Update Spack slides, demo notes and exercise (#245)

* Update Spack slides and demo notes

* Add timetable entry for Spack lecture and exercise

* Update duration in README and slim down Spack demo notes

* Formatting

* Minor changes to the exercise

Author: IshaanDesai

03_building_and_packaging/README.md

@@ -22,5 +22,5 @@ Learning goals:
 | 30 minutes | [pip_demo.md](https://github.com/Simulation-Software-Engineering/Lecture-Material/blob/main/03_building_and_packaging/pip_demo.md) |
 | 90 minutes | [pypi_exercise.md](https://github.com/Simulation-Software-Engineering/Lecture-Material/blob/main/03_building_and_packaging/pypi_exercise.md) |
 | 45 minutes | [pypi_slides.md](https://github.com/Simulation-Software-Engineering/Lecture-Material/blob/main/03_building_and_packaging/pypi_slides.md) |
-| 45 minutes | [spack_slides.md](https://github.com/Simulation-Software-Engineering/Lecture-Material/blob/main/03_building_and_packaging/spack_slides.md), [spack_demo.md](https://github.com/Simulation-Software-Engineering/Lecture-Material/blob/main/03_building_and_packaging/spack_demo.md) |
-| 45 minutes | [spack_exercise.md](https://github.com/Simulation-Software-Engineering/Lecture-Material/blob/main/03_building_and_packaging/spack_exercise.md) |
+| 90 minutes | [spack_slides.md](https://github.com/Simulation-Software-Engineering/Lecture-Material/blob/main/03_building_and_packaging/spack_slides.md), [spack_demo.md](https://github.com/Simulation-Software-Engineering/Lecture-Material/blob/main/03_building_and_packaging/spack_demo.md) |
+| 90 minutes | [spack_exercise.md](https://github.com/Simulation-Software-Engineering/Lecture-Material/blob/main/03_building_and_packaging/spack_exercise.md) |

03_building_and_packaging/spack_demo.md

@@ -1,28 +1,24 @@
-# Packaging for High-Performance Computing (Notes)
+# Packaging for High-Performance Computing Demo 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. **Note**: Maybe show content of this file.
+  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.
 
-- 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):
@@ -133,16 +119,16 @@
 
   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
-    - The name of the Package we work with `class Helloworld`. This is also the name of the software now within Spack.
+    - The URL to download the package
+    - The name of the package we work with `class Helloworld`. This is also the name of the software now within Spack.
 - We want to fix/extend the package with some standard information
     - Package description
     - Set URL to SSE homepage
-    - Add our GitHub username as maintainer
-    - Remove the `cmake_args` part as we only have a standard CMake arguments. Here we could give extra/special arguments specific to the software package.
+    - Add GitHub username as maintainer
+    - Remove the `cmake_args` part as there are only standard CMake arguments.
 
 - Concretize the package
 
@@ -158,7 +144,7 @@
     ^[email protected]%[email protected]~doc+ncurses+openssl+ownlibs~qt build_type=Release patches=1c540040c7e203dd8e27aa20345ecb07fe06570d56410a24a266ae570b1c4c39,bf695e3febb222da2ed94b3beea600650e4318975da90e4a71d6f31a6d5d8c3d arch=linux-ubuntu20.04-skylake
   ```
 
-  We see that `cmake` is an implicit dependency as we need it for building our package.
+  `cmake` is an implicit dependency as we need it for building our package.
 
 - If the same Docker container as in step 2 is used, make sure to uninstall `zlib` before installing `helloworld`.
 
@@ -180,15 +166,15 @@
   spack find
   ```
 
-- Load installed package, run code and unload
+- Load installed package, run, and unload
 
   ```bash
   spack load helloworld
   helloworld
   spack unload helloworld
   ```
 
-- Install different version of code
+- Install different version
 
   ```bash
   spack install [email protected]
@@ -204,15 +190,15 @@
 
   or open `package.py` file in `${HOME}/var/spack/repos/builtin/packages/helloworld/`
 
-- **Optional**: one could add `main` branch and thus GitHub repository
+- Add the `main` branch as a version
 
   ```diff
-  + git      = "https://github.com/Simulation-Software-Engineering/HelloWorld.git"
+  + git = "https://github.com/Simulation-Software-Engineering/HelloWorld.git"
   +
   + version("main", branch="main")
   ```
 
-  This can also be used for `develop` branches etc. It is useful if one needs really the newest version of a package or if one develops software using Spack.
+  This can also be used for `develop` branches etc. It is useful if the development state is required, or if one develops software using Spack.
 
 - Add artificial dependencies
 
@@ -221,17 +207,17 @@
   + depends_on("zlib@:1.2")
   ```
 
-  This means that the package depends on Python `3.0.0` or newer and newer if we use `helloworld` of version `0.3.0` or newer. The software also requires at most `zlib` in version `1.2.10`
+  This states that the package depends on Python version `3.0.0` or newer if we use `helloworld` of version `0.3.0` or newer. The software also requires at most `zlib` in version `1.2.10`
 
-    - Show new dependencies
+- Show new dependencies
 
-    ```bash
-    spack spec helloworld
-    spack spec [email protected]
-    spack info helloworld
-    ```
+  ```bash
+  spack spec helloworld
+  spack spec [email protected]
+  spack info helloworld
+  ```
 
-    The Python dependency will only show up for the newest version of our software package.
+  The Python dependency will only show up for version `0.3.0`.
 
 - Add an artificial variant
 
@@ -247,28 +233,26 @@
   spack info helloworld
   ```
 
-  where Python now shows up as variant with its description. We can deactivate Python by specifying
+  where Python now shows up as variant with its description. Python dependency is removed by doing
 
   ```bash
   spack info helloworld -python
   ```
 
-  `~` can be (often) used instead of `-`. There are [examples in the documentation](https://spack.readthedocs.io/en/latest/basic_usage.html#variants).
-
 ## Further material
 
 ### 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_exercise.md

@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
 # Packages with Spack
 
-This exercise is about packaging code with Spack. We work with a simplified version of the code from the previous week's exercise and create packages for it.
+This exercise is about packaging code with Spack. We work with a simplified version of the code from the previous week's exercise and create a Spack package of it.
 
-At the end of the exercise you find a section with hints and remarks. Make sure to check this section.
+**Note**: At the end of the exercise you find a section with hints and remarks. Make sure to check this section.
 
-Deadline: **Wednesday, December 4th, 2024, 09:00**
+Deadline: **Wednesday, December 3rd, 2025, 09:00**
 
 ## Creation of a Spack Package
 
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ The [code repository](https://github.com/Simulation-Software-Engineering/spack-e
 
 **Note**: We require `yaml-cpp` in version `0.7.0`. This package will be automatically installed via Spack if you specify the dependency correctly in you package. You should **not** install `yaml-cpp` manually in this exercise.
 
-Create a Spack package for all releases of the given code and make sure that the dependencies are specified appropriately. Make sure you also add yourself as maintainer to your package. Your final package should not contain any `FIXME` parts.
+Create a Spack package for all releases of the given code and make sure that the dependencies are specified appropriately. Make sure you also add yourself as maintainer to your package. Your packaging file should not contain any `FIXME` parts.
 
 ### Development/Packaging Environment