Installing MIRACL (for dummies)
So you don’t waste a lot of time like I did.
Over the past few weeks I had to search for a crypto library so I could test my new authentication scheme I made and I ended up on the MIRACL github repository (https://github.com/miracl/MIRACL). And I was on that repo for almost 2 days breaking my head trying to figure out how to install it. I eventually figured it out after giving up on life. So I decided to make a short manual (about the installation. Not giving up on life. Don’t do that. Here’s a helpline number: 022 2754 6669).
Index
- Requirements
- Installation
Requirements
- Ubuntu 18.04
- x86_64 CPU architecture. You can check this on your system using the lscpu command in the terminal.
Installation
- DON’T clone the repo. Download the zip.
- Make a new folder and put the zip folder in it. Let’s assume folder’s name is MIRACL-master.zip (it will be this unless you’re getting it from somewhere else).
3. In the folder, open the terminal and run the following command.
unzip -j -aa -L MIRACL-master.zip
You’ll be prompted for replacing some files. Input N (as shown below).
You’ll now get a lot of files extracted. Don’t panic.
4. Since we’re running on a 64 bit machine, we run
bash linux64
If you’re not on a 64 bit machine run
bash linux
If you want the C++ version (which is necessary for pairing based cryptography), run
bash linux64_cpp
After this, you’ll get a folder called miracl.a . Rename it to libmiracl.a .
6. To compile C programs, use a variation of the following command.
gcc <fileName>.c -I <header files location> -L. -lmiracl
or
gcc <fileName>.c -I <header files location> <library name>
Conclusion
Pretty simple right? Yay! Anyway, customize the above command. Since we only have 1 library (libmiracl.a), I keep it in my root directory. I copy and paste the header files into a folder called include for my needs. (Search for header files using Ctrl+F →*.h)
Command to compile for me
gcc 1.c -I ./include -L. -lmiracl
or
gcc 1.c -I ./include libmiracl.a
