Software packaging and distribution for LHCb using Nix
Software is an essential and rapidly evolving component of modern high energy physics research. The ability to be agile and take advantage of new and updated packages from the wider data science community is allowing physicists to efficiently utilise the data available to them. However, these packag...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
EDP Sciences
2019-01-01
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| Series: | EPJ Web of Conferences |
| Online Access: | https://www.epj-conferences.org/articles/epjconf/pdf/2019/19/epjconf_chep2018_05005.pdf |
| _version_ | 1818655899332378624 |
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| author | Burr Chris Clemencic Marco Couturier Ben |
| author_facet | Burr Chris Clemencic Marco Couturier Ben |
| author_sort | Burr Chris |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Software is an essential and rapidly evolving component of modern high energy physics research. The ability to be agile and take advantage of new and updated packages from the wider data science community is allowing physicists to efficiently utilise the data available to them. However, these packages often introduce complex dependency chains and evolve rapidly introducing specific, and sometimes conflicting, version requirements which can make managing environments challenging. Additionally, there is a need to replicate old environments when generating simulated data and to utilise pre-existing datasets. Nix is a “purely functional package manager” which allows for software to be built and distributed with fully specified dependencies, making packages independent from those available on the host. Builds are reproducible and multiple versions/configurations of each package can coexist with the build configuration of each perfectly preserved. Here we will give an overview of Nix followed by the work that has been done to use Nix in LHCb and the advantages and challenges that this brings. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-17T03:17:01Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0f349e413ee441f5a12a2ea86941750d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2100-014X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-17T03:17:01Z |
| publishDate | 2019-01-01 |
| publisher | EDP Sciences |
| record_format | Article |
| series | EPJ Web of Conferences |
| spelling | doaj.art-0f349e413ee441f5a12a2ea86941750d2022-12-21T22:05:37ZengEDP SciencesEPJ Web of Conferences2100-014X2019-01-012140500510.1051/epjconf/201921405005epjconf_chep2018_05005Software packaging and distribution for LHCb using NixBurr ChrisClemencic MarcoCouturier BenSoftware is an essential and rapidly evolving component of modern high energy physics research. The ability to be agile and take advantage of new and updated packages from the wider data science community is allowing physicists to efficiently utilise the data available to them. However, these packages often introduce complex dependency chains and evolve rapidly introducing specific, and sometimes conflicting, version requirements which can make managing environments challenging. Additionally, there is a need to replicate old environments when generating simulated data and to utilise pre-existing datasets. Nix is a “purely functional package manager” which allows for software to be built and distributed with fully specified dependencies, making packages independent from those available on the host. Builds are reproducible and multiple versions/configurations of each package can coexist with the build configuration of each perfectly preserved. Here we will give an overview of Nix followed by the work that has been done to use Nix in LHCb and the advantages and challenges that this brings.https://www.epj-conferences.org/articles/epjconf/pdf/2019/19/epjconf_chep2018_05005.pdf |
| spellingShingle | Burr Chris Clemencic Marco Couturier Ben Software packaging and distribution for LHCb using Nix EPJ Web of Conferences |
| title | Software packaging and distribution for LHCb using Nix |
| title_full | Software packaging and distribution for LHCb using Nix |
| title_fullStr | Software packaging and distribution for LHCb using Nix |
| title_full_unstemmed | Software packaging and distribution for LHCb using Nix |
| title_short | Software packaging and distribution for LHCb using Nix |
| title_sort | software packaging and distribution for lhcb using nix |
| url | https://www.epj-conferences.org/articles/epjconf/pdf/2019/19/epjconf_chep2018_05005.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT burrchris softwarepackaginganddistributionforlhcbusingnix AT clemencicmarco softwarepackaginganddistributionforlhcbusingnix AT couturierben softwarepackaginganddistributionforlhcbusingnix |