Lawndart FAQ

What is Lawndart?

Lawndart is an GPL licensed model rocket simulation for Linux. It is designed to simulate the flight of a model rocket from launch through landing. Lawndart uses open XML formats for input and output. It is currently in the early stages of development, but is already capable enough for most users.

What dependencies does Lawndart have?

Lawndart was designed to use as few dependancies as possible. Right now the only dependancies are the GTK 1.2 libraries, which are needed for the GUI version of Lawndart. Future versions of Lawndart may require a newer version of GTK, and OpenGL libraries.

How do I install Lawndart?

Download Lawndart here and extract the archive from the downloaded file.
Under the "docs" directory you will find the documentation for Lawndart in OpenOffice.org format. Under the "bin" directory are precompiled binaries that may or may not work for you depending on your system.
Under the "src" directory is the code for Lawndart. Running "make" in this directory should build the software for you, and place it in the "bin" directory. The GUI version of Lawndart requires the GTK 1.2 libraries to be installed.

Is Lawndart a RockSim clone?

Lawndart is not a clone of RockSim or any other current sim, nor will it ever be. At this point in development it is also not a replacement for RockSim, at least when it comes to rocket design. The early versions (1.x) will concentrate on infrastructure and simulation rather than design. Later versions, starting with the 2.x versions will incorporate rocket design capabilities.

Can I use Lawndart on other operating systems?

Lawndart was designed to run on Linux. Running Lawndart on other Unix and Unix-like operating systems should just be a matter of recompilation, so long as the dependancies are met. It should be possible to compile at least the command-line version on Windows, but this has not been tested, and for the time being, will not be supported.

When will Lawndart be released?

Lawndart is currently being beta tested. The first "official" version (1.0) will be released at the end of beta testing which is estimated to occur in late summer 2007.

What does the version number mean?

Version numbers that have an even number (1.0, 1.2, 1.4, 2.0, etc.) after the period are major and incremental releases. Version numbers that have an odd number after the period are bugfix releases. So version 1.0 will be followed by version 1.1, which will consist of fixes to bugs in 1.0 (hopefully very few!), as well as minor enhancements (changes to presentation, output formatting, etc.). Version 1.2 will be the first incremental release. These releases will have additional features, and "under the hood" enhancements, but will have the same basic capabilities. Version 2.0 will be the first major upgrade, and is planned to be released late 2007/early 2008.

What file formats does Lawndart support?

All files created by Lawndart are stored in an open XML format. Lawndart uses the standard WRASP engine files for engine thrust data. Compatability with other file formats are planned for the future, but have not been determined yet.