Your session may not start if you are not in the NC directory. Then you will have to edit the file SetNCPath.m as described inside that file. Also be sure you actually load SetNCPath.m, for example, if NC is a subdirectory of your ``homedirectory'' do this
Get["homedirectory/NC/SetNCPath.m"]
Get["NCAlgebra.m"]
You are now ready to begin a Mathematica session using NCAlgebra For example, you are at the place where you can do the examples in the previous chapter.
About the only thing which can go seriously wrong is that the path assignment statement in NCAlgebra.m does not reach the big collection of NC*.m files inside the NCAlgebra directory. The assignment statement in the file NCAlgebra.m is
System`path = ""and it may need to be adapted to the directories you have set up or to the naming conventions of your operating system.
The typical user will need to edit the file SetNCPath.m. Instructions for this are given in the file. You will probably have to edit a line which looks like this
$NC$Dir = "/home/jane/NC/";
to something which looks like this
$NC$Dir = "/home/dick/NC/";
For those knowledgeable in Mathematica, I typically use an ``init.m'' file in my home directory which looks like this
AppendTo[ $ Path, "/home/dick/NC" ]
«SetNCPath.m
Notice that even in the Windows environment /home/dick/NC
is a valid directory though the experienced DOS user would
expect \home\dick\NC.
The experienced Windows and Mathematica user would expect
\\home\\dick\\NC, but we'll leave that for the
Mathematica manual.
The Mathematica language is quite platform independent.