https://sbnsoftware.github.io/sbn_online_wiki/develop-sbndaq-with-spack/guide-main

The newSPACKDevArea.sh script is a powerful utility for setting up Spack-based development environments for data acquisition (DAQ) software. Here’s a comprehensive analysis of its functionality and execution flow: The script creates dedicated, isolated development environments for DAQ software packages, with specific compiler versions, qualifiers, and dependencies. It automates complex setup tasks that would otherwise require numerous manual steps, ensuring consistency and reliability. The script begins with robust error handling by setting Bash’s errexit, nounset, and pipefail options. It defines a constant for its environment file and includes critical safeguards, such as preventing accidental sourcing instead of execution. At its core, newSPACKDevArea.sh sources two key modules: common-functions.sh, which provides shared utilities like logging and signal handling, and spack-unified.sh, which contains the Spack-specific functionality. The main execution flow involves: Parsing command-line arguments using a help system that responds to -h, /?, and –help flags Calling setup_daq_development_area with the type “suite”, the environment file, and any additional arguments The setup_daq_development_area function performs several critical tasks: Initializes logging and signal handling for graceful termination Creates or verifies the configuration file (newSPACKDevArea.env) Parses command-line arguments with support for non-interactive mode, verbose output, and custom configurations Loads build configuration, validating required variables like DEVNAME, DAQ_PKG_NAME, and compiler options Extracts and validates the package version, qualifiers, GCC version, and C++ standard Initializes the Spack environment with the specified compiler and architecture Creates a uniquely named directory for the development environment Sets up a development environment with the selected package and version Activates the Spack environment, concretizes it, and optionally builds packages The script handles existing directories intelligently, offering to delete them or use them if they already exist. It generates comprehensive logs of all Spack commands executed during setup, stored with timestamps for reference. The environment created contains fully configured Spack settings, appropriate compilers, and downloaded source code for the specified packages. For designated development packages, it checks out specific versions and prepares them for development. This script represents sophisticated DevOps automation for particle physics software, enabling researchers to quickly establish consistent development environments across different machines and configurations, with minimal manual intervention.