A-Shell Reference

Reviewed July 2020

This page explains some of the finer points of selecting and downloading A-Shell for Linux and AIX. Here the number and variety of packages is such that rather than providing direct links to each of them, which would require constant synchronizing/updating of the web page with the download directories, we instead allow you to browse the download directory tree directly. All file names in those directories follow a common naming convention:

prod-#.#.####.#-platform{-options}.pkgtype

For example:

ash-6.2.1548.1-el7-efs.bin

Filename Components

prod

A-Shell product or module:

 

#.#.####.#

is the full version number; for example, 6.4.1548.2

platform

target platform and version:

 

options

specific additional features or variations:

 

pkgtype

type (file format) of the package:

 

32 vs 64 Bit

All A-Shell binaries are 32 bit and are fully compatible with both 32 and 64 bit Linux and AIX operating systems, so there is no need to identify this in the package names. The only issue relating to 32/64 bit that often arises in the Linux world relates to the availability of certain auxiliary libraries that A-Shell may seek to dynamically load in order to support a particular feature. Since the 32 and 64 bit libraries are installed into separate directories, you may be confused into thinking that the library you need (e.g. libncurses or glibc or libpcre) is installed, when only the 64 bit version is installed. The solution to this kind of problem is just to manually install the necessary library, explicitly specifying the 32 bit (typically "i686") version. See the A-Shell forum for questions and answers in this area.

Linux Distributions and Versions

Although the A-Shell source is compatible with and therefore can be made available for a wide range of the most popular Linux distributions and versions, the same cannot be said for the binary executables. So it is important to select the right binary download for your distribution/version. For whatever reasons, the A-Shell user base has overwhelmingly favored the RHEL (commercial) and CentOS (open source) distributions, so those are the environments on which A-Shell is focused. Conveniently, both use the same version number sequences, and in fact are effectively equivalent as far as A-Shell is concerned, so they are referred to as using the common platform abbreviation -el# (e.g. -el7 for RHEL7 / CentOS7). If you don't see the version number you are looking for, then use the next lower one—e.g. if a CentOS 6 download is not available, use the CentOS 5 download instead. The A-Shell binaries can be assumed to be upward compatible unless specifically noted to the contrary.

For other Linux distributions, such as Ubuntu, contact MicroSabio to arrange for a new binary to be built. Or, consider Docker ...

Docker

A public Docker image for A-Shell is compiled/bundled for CentOS 7 which, if your OS supports Docker, may simplify the process of installing A-Shell together with the necessary compatible components. To access and download the available images, use the command docker search microsabio . Search for "docker" on the A-Shell forum for helpful information on working with the A-Shell Docker container.

AIX

In the AIX world, there is a major division between versions up thru 5.2, and versions 5.3 and beyond. Because this involves both hardware and operating system compatibility factors, and because AIX 5.3 was released long ago (2004), earlier versions are no longer supported. For customers still running an old AIX box which they cannot upgrade to a newer version because of hardware or budgetary limitations, we can only suggest considering a sideways move to Linux. Or remain on A-Shell 6.0. The same A-Shell 6.2 or 6.4 binary will work with all versions of AIX from 5.3 and beyond.

Version Numbers and Links

A-Shell is continually evolving. Since it is not possible to offer software packages that simultaneously

and

MicroSabio therefore offers A-Shell in two forms, as indicated by the version number:

The two most recent versions—i.e., highest numbers—are one of each: a stable version and a development version. The A-Shell download folders provide several recent versions of both development and stable versions.