What is EasyBuild?¶
EasyBuild is a software build and installation framework that allows you to manage (scientific) software on High Performance Computing (HPC) systems in an efficient way. It is motivated by the need for a tool that combines the following features:
- a flexible framework for building/installing (scientific) software
- fully automates software builds
- divert from the standard
configure/make/make installwith custom procedures - allows for easily reproducing previous builds
- keep the software build recipes/specifications simple and human-readable
- supports co-existence of versions/builds via dedicated installation prefix and module files
- enables sharing with the HPC community (win-win situation)
- automagic dependency resolution
- retain logs for traceability of the build processes
Some key features of EasyBuild:
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build & install (scientific) software fully autonomously
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also interactive installers, code patching, generating module file, ...
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easily configurable: configuration files / environment variables / command line options
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including aspects like module naming scheme
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thorough logging and archiving (see Log files)
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entire build process is logged thoroughly, logs are stored in install directory;
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easyconfig file used for build is archived (install directory + file/svn/git repo)
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automatic dependency resolution (see
--robot) -
build entire software stack with a single command, using
--robot -
building software in parallel
- robust and thoroughly tested code base, fully unit-tested before each release
- thriving, growing community
Take a look at our HUST'14 workshop paper Modern Scientific Software Management Using EasyBuild and Lmod (PDF), and use that as a reference in case you present academic work mentioning EasyBuild.