3psLCCA - Bridge Life Cycle Cost Analysis

3psLCCA is a desktop application for performing Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) on bridge infrastructure projects. It evaluates the economic performance of steel design options over their entire life cycle.

This is the recommended method as it automatically handles all dependencies, including a portable LaTeX environment for PDF reports. Using conda-forge avoids any Anaconda Terms of Service (ToS) requirements.

• Install Miniconda: Download and install Miniconda.

Run these commands to ensure your Conda setup is clean and uses reliable open-source channels:

# Remove problematic default channels
conda config --remove channels defaults

# Add required channels
conda config --add channels conda-forge
conda config --add channels osdag
conda config --add channels zehen-249

# Create the environment using the provided file
conda create -n 3pslcca

# Activate the environment
conda activate 3pslcca

# Install application
conda install three-ps-lcca-gui 

# Run the application
threePSLCCA

To get the latest features and bug fixes for both the interface and the calculation engine:

1. Update the source code:

   git pull origin main

2. Update the environment:

   # Ensure your environment is active
   conda activate 3pslcca
   
   # Update libraries and prune old ones
   conda env update -f environment.yml --prune
   
   # Force update the internal Core engine from GitHub
   pip install --upgrade git+https://github.com/swas02/3psLCCA-core.git@main
   
   # Re-sync local package entry points
   pip install -e .
   
   # Launch the application
   three-ps-lcca-gui

To completely remove the application and its environment from your system:

# Deactivate the environment (if active)
conda deactivate

# Remove the conda environment
conda env remove -n 3pslcca

If you are contributing to the source code, please first follow the Installation (via Conda) steps above, then complete these additional steps:

1. Clone the Project:

   git clone https://github.com/swas02/3psLCCA-gui.git
   cd 3psLCCA-gui

2. Install in Editable Mode: This allows you to see your code changes immediately without reinstalling the package:

   # Ensure your environment is active
   conda activate 3pslcca
   
   # Install the project locally for development
   conda env create -f environment.yml -n 3pslcca

A minimal setup using only Python and pip - no Conda required. Note: PDF report generation will require a separately installed LaTeX distribution (see PDF Report Generation).

1. Create a virtual environment: This isolates the project's dependencies from your global Python installation:

   python3 -m venv venv

2. Activate the virtual environment: You must activate it before installing anything or running the app. Your terminal prompt will show (venv) once active:

   • Linux / macOS:

     source venv/bin/activate

   • Windows:

     venv\Scripts\activate

     First-time Windows users: PowerShell restricts running scripts by default. If you get a cannot be loaded because running scripts is disabled error, run this once in PowerShell as Administrator, then retry activation:

     Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser

3. Clone the GUI repo: This is the main interface and entry point of the application:

   git clone https://github.com/3psLCCA/3psLCCA-gui.git

4. Enter the project folder:

   cd 3psLCCA-gui

5. Clone the core engine repo (inside this folder): The calculation engine is maintained as a separate repository and must sit alongside the GUI source:

   git clone https://github.com/3psLCCA/3psLCCA-core.git

6. Install dependencies: This installs all required Python packages into your active virtual environment:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

7. Navigate to the source folder: The app's entry point lives inside the src directory:

   cd src

8. Run the app:

   python -m three_ps_lcca_gui.gui.main

Every time you open a new terminal, you must activate the virtual environment before running the app (steps 2 → 7 → 8). The environment is not persistent across terminal sessions.

• Conda Environment: Uses a built-in portable LaTeX engine (no extra setup required).
• Manual Installation: Requires a system-wide LaTeX distribution (e.g., MiKTeX) added to your system PATH.

If you encounter an SSL error on Windows (record layer failure):

1. Disable SSL verification temporarily: conda config --set ssl_verify false.
2. Try the installation again: conda env create -f environment.yml.
3. If you use a VPN, try disconnecting it before running the setup.

To access internal database management and debugging tools:

python devtools/launcher.py

Available tools:

• WPI Database: Manage Wholesale Price Index data.
• Catalog Builder: Rebuild material and section catalogs.
• Project Inspector: Repair and inspect .3ps project files.