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Diffstat (limited to 'tex/src/appendix-existing-tools.tex')
| -rw-r--r-- | tex/src/appendix-existing-tools.tex | 6 |
1 files changed, 3 insertions, 3 deletions
diff --git a/tex/src/appendix-existing-tools.tex b/tex/src/appendix-existing-tools.tex index 8ad97ef..3aba534 100644 --- a/tex/src/appendix-existing-tools.tex +++ b/tex/src/appendix-existing-tools.tex @@ -193,8 +193,8 @@ This allows for multiple versions of the software to co-exist on the system, whi As mentioned in Court{\'e}s \& Wurmus\citeappendix{courtes15}, one major caveat with using these package managers is that they require a daemon with root privileges (failing our completeness criteria). This is necessary ``to use the Linux kernel container facilities that allow it to isolate build processes and maximize build reproducibility''. -This is because the focus in Nix or Guix is to create bit-wise reproducible software binaries and this is necessary for the security or development perspectives. -However, in a non-computer-science analysis (for example natural sciences), the main aim is reproducible \emph{results} that can also be created with the same software version that may not be bit-wise identical (for example when they are installed in other locations, because the installation location is hard-coded in the software binary or for a different CPU architecture). +This is because the focus in Nix or Guix is to create bitwise reproducible software binaries and this is necessary for the security or development perspectives. +However, in a non-computer-science analysis (for example natural sciences), the main aim is reproducible \emph{results} that can also be created with the same software version that may not be bitwise identical (for example when they are installed in other locations, because the installation location is hard-coded in the software binary or for a different CPU architecture). Finally, while Guix and Nix do allow precisely reproducible environments, the inherent detachment from the high-level computational project (that uses the environment) requires extra effort to keep track of the changes in dependencies as the project evolves. For example, if users simply run \inlinecode{guix install gcc} (the most common way to install a new software) the most recent version of GCC will be installed. @@ -253,7 +253,7 @@ However, these same factors are major caveats in a scientific scenario, where lo \subsubsection{Spack} Spack\citeappendix{gamblin15} is a package manager that is also influenced by Nix (similar to GNU Guix). -But unlike Nix or GNU Guix, it does not aim for full, bit-wise reproducibility and can be built without root access in any generic location. +But unlike Nix or GNU Guix, it does not aim for full, bitwise reproducibility and can be built without root access in any generic location. It relies on the host operating system for the C library. Spack is fully written in Python, where each software package is an instance of a class, which defines how it should be downloaded, configured, built, and installed. |