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# 2 Installing and Loading the Example Package

### Sections

1. Installing the Example Package
2. Loading the Example Package

## 2.1 Installing the Example Package

To install the Example package, unpack the archive file, which should have a name of form `example-`XXX`.zoo` for some version number XXX, by typing

`unzoo -x example-`XXX``

in the `pkg` directory of your version of GAP 4, or in a directory named `pkg` (e.g. in your home directory; see Section Installing a GAP Package in your home directory). (The only essential difference with installing Example in a `pkg` directory different to the GAP 4 home directory is that one must start GAP with the `-l` switch, e.g. if your private `pkg` directory is a subdirectory of `mygap` in your home directory you might type:

`gap -l ";`myhomedir`/mygap"`

where myhomedir is the path to your home directory, which may be replaced by a tilde in GAP 4.3 or later. The empty path before the semicolon is filled in by the default path of the GAP 4 home directory.)

After unpacking the archive, go to the newly created `example` directory and call `./configure` path`` where path is the path to the GAP home directory. So for example if you install the package in the main `pkg` directory call

    ./configure ../..

This will fetch the architecture type for which GAP has been compiled last and create a `Makefile`. Now simply call

    make

to compile the binary and to install it in the appropriate place.

## 2.2 Loading the Example Package

To use the Example Package you have to request it explicitly. This is done by calling

    gap> RequirePackage("example");

               The Example package
                   Version 1.2
                by Werner Nickel

         For help, type: ?Example package

    true

The `RequirePackage` command is described in Section RequirePackage in the GAP Reference Manual.

If GAP cannot find a working binary, the call to `RequirePackage` will still succeed but a warning is issued informing that the `HelloWorld()` function will be unavailable.

The banner is suppressed if the global GAP variable `QUIET` is `true` or `BANNER` is `false` (these conditions occur if GAP is invoked with the `-q` or `-b` command line switches, respectively). If you want to load the Example package by default, you can put the `RequirePackage` command into your `.gaprc` file (see Section The .gaprc file in the GAP Reference Manual).

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