Cython setup (should be automatic)

Note

If you installed LightWin with pip install -e . and there was no error, you do not need to read this section. You can check that everything works as expected by running pytest -m cython.

Cython is an optional but highly recommended tool to speed up beam dynamics calculations. Here’s how to properly install and use Cython with the project:

1. Installing Cython

Ensure Cython is installed before installing other packages like pymoo to take full advantage of its capabilities:

Using pip:
pip install cython
Using conda:
conda install cython -c conda-forge

2. Compiling Cython modules

Some parts of LightWin, in particular the Envelope1D beam calculator, have Cython-optimized code that need to be optimized. Follow this steps to compile the modules:

Navigate to the LightWin base directory:
cd /path/to/LightWin/
Run the setup script:
python setup.py build_ext --inplace

This command compiles the Cython files and places the compiled modules (.pyd or .so extensions) in the appropriate directories.

3. Handling compiled files

After compilation, the compiled files should be automatically places in the correct locations. If not, manually move the created files:

Unix (Linux/macOS): build/lib.linux-XXX-cpython=3XX/beam_calculation/envelope_1d/transfer_matrices_c.cpython-3XX-XXXX-linux-gnu.so

Windows: build/lib.win-XXXX-cpython-3XX/beam_calculation/envelope_1d/transfer_matrices_c.cp3XX-win_XXXX.pyd

To:

/path/to/LightWin/src/lightwin/beam_calculation/envelope_1d/.

Microsoft Visual C++ 14.0 or greater is required error is covered in the troubleshooting section.

4. Restarting Your Interpreter

If you are using an IDE like Spyder or VSCode, remember to restart the kernel after compiling the Cython modules to ensure they are correctly loaded.

5. Testing Cython Compilation

To verify that everything is set up correctly, run the test suite using pytest. This will check if the Cython modules are properly integrated:

pytest -m cython