5th easybuild hackathon meeting minutes day 3 - easybuilders/easybuild GitHub Wiki

5th easybuild hackathon - notes day 1 - notes day 2

Discussion about current status of easyconfig format v2

bikeshedding discussion about dependency specifications in format v2

format v1 (for reference)

dependencies = [
    ('GCC', '4.8.1'),
    ('OpenMPI', '1.6.4', '', ('GCC', '4.7.2'),
    ('OpenBLAS', '0.2.6', '-LAPACK-3.4.2', ('gompi', '1.4.10')),
    ('FFTW', '3.3.3', '', ('gompi', '1.4.10')),
    ('ScaLAPACK', '2.0.2', '-OpenBLAS-0.2.6-LAPACK-3.4.2', ('gompi', '1.4.10')),
]

moduleclass = tools

format v2 (current format)

moduleclass = tools

[DEPENDENCIES]
GCC = 4.7.2
OpenMPI = 1.6.4; GCC == 4.7.2
OpenBLAS = 0.2.6 suffix:-LAPACK-3.4.2; gompi == 1.4.10
FFTW = 3.3.3; gompi == 1.4.10
ScaLAPACK = 2.0.2 suffix:-OpenBLAS-0.2.6-LAPACK-3.4.2; gompi == 1.4.10

brainstorm results

single-line dependency specification (no dedicated section for dependencies):

dependencies = GCC(4.8.1), OpenMPI(1.6.5, gompi == 1.4.10), gompi(1.1.10, suffix:-no-OFED), OpenBLAS(>= 0.2.6, suffix:-LAPACK-3.4.2, goalf == 1.1.10 suffix:-no-OFED)

multi-line dependency specification (no dedicated section for dependencies):

dependencies =
    GCC(4.7.2),
    OpenMPI(1.6.4, GCC == 4.7.2),
    gompi(1.1.10, suffix:-no-OFED),
    OpenBLAS(>= 0.2.6, suffix:-LAPACK-3.4.2, goalf == 1.1.10 suffix:-no-OFED),
    ...

format v2 (proposed format for dependencies section)

moduleclass = tools

[DEPENDENCIES]
GCC(4.7.2)
OpenMPI(1.6.4, GCC == 4.7.2)
OpenBLAS(>= 0.2.6, suffix:-LAPACK-3.4.2, gompi == 1.1.10 suffix:-no-OFED)
...

alternative (using keys for all entries, for consistency)

[DEPENDENCIES]
...
OpenBLAS(version: >= 0.2.6, suffix:-LAPACK-3.4.2, toolchain: (goalf == 1.1.10 suffix:-no-OFED))
...

(fictive) example for ictce toolchain:

[DEPENDENCIES]
icc(2013_sp1.1)
ifort(2013_sp1.1)
imkl(2013_sp1.1)
impi(2013_sp1.1)

exceptions for dependencies, based on toolchain

[goolf == 1.1.10]
[DEPENDENCIES](/easybuilders/easybuild/wiki/DEPENDENCIES)
CMake(2.8.5, gompi == 1.1.10)

sanity check section:

[SANITY_CHECK]
files = foo, bar
dirs = bin, lib

work out Scalasca example

# EASYBUILDFORMAT 2.0

name = 'Scalasca'

[SUPPORTED]
versions = > 2.0
toolchains = goolf == 1.4.10, ictce == 5.5.0, goalf == 1.1.0 suffix:-no-OFED

[DEPENDENCIES]
Score-P = >= 1.2
Cube = > 4.0  # Cube/4.0-goolf-1.4.10, Cube/4.0-ictce-5.5.0
Opari = > 1.0, dummy == dummy  # Opari/1.0
[goolf](/easybuilders/easybuild/wiki/goolf)
zlib = 1.2.8, gompi == 1.4.10  # zlib/1.2.8-gompi-1.4.10
[goalf](/easybuilders/easybuild/wiki/goalf)
zlib = 1.2.8, gompi > 1.0
[ictce](/easybuilders/easybuild/wiki/ictce)
zlib = (> 1.0 && < 3.0) || != 2.4.5   # version range example

# versionsuffix section
[> 0.0 suffix:-foo]
versionsuffix = -foo

Discussions

Cube really shouldn't sneakily add --disable-gui if it doesn't like the Qt version it finds
stacked variables support in Lmod for defining e.g. $CC, etc.
still leaves issues with unloading modules and surprising users (unless the modules tool is very verbose w.r.t. redefining env vars)
Markus: modules shouldn't define $CC, etc.
also ties to mpicc and its behavior (e.g. default compiler is GCC for Intel MPI's mpicc)

Hackathon

Inge: make Elpa build work after setting $FCFLAGS and $LIBS, providing patch file for tests, set parallel = 1, etc.
TODO: fix website: throw out disclaimer, fix demo, mention bootstrap as primary way of installing it
discussions on toolchain-independent modules
build with goolf or dummy, statically link, generate module with dummy toolchain
see https://github.com/hpcugent/easybuild-framework/issues/570
Fotis: full bootstrap:
build Python, Lua, Lmod
bootstrap EasyBuild on top
install Python/Lua/Lmod modules using ev
source a script to set up Lmod environment
install EasyBuild with EasyBuild :)
Markus: interest in adding support for building/using other compilers: Open64, Path64, PGI, …
TODO: send old easyblocks for Open64 + Path64 to Marcus (update: done)
Fotis: pymodules, modules tool implemented in Python
Robert McLay developed a Python modules tool in a previous life
Alan: set up Lmod on JUROPA3
use Lmod provided by EasyBuild
create extra module to use as dependency to avoid requiring source $EBROOTLMOD/init/bash
Gunther: build own Intel toolchain (intel/14.0.1) with customizations to Intel MKL (e.g. MKLPATH), ...

Next steps post-hackathon

Markus:
hierarchical modules
support more compilers (building and using them)
add support for job submission to SLURM
...
Bernd + Anke: switch from UNITE to EB, add support for new (versions of) performance tools, … write easyblock for Tau, HPC Toolkit, ... replace current software packaging crap with EasyBuild?
Alan: pitch use of EasyBuild and Lmod on JUROPA3
switch to Lmod may be sensitive, to make sure it works everywhere w.r.t. setting up Lmod environment (e.g. make sure tclsh works everywhere)
HPC-UGent:
fix issues uncovered during hackathon
documentation on getting started with easyblocks, e.g. how do you replace easyconfig parameters with sections in an easyblock, concrete use cases, examples, ...
look into JuBe in a VSC context

JUBE

rewrite from scratch after studying the design and features?
EasyBuild resolves a large part of it
current framework in Perl is too broken to further extend it
can be used for testing EasyBuild, UNITE performance tools, ...
mympirun (and myscoop) can fill in a a large chunk of this too?

another idea for dependency specifications

(by Kenneth, after hackathon)

dependency_1-gcc = (GCC, 4.7.2)
dependency_2-openmpi = (OpenMPI, 1.6.4, GCC == 4.7.2)
dependency_3-openblas = (OpenBLAS, >= 0.2.6, suffix:-LAPACK-3.4.2, gompi == 1.1.10 suffix:-no-OFED)
dependency_4-fftw = (FFTW, 3.3.3, gompi == 1.1.10 suffix:-no-OFED)
dependency_5-scalapack = (ScaLAPACK, 2.0.2, suffix:-OpenBLAS-0.2.6-LAPACK-3.4.2, gompi == 1.1.10 suffix:-no-OFED)

dependency_1 = GCC(4.7.2)
dependency_2 = OpenMPI(1.6.4, GCC == 4.7.2)
dependency_3 = OpenBLAS(>= 0.2.6, suffix:-LAPACK-3.4.2, gompi == 1.1.10 suffix:-no-OFED)
dependency_4 = (FFTW, 3.3.3, gompi == 1.4.10)
dependency_5 = (ScaLAPACK, 2.0.2, suffix:-OpenBLAS-0.2.6-LAPACK-3.4.2, gompi == 1.1.10 suffix:-no-OFED)