Build Dependency Versions with Spack?

[kwabenantim]

Summary

Consider building custom dependency versions with Spack as an alternative to custom install scripts.

Pros

• Spack packages are kept up to date with patches etc.
• Can use flexible configuration options to customise dependency builds for Chaste.
• Modulefiles can still be created for multiple dependencies installed side-by-side.
• Might be easier to build dependencies for HPC.
• PETSc and HDF5 versions can be built separately as Spack can sort out MPI compatibility in the dependency tree.

Cons

• Might need to build many packages further down the dependency tree from source e.g. zlib etc, which may be too time consuming for github actions.

Related

• Probably worth having a look at E4S Spack container recipes.