Easley software

This repository contains scripts for building and installing software on the Easley cluster at Auburn University. The goal is to keep a shared set of software to:

1. Make it easier to get started (no need to compile yourself!),
2. Keep versioned software so that environments can be reproduced.
3. Conserve disk space!

This repository serves as a public record of how the software was built that can be rolled back as dependencies on Easley change. You typically do not need to download this code yourself.

New users

If you are new to the group, you need to configure your shell to make this software available to you. Run the following command one time:

bash /home/shared/mph0043_lab/software/config_bash.sh

This script modifies your .bashrc file in the following ways:

1. Define the environment variables $SCRATCH and $GROUP. $SCRATCH points to a directory /scratch/<username> that you should use for I/O intensive jobs. $GROUP is a shortcut to get to the shared directory where this software is installed.
2. Add the modulefiles for the group software so that it is available to you to load by module commands.
3. Load the git module by default (good practice for working with code!).
4. Copy a standard .vimrc file to configure your text editor.

A backup copy of your current .bashrc is stored as .bashrc.bak if you wish to revert the changes. Your .vimrc will be overwritten.

After running this command, you need to log out and in to have the changes take effect.

Current users

After you have set up your shell, use standard module commands to load and use the installed software. For example, to load the 2021Apr python virtual environment, which includes scientific python and simulation software, use:

module load python/2021Apr

Pretty easy!

Software maintainers

You are required to rename this repository software when you download it:

git clone https://github.com/mphowardlab/easley-software.git software

Failure to do so will cause all scripts to fail. (Why not just name this software then? This choice was initially made so that it is easier to identify the repository. Eventually, this may change but for now it stays.)

The scripts to build new software are in the build directory. There is one directory for each software module that can be installed. To build the software, execute its build.sh file after updating the appropriate version. The build script is a self-contained procedure that pulls the required source code, compiles and installs the software, and also sets the new modulefile from the supplied template.

Currently, software is installed into the repository in install and the module files are also placed into the repository in modulefiles. These directories are intentionally ignored by git.