Dependencies

Setting up the build environment

Build boost

 

 export ECF_NO_PYTHON=1

 

before calling $WK/build_scripts/boost_build.sh (see below)
You will also need to disable python when building ecflow.  See the instruction under cmake

 

 

Build

cmake

As configure, CMake  will run some tests on the customer's system to find out if required third-party software libraries are available and notes their locations (paths). Based on this information it will produces the Makefiles needed to compile and install ecflow

CMake is a cross-platform free software program for managing the build process of software using a compiler-independent method.

Generating the Makefiles with CMake

After changing into the build ecflow directory, the user  has to run CMake with his/her own options. The command gives feedback on what requirements are fulfilled and what software is still required. Table below gives an overview of the different options of configure.  The default (without any options) will  install in /usr/local/.

cmake options
doc
default
CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIXwhere you want to install your ecflow /usr/local
CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE

to select the type of compilation:

  • Debug
  • RelWithDebInfo
  • Release (fully optimised compiler options)
  • Production
Release
CMAKE_CXX_FLAGSmore flags  for the C++ compiler 
ENABLE_SERVERbuild the ecflow serveron
ENABLE_PYTHONenable python interfaceon
PYTHON_EXECUTABLEPyhon3.  Path to python3 executable 
ENABLE_UIenable build of ecflowUI (requires Qt)on
CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH

use to provide path to dependent libraries which are installed in a non-system locations.
For example, if you have installed Qt in a non-system location, you should set the path in this variable.

 
ENABLE_GUIenable build of ecflowview (requires X11 and motif)on
ENABLE_ALL_TESTS

enable performance, migration, memory leak , and regression tests

off
ENABLE_SSL

Encrypted communication for user commands (experimental, from ecflow release 4.5.0).

Please see: Open ssl for more details.

off
ENABLE_SECURE_USER

password based protection for user commands (experimental, from ecflow release 4.5.0)

Please see: Black list file (experimental) for more details.

off
BOOST_ROOT

where to find boost ( if non-standard installation  )

If not specified cmake will look for an environment variable of the same name.

 

The  C++  compilers are chosen by CMake. (This can be overwritten by setting the environment variables CXX on the command line before you call cmake, to the preferred compiler).

Further the variable CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS can be used to set compiler flags for optimisation or debugging. 

cd $WK
mkdir build; cd build;

# Go with defaults, this should build with CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
cmake .. 

# build release with debug info  
# cmake .. -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=RelWithDebInfo

# Override install prefix, build the most optimised executables 
# cmake .. -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/usr/local/apps/ecflow -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release  

# do not build the gui.
# cmake .. -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/usr/local/apps/ecflow -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DENABLE_GUI=OFF

# If you do not need the python api, use:
# cmake .. -DENABLE_PYTHON=OFF

# Use -j option to speed up compilation. Determine number of cpu's
CPUS=$(lscpu -p | grep -v '#' | wc -l)
make -j${CPUS}
make check
make install

If you experience problem with your installation, and need to fix your install of dependent libraries like QT,Python,Boost,gcc etc,  then it is VERY important that you delete the build directory and start cmake build again. (This is because cmake keeps a cache of your configuration, and re-uses this unless the build directory is deleted).

cd $WK
rm -rf build
mkdir build; cd build
cmake ..      # or use whatever cmake configuration you used before

To use the ecFlow Python Api , you need to add/change PYTHONPATH . 

 

export PYTHONPATH=$PYTHONPATH:<prefix>/4.7.0/lib/python2.7/site-packages/ecflow
# If you used the default's then <prefix>=/usr/local
# otherwise you should use whatever you entered for -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX, hence in the examples above we would have:
export PYTHONPATH=$PYTHONPATH:/usr/local/apps/ecflow/4.7.0/lib/python2.7/site-packages/ecflow 

Installing ecflow Python to a custom  directory

The default install for ecflow, will install python(if it was enabled) under the directory given to CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX.

However sometimes we may need to install the ecflow python module to a different prefix.(starting with release 4.3.0)

This can be done using:

cd $WK/build  # change to the build directory
cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/tmp/avi/custom/ecflow/4.7.0 -DCOMPONENT=python -P cmake_install.cmake -- make install  # install python module under /tmp/avi/custom/ecflow/4.7.0

 

ecflow_ui: Make a list servers accessible to all users

The GUI used by ecflow is called ecflow_ui.  This is used to interact and visualize the ecflow servers.

You can make the list of servers available for your users by: