Update Spack slides and demo notes

Author: IshaanDesai

03_building_and_packaging/spack_demo.md

@@ -1,28 +1,24 @@
 # Packaging for High-Performance Computing (Notes)
 
-**Note**: It is recommended to try out Spack in a fresh Docker container. To understand how Spack itself is installed, follow Step 1 in a fresh Ubuntu container. To make things simpler from Step 2 onwards, create a container from the [spack/ubuntu-jammy](https://hub.docker.com/r/spack/ubuntu-jammy) image, so that Spack is preinstalled.
+**Note**: It is recommended to try out Spack in a fresh Docker container. To understand how Spack itself is installed, follow Step 1 in a fresh Ubuntu Noble container (`docker run --rm -it ubuntu:noble`). To make things simpler from Step 2 onwards, create a container from the [spack/ubuntu-noble](https://hub.docker.com/r/spack/ubuntu-noble) image, so that Spack is preinstalled.
 
 ## 1. Spack Setup/Installation
 
-- Git repository of Python scripts
+- This demo (and Spack) needs Python, Git, a C/C++ compiler, patch, make, tar, and a few more tools. Basically `build-essential`, `git`, and `python` on Ubuntu Noble.
+
+- Get the Spack repository
 
   ```bash
-  git clone -b v0.23.0 -c feature.manyFiles=true --depth=2 https://github.com/spack/spack.git
+  git clone -b v1.1.0 --depth=2 https://github.com/spack/spack.git
   ```
 
-    - `v0.23.0` is currently the latest major release
-
-- **Note:** Install `curl`, `libcurl4-openssl-dev`, and `vim` to ensure that Spack v0.23.0 works in a fresh Ubuntu Jammy container.
-
 - Initializing Spack with
 
   ```bash
   . <spack_prefix>/share/spack/setup-env.sh
   ```
 
-  will set `SPACK_ROOT` and also add `spack` to `PATH`.
-
-  Note that the  `.` operator will run the commands in the supplied script as if we would type the commands supplied by the script in the shell ourselves. In bash the `.` operator is equivalent to `source`. However, `source` is not specified in POSIX and thus using `.` is likely to work on more platforms.
+  will set `SPACK_ROOT` and also add `spack` to `PATH`. Note that the  `.` operator will run the commands in the supplied script as if we would type the commands supplied by the script in the shell ourselves. In bash the `.` operator is equivalent to `source`. However, `source` is not specified in POSIX and thus using `.` is likely to work on more platforms.
 
 - Finish Spack setup
 
@@ -40,25 +36,23 @@
 
   prints the list of compilers that Spack has added.
 
-- Find external packages (optional)
+- Find external packages
 
   ```bash
   spack external find
   ```
 
   This command tries to find preinstalled software packages which are also in Spack's package database. This way we do not have to recompile everything from scratch.
 
-  **Note** `spack external find` is an experimental feature and might fail. System packages [can be defined manually](https://spack.readthedocs.io/en/latest/getting_started.html#system-packages).
+  Found packages (including version, configuration etc.) are stored in `~/.spack/packages.yaml`. There one can add further packages manually. Look at contents of this file.
 
-    - Found packages (including version, configuration etc.) are stored in `~/.spack/packages.yaml`. There one can add further packages manually. **Note**: Maybe show content of this file.
-
-- Concretize a spec to trigger bootstrap process (optional)
+- Concretize a spec to trigger bootstrap process
 
   ```bash
   spack spec zlib
   ```
 
-  This will try to concretize the package and its dependencies. `clingo`, Spack's concretizer, is needed for this. If one calls this command the very first time, a bootstrapping process is triggered that installs `clingo`.
+  This will try to concretize the package and its dependencies. `clingo`, Spack's concretizer, is needed for this. Running `spack spec` for the first time triggers a bootstrapping process that installs `clingo`.
 
 ## 2. Package Installation/Management with Spack
 
@@ -68,15 +62,7 @@
   spack info zlib
   ```
 
-- Install a simple example package
-
-  ```bash
-  spack spec zlib
-  ```
-
-  This will trigger the bootstrap process of Spack. It installs `clingo`, the dependency resolver, if not done before.
-
-- Install `zlib`
+- Install the package
 
   ```bash
   spack install --reuse zlib
@@ -102,7 +88,7 @@
 
   Spack will fetch the archive and try to deduce some basic settings. It will also check for other releases and asks whether to add checksums. We want all checksums.
 
-- Afterwards Spack drops us in the boilerplate package.
+- Spack immediately drops you in a boilerplate package file.
 
   ```Python
   class Helloworld(CMakePackage):
@@ -133,7 +119,7 @@
 
   At least the `FIXME` statements should be fixed before releasing the package. The Spack package recipe is written in Python so we can also do common Python magic here.
 
-- Spack has deduced a good number of information already.
+- Spack has deduced a good amount of information already.
     - We work with CMake
     - There are 3 releases of the software
     - The URL to download packages
@@ -259,16 +245,16 @@
 
 ### References
 
-- [EasyBuild](https://github.com/easybuilders/easybuild)
-- [EasyConfigs](https://github.com/easybuilders/easybuild-easyconfigs)
 - [Spack](https://spack.io/)
 - [Spack docs](https://spack.readthedocs.io/en/latest/)
 - [Spack 101 tutorials](https://spack-tutorial.readthedocs.io/en/latest/)
+- [EasyBuild](https://github.com/easybuilders/easybuild)
+- [EasyConfigs](https://github.com/easybuilders/easybuild-easyconfigs)
 - [archspec project](https://github.com/archspec/)
 
-### Talks
+### Interesting Talks On This Topic
 
-Talks at FOSDEM
+FOSDEM talks:
 
 - 2020: [Spack's new Concretizer](https://archive.fosdem.org/2020/schedule/event/dependency_solving_not_just_sat/)
 - 2020: [Build for your microarchitecture: experiences with Spack and archspec](https://archive.fosdem.org/2020/schedule/event/archspec/)

03_building_and_packaging/spack_slides.md

@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ slideOptions:
 
 ## Learning goals
 
-- Understand the challenges when bringing (your) software to supercomputers.
+- Understand the challenges of deploying software to supercomputers.
 - Use Spack to install software.
 - Create a Spack package for your own software.
 
@@ -47,20 +47,21 @@ slideOptions:
 ## Introduction 1/2
 
 - Scientific software installation on supercomputers faces challenges:
-    - Parallel architectures (MPI, OpenMP, HPX...)
-    - Special hardware (accelerators, network...)
-    - Greatly varying architectures (AMD, Intel, ARM...)
-    - Missing dependencies (too new, too old...)
-    - Admins will not/cannot install software for you, you do not have superuser rights
+    - Parallel architectures (MPI, OpenMP, HPX, ...)
+    - Special hardware (accelerators, network, ...)
+    - Greatly varying architectures (AMD, Intel, ARM, ...)
+    - Missing dependencies (too new, too old)
+    - Admins will not/cannot install software for you
+    - You do not have superuser rights
 
 ---
 
 ## Introduction 2/2
 
-- Software should have best possible performance
+- Performance is critical on supercomputers
     - Software needs to be **compiled** to get best performance (special libraries, compilers...)
     - Optimized compilation settings (best settings not always obvious)
-    - Optimal settings depend on platform (supercomputers might be heterogeneous, different generation of CPUs e.g.)
+    - Optimal settings depend on platform (supercomputers might be heterogeneous, for e.g., different generation of CPUs)
 - **HPC-friendly package managers** can help with
     - organizing software installations
     - compilation of software
@@ -87,14 +88,14 @@ slideOptions:
     - Common scientific software included
     - No superuser rights needed
     - Spack's [dependencies](https://spack.readthedocs.io/en/latest/getting_started.html#system-prerequisites) commonly available on supercomputers
-- Deals with dependency resolution, compilation flags and **compilation**
+- Deals with dependency resolution, compilation flags and compilation
 - [Open-source project on GitHub](https://github.com/spack/spack)
 - Valuable resources:
     - [Good starter guides](https://spack-tutorial.readthedocs.io/en/latest/)
     - [Extensive documentation](https://spack.readthedocs.io)
     - [Spack Slack](https://slack.spack.io/) for communication with community
-- Heavily relies on concretizer [`clingo`](https://spack.readthedocs.io/en/latest/getting_started.html#bootstrapping-clingo)
-    - Prefers to install newest version of packages
+- Spack [bootstraps](https://spack.readthedocs.io/en/latest/bootstrapping.html) its own dependencies the first time it is used
+- Prefers to install newest version of packages
 
 ---
 
@@ -109,28 +110,13 @@ slideOptions:
 
 ---
 
-## Spack Installation
-
-- Dependencies: Python, Git, C/C++ compiler, patch, make, tar...
-    - Basically `build-essential`, `git`, and `python` on Ubuntu
-    - May be old, install newer versions with Spack if needed
-- Installation in user-writable location
-
-  ```bash
-  git clone -b v0.23.0 -c feature.manyFiles=true --depth=2 https://github.com/spack/spack.git
-  ```
-
-    - `v0.23.0` is currently the latest major release
-
----
-
 ## Demo 1: Spack Installation
 
 ---
 
 ## Spack Configuration and Caches
 
-- Permanently set up Spack
+- Set up Spack
 
   ```bash
   . <spack_prefix>/share/spack/setup-env.sh
@@ -150,7 +136,7 @@ slideOptions:
 
 - Spack works with `spec`s (`spec`=specification)
 
-  ```
+  ```bash
   spack install [email protected]+mpi -shared~suite-sparse
   ```
 
@@ -166,12 +152,6 @@ slideOptions:
   spack unload [email protected]
   ```
 
-- [General syntax](https://spack.readthedocs.io/en/latest/command_index.html)
-
-  ```bash
-  spack COMMAND OPTION
-  ```
-
 ---
 
 ## Demo 2: Package Installation and Management
@@ -345,7 +325,7 @@ slideOptions:
 
 ## Demo 3: Package Creation
 
-- Create package for our [HelloWorld example](https://github.com/Simulation-Software-Engineering/HelloWorld)
+- Create package for our [HelloWorld](https://github.com/Simulation-Software-Engineering/HelloWorld) code
     1. Create boilerplate package
     2. Add package details
     3. Verify package
@@ -361,7 +341,6 @@ slideOptions:
 - [Chained installation](https://spack.readthedocs.io/en/latest/chain.html)
 - [Stacks (build matrices)](https://spack-tutorial.readthedocs.io/en/latest/tutorial_stacks.html)
 - [Software management (modules)](https://spack.readthedocs.io/en/latest/module_file_support.html)
-- ...
 
 ---