This repository contains the core age prediction codes needed for use in Tcplotter and Tc1D. You can find instructions for how to install these programs and/or compile them for your operating system below.
Note: If you simply want to explore how Tcplotter or Tc1D work, you can visit the Tcplotter or Tc1D GitHub repositories and click on the 
In order for both Tcplotter and Tc1D to work, they must be able to find the executables RDAAM_He (RDAAM_He.exe in Windows) and ketch_aft (ketch_aft.exe in Windows) in the PATH for executables on your system. Setting things up to work for different operating systems thus requires specific instructions for each operating system (Windows, Linux, macOS).
Instructions for each operating system comprise two steps: (1) obtaining or building the executables and (2) installing them.
The easiest way to get up and running in Windows is to download the two executable files RDAAM_He.exe and ketch_aft.exe from the latest code release. If this doesn't work, you can consult the instructions below for how to compile the executables.
Once you have downloaded the executables, you need to put them in a suitable location for use. This could be a folder within your user space or somewhere else on your system. The important thing is that your operating system needs to be able to find the files to use Tcplotter or Tc1D. So, you can either install the files in a location where your computer already looks for executables or add the location where the files have been downloaded to the PATH where executables are found. There are many examples online that explain how to check your PATH and/or add an executable to your PATH in Windows. For example, here, here, or here.
The easiest way to get up and running in Windows is to download the two executable files RDAAM_He and ketch_aft from the latest code release. If this doesn't work, you can consult the instructions below for how to compile the executables.
Once you have downloaded the executables, you need to put them in a suitable location for use. This could be a folder within your user space or somewhere else on your system. The important thing is that your operating system needs to be able to find the files to use Tcplotter or Tc1D. So, you can either install the files in a location where your computer already looks for executables or add the location where the files have been downloaded to the PATH where executables are found.
If you would prefer to install the executables in a location where they can be found in the PATH already, it is suggested to copy them to /usr/local/bin. Note that you may need administrator rights to do this. You can check other possible locations for installation by typing
echo $PATHin the terminal, which will list all directories in which executables can be found.
If you would prefer to install them elsewhere and add them to your PATH, you can update the path in a terminal by typing
export PATH=$PATH:/path/to/executableswhere you would replace /path/to/executables with the actual filepath to them. If you want this to happen automatically, you should add that export statement to your shell resource file.
Unfortunately, the Tc_core executables must be compiled locally for macOS. You should consult the instructions below for how to compile the executables.
Once you have downloaded the executables, you need to put them in a suitable location for use. This could be a folder within your user space or somewhere else on your system. The important thing is that your operating system needs to be able to find the files to use Tcplotter or Tc1D. So, you can either install the files in a location where your computer already looks for executables or add the location where the files have been downloaded to the PATH where executables are found.
If you would prefer to install the executables in a location where they can be found in the PATH already, it is suggested to copy them to /usr/local/bin. Note that you may need administrator rights to do this. You can check other possible locations for installation by typing
echo $PATHin the terminal, which will list all directories in which executables can be found.
If you would prefer to install them elsewhere and add them to your PATH, you can update the path in a terminal by typing
export PATH=$PATH:/path/to/executableswhere you would replace /path/to/executables with the actual filepath to them. If you want this to happen automatically, you can do so similarly to Linux and add that export statement to your shell resource file. Or if you prefer macOS-specific instructions, you can find those here.
Compiling the executables for the Tc_core programs requires a few things are available on your computer. The requirements for each system vary slightly:
- Windows: CMake, MinGW
- Linux: CMake (suggested to be installed with your package manager (e.g.,
apt install cmake)), GCC/G++ compilers (most likely already installed) - macOS: CMake (suggested to be installed using Homebrew), GCC/G++ compilers (suggested to be installed using Homebrew (e.g.,
brew install gcc))
With the necessary software installed, you can compile the Tc_core executables by
- Downloading the latest release of the Tc_core source code and unpacking it
- Opening a Windows command prompt or terminal in Linux or macOS and changing to the directory where you unpacked the source code.
- Create a
builddirectory (e.g.,mkdir build) - Run CMake configure
cmake -B build -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER=g++ -DCMAKE_C_COMPILER=gcc -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -S src
- Note: If you have installed the GCC compilers using Homebrew on macOS, the executable names you list above should be for the corresponding verison of the installed compilers. For example,
-DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER=g++-15and-DCMAKE_C_COMPILER=gcc-15.
- Note: If you have installed the GCC compilers using Homebrew on macOS, the executable names you list above should be for the corresponding verison of the installed compilers. For example,
- Run CMake build
cmake --build build --config Release
- Run CMake install
cmake --install build --prefix . --config Release
The compiled executables will be installed in the bin directory and can be installed to the desired location using the installation instructions above.
If everything is working OK you should be able to open a command prompt in Windows or a terminal in Linux or macOS and type RDAAM_He or ketch_aft and press Enter. You should see the following:
> RDAAM_He
usage: RDAAM_He tTfile [ap_rad ap_U ap_Th zr_rad zr_U zr_Th]> ketch_aft
usage: ketch_aft tT_fileThis output indicates the executables have been installed in a location where they can be found in the PATH. To test they are functioning properly, you can use an example time-temperature history file to produce the following output:
> RDAAM_He tt.txt
Apatite Age = 5.35, Corrected age = 7.16
Zircon Age = 11.84, Corrected age = 14.98> ketch_aft tt.txt
The final age is 13.707531 Ma (Mean track length: 13.707993 um)