for connected embedded systems
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Installation and Setup
In this chapter...
- Supported hosts
- Installing and removing QNX Momentics
- What do I do if my installation fails?
- What did I just install?
- What's on my desktop?
- Upgrading your software
- Using source code
- Running QNX Neutrino self-hosted
- Mixing a self-hosted machine with other hosts
- Can different versions of QNX Momentics coexist?
- Running QNX Neutrino on a target machine
Supported hosts
To install and use QNX Momentics, you'll need a desktop machine running one of the following for your host development environment:
- Windows NT, 2000, or XP
- Linux Red Hat 8, 9, or Enterprise WS 3 or 4
- Solaris 7, 8, or 9
- QNX Neutrino 6.3
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We're deprecating support for the following:
QNX Momentics 6.3.0 is the last release that you can install on these hosts. |
For particular system requirements (e.g. amount of disk space you'll need to install), see the installation note that came with your software.
Installing and removing QNX Momentics
QNX Momentics uses InstallShield on all hosts except Neutrino (which uses tarballs and shell scripts) to help you install and remove software. For specific instructions, see the Installation Note that was shipped with your software.
If you want to develop in Neutrino (self-hosted), you must install the Neutrino runtime system, then the QNX Momentics development suite. They're both on the same CD. For other hosts (e.g. Windows or Linux), you simply need to install QNX Momentics.
What do I do if my installation fails?
If for some reason (e.g. hardware incompatibility) your QNX Momentics system doesn't install properly, you should:
- Review the requirements and instructions given in the Installation Note that was shipped with your software.
- If you can access the Internet, check the lists of supported hardware posted on our website (http://www.qnx.com).
- Check the troubleshooting sections in the Neutrino User's Guide.
- Contact us for help, or post questions in one of our newsgroups. For more information, see the How to Get Help chapter.
What did I just install?
QNX Momentics software is organized around these two main areas:
- Host-related
- All your libraries, executables, etc., designed to run on your host system (e.g. Windows).
- Target-related
- All CPU-specific components, as well as certain common things (e.g. the documentation) that you can use on any target system.
The QNX_HOST environment variable identifies the directory that holds the host-related components:

The host-related directory structure.
The QNX_TARGET environment variable identifies the directory that holds the target-related components:

The target-related directory structure.
Neutrino also uses these environment variables to locate files on the host machine:
- QNX_CONFIGURATION
- The location of the configuration files and licenses for QNX Momentics.
- MAKEFLAGS
- The location of included *.mk files.
Here's where some of the key components are installed:
| Component | Location |
|---|---|
| Buildfiles | $QNX_TARGET/platform/boot/build/boardname.build |
| Command-line utilities | For the host:
$QNX_HOST/usr/bin and
$QNX_HOST/platform/bin
For the target: $QNX_TARGET/bin and $QNX_TARGET/platform/bin and $QNX_TARGET/platform/sbin |
| Device drivers (binaries) | $QNX_TARGET/platform/sbin |
| Device drivers (DLLs) | $QNX_TARGET/platform/lib/dll |
| Filesystems | $QNX_TARGET/platform/sbin |
| GUI-related | $QNX_TARGET/usr/photon |
| Shared libraries | $QNX_TARGET/platform/lib |
| System header files | $QNX_TARGET/usr/include |
| Documentation | $QNX_TARGET/usr/help/product |
If you install any BSPs or DDKs, they're installed under ${QNX_TARGET}. The IDE (in the QNX Momentics Professional Edition) creates a workspace directory in your home directory (Linux, Solaris, and Neutrino) or in C:\QNX630 (Windows).
For information about the directory structure on a Neutrino runtime system, see "Where everything is stored" in the Working with Files chapter of the Neutrino User's Guide.
What's on my desktop?
How you access the components of QNX Momentics depends on your host machine:
- Windows
- You can start the IDE by clicking its icon on the desktop:
or by choosing Start-->QNX Momentics IDE. The Start-->All Programs-->QNX Momentics 6.3.0 menu lets you add or activate licenses, configure your machine to build for a specific version of QNX Momentics, view the documentation, run Phindows, and start the IDE.
- Linux
- The Start-->Programming menu lets you add or activate licenses, view the documentation, and start the IDE.
- Solaris
- Use a terminal window. For example, to start the IDE, run qde; to view the documentation, point a browser at $QNX_TARGET/usr/help/product/momentics/index.html.
- Neutrino
- The Launch-->QNX Momentics 6.3.0 menu lets you start the IDE; the Launch-->Configure menu lets you add and activate licenses. The Help item in the Launch menu and on the shelf starts the Helpviewer, where you'll find the documentation.
Upgrading your software
Here's the general procedure for updating a version of QNX Momentics or other components you've purchased:
- Go to the QNX Software Systems website (http://www.qnx.com) and log into your myQNX account. If you don't already have a myQNX account, please register now.
- Follow the instructions for registering your product. You'll need the Product Registration serial number and password from your License Certificate.
- Go to the Download Center and click Products & Updates.
- Select the type of product (e.g. "QNX Momentics").
- Select the appropriate version of the product you have (e.g.
"QNX Momentics 6.3.x").

In the next step, you'll download a file. Don't download it into a directory whose path contains spaces. For example, don't download the file into C:\Documents and Settings\my_userid\Desktop.
- Download the appropriate file and follow the instructions.
If you installed an evaluation copy of QNX Momentics, and you now want to upgrade to a permanent copy, contact your sales representative. When you've received a commercial QNX License Certificate, you can add a commercial license without reinstalling. For more information, see the installation notes.
Using source code
You'll probably want to use some sort of version-control system to manage and track changes to the software that you develop. For an introduction to CVS (Concurrent Versions System), see Using CVS in the Neutrino User's Guide, and Managing Source Code in the IDE User's Guide.
Running QNX Neutrino self-hosted
You can develop software on a self-hosted QNX Neutrino system. For more information on working with Neutrino, see the Neutrino User's Guide; for information on developing software on Neutrino, see the Neutrino Programmer's Guide and the IDE User's Guide.
Mixing a self-hosted machine with other hosts
If you have a Neutrino host, you can communicate with other hosts in various ways:
- You can access resources -- such as files, directories, and processes -- on other Neutrino machines as if the resources were on your own computer; see Using Qnet for Transparent Distributed Processing in the Neutrino User's Guide.
- You can use TCP/IP; see TCP/IP Networking in the Neutrino User's Guide.
- You can mount DOS and Linux filesystems right on your Neutrino box, or use CIFS or NFS to mount filesystems across a network; see Working with Filesystems in the Neutrino User's Guide.
Can different versions of QNX Momentics coexist?
You can install more than one version of QNX Momentics on your machine. You can use the IDE or the qconfig utility to set up your environment to build for the correct version. On Windows hosts, use QWinCfg, a graphical front end for qconfig that you can launch from the Start menu.
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Coexistence of 6.3.0 and 6.2.1 is supported only on Windows and Solaris hosts. |
For more information, see the Compiling and Debugging chapter of the Neutrino Programmer's Guide and the IDE Concepts chapter of the IDE User's Guide.
Running QNX Neutrino on a target machine
Neutrino is well suited to embedded systems. For information about creating OS images, downloading them to your target hardware, and running your software, see:
- the BSP documentation for your particular target (see the Start or Launch menu on your host)
- Building Embedded Systems
- IDE User's Guide
You don't always need to have the hardware to run your software; for more information, see "Getting started before you have your target" in the What is QNX Momentics? chapter in this guide.
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