To get started with PsrPopPy there are a few steps you’ll need to go through.
PsrPopPy is currently supported on Linux and Mac OS X, and for full feature support, it is recommended to install the Matplotlib package and either use Python versions >2.6, or install the argparse module.
The source for PsrPopPy can be downloaded from GitHub from the PsrPopPy page. The source will contain the Python modules and scripts needed both for basic and advanced use.
Although PsrPopPy is a Python-based package, some of the algorithms have been kept in their native FORTRAN for speed and ease of programming (e.g. the NE2001 electron model, coordinate conversion...). Therefore, it is necessary to compile the FORTRAN.
Two scripts are provided for just this purpose (though I hope to find someone willing to contribute configure scripts). From the base directory:
> cd fortran
then edit either make_mac.csh or make_linux.csh, depending upon your system, so that the gf variable points to your local gfortran/f77 compiler. Running the script:
> tcsh make_<os>.csh
should then compile a series of .so files in the fortran directory. Assuming this went to plan, the installation process is completed.