  
  [1X1 Installation and Preface[0X
  
  To  install  the package, just unpack it in your packages directory (usually
  [10X~/gap/pkg[0m  for  local  installation).  To use [5Xpolymaking[0m, you need a working
  installation of the program polymake [7Xhttp://www.math.tu-berlin.de/polymake/[0m.
  The package has been tested on linux and Mac OS X (10.4, 10.5 and 10.6). But
  it should be as platform independent as [5XGAP[0m and polymake.
  
  The  interaction  with  polymake is restricted to writing files and carrying
  out simple operations looking like
  [10Xpolymake file KEYWORD1 KEYWORD2 KEYWORD3[0m
  on  the command line. Scripts are not supported. Every call to polymake will
  re-start  the program anew. This causes considerable overhead. The number of
  calls  to  polymake  is  reduced  by  caching  the  results in the so-called
  [9XPolymakeObject[0m  in  GAP.  As  of  polymaking  version 0.8.0, old versions of
  polymake (i.e. versions before 2.7.9) are not supported anymore.
  
  
  [1X1.1 A few words about the installation of polymake[0X
  
  [5Xpolymaking[0m  will  try  to  guess  the location of polymake. If this fails, a
  warning is issued at load time ([9XInfoWarning[0m level 1). Note that the guessing
  procedure  is  suppressed when [2XPOLYMAKE_COMMAND[0m ([14X3.2-1[0m) is set manually (see
  [14X1.2-3[0m).
  [10Xsetenv PATH ${PATH}:<your polymakepath>[0m
  The  general  rule  is:  If  [5Xpolymaking[0m  finds  polymake by itself, there is
  nothing to worry about.
  
  
  [1X1.2 Setting variables for external programs[0X
  
  As [5Xpolymaking[0m uses the program polymake, it needs to know where this program
  lives. The communication with polymake is done by writing files for polymake
  and  reading  its output (as returned to standard output "the prompt"). Note
  that the interface does not read any polymake file.
  
  [1X1.2-1 SetPolymakeDataDirectory[0m
  
  [2X> SetPolymakeDataDirectory( [0X[3Xdir[0X[2X ) ____________________________________[0Xmethod
  
  Sets  the  directory  in  which  all  polymake files are created to [3Xdir[0m. The
  standard  place  for these files is a temporary directory generated when the
  package is loaded. This manipulates [2XPOLYMAKE_DATA_DIR[0m ([14X3.2-2[0m).
  
  [1X1.2-2 SetPolymakeCommand[0m
  
  [2X> SetPolymakeCommand( [0X[3Xcommand[0X[2X ) ______________________________________[0Xmethod
  
  Sets  the  name  for  the  polymake  program  to  [3Xcommand[0m.  This manipulates
  [2XPOLYMAKE_COMMAND[0m ([14X3.2-1[0m).
  
  
  [1X1.2-3 Setting variables permanently[0X
  
  To   permanently   set   the   values   of   [2XPOLYMAKE_COMMAND[0m  ([14X3.2-1[0m),  and
  [2XPOLYMAKE_DATA_DIR[0m ([14X3.2-2[0m), add the lines
  
  [4X------------------------------------------------------------------[0X
    [4XPOLYMAKE_DATA_DIR:=Directory("/home/mypolymakedatadir");[0X
    [4XPOLYMAKE_COMMAND:=Filename(Directory("/home/mypolymakebindir/"),"polymake");[0X
  [4X------------------------------------------------------------------[0X
  
  to  your  [11X.gaprc[0m file (see [14XReference: The .gaprc file[0m). Note that these have
  to  be  [13Xbefore[0m  the  [10XLoadPackage("polymaking");[0m  line. Or you can change the
  values of the above variables by editing [11Xlib/environment.gi[0m
  
