Problem in installing find_orb

[RaziehEmami1]

Hi there,

I am trying to install find_orb on my Mac following the steps in https://projectpluto.com/find_sou.htm. I encountered the following issue when trying
make libjpl.a

const char * jpl_get_ephem_name( const void *ephem)
{
struct jpl_eph_data *eph = (struct jpl_eph_data *)ephem;

return( eph->name);
}
rm -f libjpl.a
ar rv libjpl.a jpleph.o
ar: creating libjpl.a
ar: jpleph.o: No such file or directory
make: *** [makefile:94: libjpl.a] Error 1

I appreciate if you please kindly let me know how to fix that issue.

Thanks a lot,
Razi

(Just as a comment, I wish find_orb/fo were easier to install from scratch. Cloning and building the various repositories separately can be quite confusing)

[Bill-Gray]

I wish find_orb/fo were easier to install from scratch

Noted. I've been thinking about that since running Find_Orb in Docker a little while back. I've played around a little with making the code installable from .deb; .rpm would be another tempting alternative. Must admit that my knowledge in this realm is limited, and I'm a bit bewildered by the vast array of options. But it does seem as if I could do better here.

In a somewhat related vein, I've been thinking about the "auxiliary" downloads for Find_Orb : JPL ephemerides, Earth orientation parameters, astrometric debiasing, and asteroid perturber elements. Right now, Find_Orb shows warning messages for these, with links to the relevant files. It really ought to provide a list of (for example) a few ephemeris files (sizes and date ranges) and download/install them for you.