Setting Up A Development Environment¶

The type of development environment needed depends on the use case. In most cases, all that is needed is a build of Ascent. The exception is VTK-m filter development, which requires separate builds of VTK-m and VTK-h.

The list of common development use cases:

C++ and python filter development using Conduit Mesh Blueprint data
Connecting a new library to Ascent
VTK-m filter development

I Want To Develop C++ and Python Code Directly In Ascent¶

C++ and python filter can be directly developed inside of an Ascent build. All that is required is a development build of Ascent. Please see Building Ascent for an overview of the different ways to build Ascent.

Manual Build¶

An guide to building Ascent’s dependencies manually can be found at Building Ascent Dependencies Manually. When building manually, we recommended you create a CMake configure file like the example shown below rather than specifying all the CMake options on the command line.

Spack-Based Build¶

The spack-based build system is controlled through the uberenv python script which is located in scripts/uberenv directory. The most basic way to build Ascent is using this script.

git clone --recursive https://github.com/alpine-dav/ascent.git
cd ascent
python scripts/uberenv/uberenv.py

Note

This command is slightly different than what is in the Quick Start guide. Specifically, the uberenv command does not contain the –install –prefix:’build’ options.

If the uberenv script succeeds, then a CMake configure file is created in the uberenv_libs directory that can be used to create a build of Ascent. The file name is a combination of the system name, system type, and compiler used. For example, on an OSX system the following file was created that contains the CMake variables need for an Ascent build:

ls uberenv_libs/
boden.llnl.gov-macos_1013_x86_64-clang@9.0.0-apple-ascent.cmake

##################################
# spack generated host-config
##################################
# macos_1013_x86_64-clang@9.0.0-apple
##################################

# cmake from spack
# cmake executable path: /Users/larsen30/research/ascent_docs/ascent/uberenv_libs/spack/opt/spack/darwin-highsierra-x86_64/clang-9.0.0-apple/cmake-3.9.6-lkrrqgruseaa7kcmtehvmanupghfuwcb/bin/cmake

#######
# using clang@9.0.0-apple compiler spec
#######

# c compiler used by spack
set(CMAKE_C_COMPILER "/usr/bin/clang" CACHE PATH "")

# cpp compiler used by spack
set(CMAKE_CXX_COMPILER "/usr/bin/clang++" CACHE PATH "")

# fortran compiler used by spack
set(ENABLE_FORTRAN "ON" CACHE BOOL "")

set(CMAKE_Fortran_COMPILER "/opt/local/bin/gfortran" CACHE PATH "")

set(BUILD_SHARED_LIBS "ON" CACHE BOOL "")

set(ENABLE_TESTS "ON" CACHE BOOL "")

# conduit from spack
set(CONDUIT_DIR "/Users/larsen30/ascent_docs/ascent/uberenv_libs/spack/opt/spack/darwin-highsierra-x86_64/clang-9.0.0-apple/conduit-master-qr6ffvlcnihvcuhjsb3a5kbj5cee4ueo" CACHE PATH "")

# Python Support
# Enable python module builds
set(ENABLE_PYTHON "ON" CACHE BOOL "")

# python from spack
set(PYTHON_EXECUTABLE "/Users/larsen30/ascent_docs/ascent/uberenv_libs/spack/opt/spack/darwin-highsierra-x86_64/clang-9.0.0-apple/python-2.7.15-im7d5b5gswfkvjfqzec4cbpxwaf6g3kw/bin/python2.7" CACHE PATH "")

set(ENABLE_DOCS "ON" CACHE BOOL "")

# sphinx from spack
set(SPHINX_EXECUTABLE "/Users/larsen30/ascent_docs/ascent/uberenv_libs/spack/opt/spack/darwin-highsierra-x86_64/clang-9.0.0-apple/py-sphinx-1.8.2-chmw6atszhupa6shnswvsdwypzoynznj/bin/sphinx-build" CACHE PATH "")

# MPI Support
set(ENABLE_MPI "OFF" CACHE BOOL "")

# CUDA Support
set(ENABLE_CUDA "OFF" CACHE BOOL "")

set(ENABLE_OPENMP "OFF" CACHE BOOL "")

# vtk-h support
# vtk-m from spack
set(VTKM_DIR "/Users/larsen30/ascent_docs/ascent/uberenv_libs/spack/opt/spack/darwin-highsierra-x86_64/clang-9.0.0-apple/vtkm-ascent_ver-w7fnfd3otmpyywvlhsdsdq6x7cau5xgx" CACHE PATH "")

# vtk-h from spack
set(VTKH_DIR "/Users/larsen30/ascent_docs/ascent/uberenv_libs/spack/opt/spack/darwin-highsierra-x86_64/clang-9.0.0-apple/vtkh-ascent_ver-o2qjba4ojyudlswyoqns2qb63xyqagnb" CACHE PATH "")

# mfem not built by spack
# adios support
# adios not built by spack
##################################
# end spack generated host-config
##################################

I Want To Develop VTK-m and VTK-h Pipelines¶

If you want to add new features to VTK-h, its source is developed inside the Ascent repo in the src/libs/vtkh directory.

If your changes also require new features in VTK-m, you will need to build and install your own version of VTK-m. Follow the examples in Building Ascent Dependencies Manually to create a VTK-m build.

Once built and installed, update the CMake configure file with the locations of the installs in the CMake variables VTKM_DIR.

Note

Not all of Ascent dependencies are built with default options, branches, and commits, and that knowledge is built into the uberenv build. When building dependencies manually, consult Building Ascent for specific build options for each dependency.

Here is the current version of VTK-m we are using:

vtkm branch='master' commit='982e965536b41b334bd2bbb765373e6503c823ec'
blt  branch='main' commit='84fe0d15d841a79d923e97a9105b86b59147bfed'

Building the Ascent Source Code¶

The CMake configure file should contain all the necessary locations to build Ascent. Here are some example commands to create and configure a build from the top-level directory. If the specific paths are different, adjust them accordingly.

mkdir build
cd build
cmake -C ../uberenv_libs/boden.llnl.gov-macos_1013_x86_64-clang@9.0.0-apple-ascent.cmake ../src
make -j8