Installing

Download

Free 32-bit version

The free 32-bit version of kdb+ (for non-commercial use) can be downloaded from kx.com. Follow the instructions.

Commercial versions

Commercial versions of kdb+ are distributed to customers from downloads.kx.com. (Credentials for this site are issued to customers’ Designated Contacts).

Internal distribution

Most customers download the latest release of kdb+ and make that (along with the accompanying README.txt, the change list) available from a central file server.

Encourage your developers frequently to fold the latest release of kdb+ into their development cycle, and match the version used in production. This can greatly simplify development, deployment and debugging.

The names of the downloaded ZIPs denote the platform (l64.zip – 64-bit Linux; w32.zip – 32-bit Windows, etc.).

Test versions

Numerical release versions of the form 2.8, or 3.2 are production code. Versions of kdb+ with a trailing t in the name such as 3.3t are test versions and are neither intended nor supported for production use.

macOS

If necessary, unzip the archive. A new folder q will appear in your Downloads folder.

Next perform the Minimum install and launch. We then strongly recommend continuing to Complete install and launch.

Minimum install and launch

Open the Terminal application (Bash). It will prompt you with its own version of the following:

Mark:~ sjt$ 

Answer the prompts as follows:

You have installed and launched kdb+.

To exit from kdb+, type \\

Complete install and launch

The minimum installation can be improved in two important ways. We strongly recommend them.

• Call kdb+ within the rlwrap command, which will allow you to call back and edit previous lines
• Define q as a command, allowing you to invoke kdb+ without specifying the path to it

Install Rlwrap

Exit kdb+ to return to the Bash prompt and your home folder. Ask for Rlwrap’s version number. If you see one, Rlwrap is already installed

If Rlwrap is already installed you can go on to the next step.

Otherwise, you will be told rlwrap: command not found. Install Rlwrap using your package manager. (Probably either MacPorts or Homebrew)

Edit your profile

In Bash, open your profile ~/.bash_profile with TextEdit (or your favourite text editor)

and append the following line

alias q='QHOME=~/q rlwrap -r ~/q/m32/q'

and save it. Tell Bash to use the revised profile:

Confirm installation

From your home folder open q, type an expression and recall it using the up-arrow key:

You’re done. You have completely installed kdb+. See what’s next.

Microsoft Windows

This will put a file windows.zip in your Downloads folder. Extract the files to C:\, producing a new folder C:\q. (You can install on a different filepath. If you do, in the following instructions simply replace C:\q with your filepath.)

Confirm q is working

Open a command shell window: type Windows-r (or click the Start button) and type cmd.

Launch q by typing C:\q\w32\q. You should see the kdb+ banner, followed by the q) prompt. Type til 6 to see the first 6 integers. Type \\ to exit q.

Define q as a command

Defining q as a command allows you to invoke kdb+ without specifying the path to it.

In the MS-DOS shell, type

setx QHOME "C:\q"
setx PATH "%PATH%;C:\q\w32"
exit

This will close your shell session. Open a new shell session and confirm q now works as a command.

You’re done. You have completely installed kdb+. See what’s next.

Linux

Open a Bash session (eg LXTerminal) in your home folder and cd to your Downloads folder. Unzip the archive. A new folder q will appear in your Downloads folder. Copy it to your home folder and cd there.

32-bit or 64-bit?

Use the uname command to determine whether your machine is using the 32-bit or 64-bit Linux distribution.

uname -m

If the result is i686 or i386 or similar, you are running a 32-bit distribution. If the results is x86_64, you are running a 64-bit distribution.

If you are installing 32-bit kdb+ on a 32-bit Linux distribution, proceed to Launch (minimum install).

But if you are installing 32-bit kdb+ on a 64-bit Linux distribution, you will need a 32-bit library. Use your usual package manager to install i686 or i386: for example:

sudo apt-get install libc6-i386

Minimum install and launch

Confirm that kdb+ runs. In your home folder, type:

q/l32/q

to see the kdb+ banner and the q) prompt. Type til 6 to see the first six integers. Type \\ to return to Linux.

You have completed the minimum installation. We recommend proceeding to the Complete install and launch.

Complete install and launch

The minimum installation can be improved in two important ways. We strongly recommend them.

• Call kdb+ within the rlwrap command, which will allow you to call back and edit previous lines
• Define q as a command, allowing you to invoke kdb+ without specifying the path to it

Install Rlwrap

Exit kdb+ to return to the Bash prompt and your home folder. Ask for Rlwrap’s version number. If you see one, Rlwrap is already installed

If Rlwrap is already installed you can go on to the next step.

Otherwise, you will be told rlwrap: command not found. Install Rlwrap using your package manager.

Edit your profile

In the File Manager, find .bashrc in your home folder.

Open it with a text editor and append the following line

alias q='QHOME=~/q rlwrap -r ~/q/l32/q'

and save it. Tell Bash to use the revised profile: source .bashrc

Confirm installation

From your home folder open q, type an expression and recall it using the up-arrow key:

You’re done. You have completely installed kdb+.

Licences

Usage of the free, non-commercial 32-bit distribution of kdb+ is governed by the terms and conditions on the download page.

Commercial distributions of kdb+ require a license file to run. Without it, they signal a license error and abort.

License errors, Licenses, Linux production notes

Installing elsewhere

You can install kdb+ where you please. The environment variable QHOME (specified in the instructions above) tells kdb+ where its home folder is.

What’s next?

Get started with the q programming language, look through the reference card, or see what you can do with kdb+ in the Cookbook section.