Getting Started

vortex is available in Python and C++. For standard hardware setups, the Python bindings via a binary wheel are the fastest way to get started.

Python

Pre-built binary wheels for recent Python and CUDA versions on Windows are published on the vortex website. Ensure that you install the wheel that matches the CUDA version for your system. vortex uses the suffix -cudaXXY to denote a build for CUDA XX.Y. Installation of vortex-oct-tools is also recommended as it provides Python support classes for interacting with vortex and is required for certain demos.

pip install vortex-oct-cuda112 vortex-oct-tools -f https://www.vortex-oct.dev/

These binary wheels are compiled for use with an AlazarTech digitizer for acquisition, a CUDA-compatible GPU for processing, and National Instruments hardware for I/O. The build of vortex installed with these wheels requires the installation of AlazarTech drivers, CUDA, and NI DAQmx even if none of the corresponding hardware is present. Again, ensure that the installed CUDA version matches the vortex -cudaXXY suffix.

Warning

vortex will fail to import if any of the above dependencies are missing. See the Build Guide for instructions on building Python bindings that match your hardware availability.

Note

vortex may transition to a plugin-based model so that only the explicitly used dependencies must be installed.

You can check that vortex and its dependencies are installed correctly using the following command. The command outputs OK and the vortex version if vortex is correctly installed.

python -c "import vortex; print('OK', vortex.__version__)"

Once everything is installed, try running a demo.

C++

A C++ installation provides full access to vortex’s features. See the Build Guide to get your build system set up. You can build a custom version of the Python bindings through C++, if needed.