= Technical FAQ =
== Software requirements ==
To obtain the source code of EwE 5 and 6, you will need the following:

 * A Subversion client such as [http://tortoisesvn.net/ TortoiseSVN] to get a copy of the source code from the EwE Subversion repository,
 * Log-in access to SVN, which we will provide to you [mailto:ewedevteam@gmail.com?subject=Need%20wiki%20username upon request].
 * The URL to our Subversion repository: !http://sources.ecopath.org/svn/Ecopath/trunk/Ecopath6
 * Note: if you cannot use SVN, you can download the latest version of the EwE6 source code [http://webservice.ecopath.org/ecopath/sources/ewe6_sources_head.zip as a zip file].

[wiki:ShowMeUseSvn >> Show SVN step-by-step instructions]

To compile and run the source code of Ecopath version 6, you require:

 * Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 3 or newer. The EwE6 user interface source only runs on Windows, as it is not [http://www.mono-project.com/Main_Page MONO] compliant.
 * [https://www.visualstudio.com/en-us/products/visual-studio-community-vs.aspx Microsoft Visual Studio 2015 community edition] or newer.
 * [https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=13255 Microsoft 2010 database engine].

[wiki:ShowMeStartingVisualStudio >> Show Visual Studio step-by-step instructions]

To compile and run the source code of Ecopath version 5, you require:

 * [http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/vbrun/default.aspx Microsoft Visual Basic 6].
 * Windows XP. Visual Basic 6 does not work well on the 64 bit versions of Windows Vista and Windows 7. You can develop using Windows 7 and 8 excellent [https://encrypted.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=windows%207%20virtual%20pc&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CDMQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.microsoft.com%2Fwindows%2Fvirtual-pc%2F&ei=d9pzTofuIebZiAKViJ20Ag&usg=AFQjCNH3WKXDZkpqcnGbPNMMv64pd5obfQ&cad=rja Hyper-V virtual PC].

== Code documentation ==
 * [wiki:CodeDocumentation Documenting your code] - How to write and publish in-code documentation with Visual Studio and [http://blogs.msdn.com/sandcastle/ SandCastle]

== Coding issues ==
We've ran into a series of limitations and oddities that we want to prevent from happening. Here are a few links that convey some of our experiences:

 * [wiki:CodeBestPractices Best practices, coding guidelines and user interface design guidelines]
 * [wiki:ScientficInterfaceKnownCompileErrorsFaq Solving key EwE6 source code errors]