ViNERS is a MATLAB-based software package and so you will need to install [MATLAB](https://www.mathworks.com/products/matlab.html) or [Octave](https://www.gnu.org/software/octave/index) before installing ViNERS. Note that while Octave is free, ViNERS has not been thoroughly tested on Octave and there will likely be changes which need to be made for Octave-compatibility. When installing MATLAB, be sure to also install the [parallel computing toolbox](https://au.mathworks.com/products/parallel-computing.html).
I recommend that you also install [git](https://git-scm.com/download/win), a free and open source distributed version control system designed to handle everything from small to very large projects with speed and efficiency.
Once you have installed MATLAB and git, simply run [install_ViNERS.m](https://gitlab.unimelb.edu.au/lab-keast-osborne-release/ViNERS/-/blob/master/install_ViNERS.m). This will walk you through the next steps:
1. Select an installation directory
2. If you have not already done so, `git pull ViNERS` and unpack in installation directory. If you have downloaded ViNERS from somewhere other than [gitlab](https://gitlab.unimelb.edu.au/lab-keast-osborne-release/ViNERS), I recommend pulling the latest source code.
3. Locate your existing [NEURON](https://neuron.yale.edu/neuron) installation, or download and install [NEURON](https://neuron.yale.edu/neuron) if no installation is found. The button takes you directly to the installer. On unix, [NEURON](https://neuron.yale.edu/neuron) is installed using `sudo apt-get install NEURON` and some other necessary packages are loaded while we're at it.
4. Locate your existing [EIDORS](http://eidors3d.sourceforge.net/) toolbox, or download and install [EIDORS]. (http://eidors3d.sourceforge.net/) if not found.
5. Locate your existing [GMSH](https://gmsh.info) installation, or download and install [GMSH](https://gmsh.info) if no installation is found. Note for unix users: the version of GMSH in the `apt-get` (3.0.6) is out-of-date; ViNERS has been tested to work with GMSH 4.4.1 and 4.8.3 but will not work with version 3.0.6.
6. Unpack ViNERS into a [SPARC data structure](https://sparc.science/help/3FXikFXC8shPRd8xZqhjVT), roughly based on the BIDS standard, creating `/primary`, `/code`, and `/source` in the installation directory.
7. Compile the neuron ion channel mechanisms. This generates `nrnmech.dll` with mknrndll (windows) or `/x86_64/special` with nrnivmodl (unix). On Windows, step-by-step instructions for opening a bash shell, executing `cd path/to/ViNERS/source/nrnmech/`, and executing mknrndll are provided (mknrndll does not work if called from the MATLAB console).
## TODO list
Not 100% tested on a 'clean' windows machine. Latest status was that the install script had some 'bumps' so the next test on a clean windows VM should execute cleanly.
On a 'clean' linux machine known to be insufficient with a crash at models.membrane_currents (currently undiagnosed)
