcvtb/lib/util compile the libraries using

ant clean all

and rerun the simulation. Now the log files should be written to the directory from which you started the BCVTB.

2.4. Memory problem

If the following error occurs:

java.lang.OutOfMemoryError: Java heap space

then increase the Java heap space by running vergil with the command

java -jar path_to_bcvtb\bin\BCVTB.jar -Xmx1024m system.xml

The argument -Xmx1024m declares how much memory is allocated. The default for Java is -Xmx128m

2.5. Wrong Java version

The following error occurs if a too old Java version is used:

java.lang.UnsupportedClassVersionError: Bad version number in .class file

To fix this problem, update your Java.

2.6. EnergyPlus on Windows cannot find Java

If EnergyPlus writes the error

Instantiating Building Controls Virtual Test Bed
 ExternalInterface initializes.
'java' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.
 **FATAL:Error in ExternalInterface: Check EnergyPlus *.err file.

then Java is installed, but not on the Path variable of the operating system. This situation occurred on a Windows 7, 64-bit, installation. The Windows Explorer associated the file extension .jar with Java (which allowed the user to start the BCVTB from the Windows Explorer), but Java could not be found by EnergyPlus as the Java binary directory was not on the Windows Path variable.

To fix this problem, add the directory that contains java.exe to your system path. Java may be installed in C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jre6\bin.

2.7. Java cannot find VergilApplication

If running

bin/bcvtb examples/c-room/system.xml

causes the following error

Exception in thread "main" java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: ptolemy/vergil/VergilApplication
Caused by: java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: ptolemy.vergil.VergilApplication

then the system environment variable PTII is set to a directory that does not contain a Ptolemy II installation. This may happen if a user installed OpenModelica, as OpenModelica sets the PTII variable.

To fix this error, proceed as follows:

• on Windows, add the line

  <entry key="PTII">$BCVTB_HOME\lib\ptII</entry>

  to the file bin\systemVariables-windows.properties in the BCVTB home directory.

• on Linux or Mac, add the line

  <entry key="PTII">$BCVTB_HOME/lib/ptII</entry>

  to the file bin/systemVariables-linux.properties or bin/systemVariables-mac.properties in the BCVTB home directory.