Unix Downloading Instructions (Sun OS, Sparc Machines). Version 3.5.5. May 26, 2005;
Version 3.6.9, December 15, 2005.


ball For 3.5.5 you need the files that are in this gzip archive:

fercu.tar.gz


For 3.6.9 you need the files that are in this gzip archive:

fercun.tar.gz

Why two versions? 3.6.9 has all the updates, bug fixes, and new features described on the Linux or OS X page, or here. But it has a small problem, which will probably concern only those doing intense computations. For whatever reason, the compiler that I used recently to produce this version would not produce the fully correct code to do the best memory management. Thus, over a long time, some of the heuristics that guide certain algorithms will not work right, and Fermat will slow down. Most people will not notice anything.

Download and expand. To run it, go to the console, cd into the right directory, and type ./fermat (that's period-slash). For some reason, double-clicking on the fermat icon does not work for me, but that is probably a local problem. A file containing the code needed to run one of the examples on the "Fermat Tests" page is included.

This version of Fermat is written in C and compiled with gc for Sparc machines. Many thanks to Alyson Reeves.

The syntax is quite similar to that of the Windows version, so download those manuals. However, to interrupt Fermat here do cntl-C. The continuation character is `, the backwards single quote (upper left on the keyboard). The character for previous value is <. The system function is < F. Read the second readme.

Another feature: the first line of the file ferstartup should be the number of megabytes of RAM on your machine (with no semicolon). The default is 1000 meaning one gigabyte. Don't worry about the difference between 1000 and 1K = 1024.

Version 3.5.5, May 26, 2005, has faster polynomial gcd, 18% - 60% improvement on various tests. Inadvertantly, it contains a debugging statement that should have been removed. You will probably never encounter it, but if so you will see a phrase like "at2 67 26"; the numbers will vary. It is harmless.