Update Prerequisites for Different Platforms

building/prereq-centos7.md

@@ -1,108 +1,72 @@
-aliBuild prerequisites for CentOS 7
+aliBuild Prerequisites for CentOS 7
 ===================================
 
 <!-- Dockerfile UPLOAD_NAME alisw/o2-cc7 -->
 <!-- Dockerfile FROM centos:7 -->
 <!-- Dockerfile RUN rpmdb --rebuilddb && yum clean all -->
-For ALICE O2, our policy is [to support CERN CentOS 7 as our official deployment
-platform](https://indico.cern.ch/event/642232/#3-wp3-common-tools-and-softwar). CERN CentOS 7 is
-essentially a CentOS 7 with some more CERN-specific packages, so these instructions apply to the
-pristine CentOS 7 as well.
+For ALICE O2, CERN CentOS 7 (CC7)is the [officialy supported target platform](https://indico.cern.ch/event/642232/#3-wp3-common-tools-and-softwar). Since CC7 is CentOS 7 with additional CERN packages, instructions apply to vanilla CentOS 7 as well.
 
-As the primary supported platform, our [alidock](https://github.com/alidock/alidock/wiki)
-installation method is based on it. If you use alidock, you don't need to follow those
-prerequisites. The environment we provide is ready to use.
+## Install or Upgrade the Required Packages
 
-
-## Install or upgrade the required packages
-
-Install packages (one long line, just copy and paste it), as **root user**:
+With root permissions, i.e. `sudo` or as `root` install the prerequisites using:
 
 <!-- Dockerfile RUN_INLINE -->
 ```bash
-yum install -y python git mysql-devel curl curl-devel python python-devel python-pip bzip2 bzip2-devel unzip autoconf automake texinfo gettext gettext-devel libtool freetype freetype-devel libpng libpng-devel sqlite sqlite-devel ncurses-devel mesa-libGLU-devel libX11-devel libXpm-devel libXext-devel libXft-devel libxml2 libxml2-devel motif motif-devel kernel-devel pciutils-devel kmod-devel bison flex perl-ExtUtils-Embed environment-modules tk-devel
+yum install -y git mysql-devel curl curl-devel bzip2 bzip2-devel unzip autoconf automake texinfo gettext gettext-devel libtool freetype freetype-devel libpng libpng-devel sqlite sqlite-devel ncurses-devel mesa-libGLU-devel libX11-devel libXpm-devel libXext-devel libXft-devel libxml2 libxml2-devel motif motif-devel kernel-devel pciutils-devel kmod-devel bison flex perl-ExtUtils-Embed environment-modules tk-devel
 ```
 
-Now get a recent version of `pip` (the Python package manager): this is required for installing aliBuild and other Python dependencies. Do, always as **root user**:
-
-<!-- Dockerfile RUN_INLINE -->
-```
-curl -o /tmp/get-pip.py https://bootstrap.pypa.io/get-pip.py
-python /tmp/get-pip.py
-```
-
-Now get some Python dependencies (again **as root user**):
-
+## Python and pip
+AliBuild, our build tool, is installed via the python Package manager `pip`.
+In case  
+```bash
+pip3 show pip
+``` 
+returns `command not found` or similar, install `pip` with root permissions, i.e. `sudo` or as `root`:
 <!-- Dockerfile RUN_INLINE -->
 ```bash
-pip install matplotlib==2.0.2 numpy certifi ipython==5.1.0 ipywidgets ipykernel notebook metakernel pyyaml
+yum install -y python3-pip
+pip3 install --upgrade pip
 ```
 
+## Get or Update Developer Toolset 7
 
-## Get or update the compiler from Devtoolset
+We require a more recent set of compilers than shipped by the OS. They can be obtained via [Softawre
+Collections](https://www.softwarecollections.org/).
 
-The default compiler on CentOS 7 is quite old. Luckily, [Softawre
-Collections](https://www.softwarecollections.org/) has RPMs for recent versions of GCC.
-
-{% callout "Developer Toolset version" %}
-CC7 with the Developer Toolset is the default OS for ALICE O2 operations, therefore we take
-particular care about compatibility and upgrading our recommendations. Our policy is to never
-upgrade O2 to a newer compiler unless the corresponding Developer Toolset package is out and tested.
-
-Every recommendation change concerning the Develpoer Toolset versions is reviewed, discussed and
-voted. The **current situation (July 2018)** is:
-
-* [devtoolset-7](https://www.softwarecollections.org/en/scls/rhscl/devtoolset-7/) (GCC v7.3.1) is
-  the currently **approved and working** version for O2.
-
-**Please make sure your `devtoolset-7` is up-to-date!** Due to
-[a bug](https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1519073), versions of `devtoolset-7` with GCC
-v7.2.1 do not work.
-
-All versions other than the very latest `devtoolset-7` are to be considered unsupported.
-{% endcallout %}
-
-First off, enable Software Collections:
+The only supported Developer Toolset for ALICE software is `devtoolset-7`.
 
+With root permissions, i.e. `sudo` or as `root` enable software collections:
 <!-- Dockerfile RUN_INLINE -->
 ```bash
 yum install -y centos-release-scl
 yum-config-manager --enable rhel-server-rhscl-7-rpms
 ```
-
-Get the compiler with:
-
+Then, still with `root` permissions install compilers and developer tools via:
 <!-- Dockerfile RUN_INLINE -->
 ```bash
 yum install -y devtoolset-7
 ```
-
-Note that by default if you type now `gcc` at the prompt you will not see the new GCC! You need to
-enable it explicitly:
-
-<!-- Dockerfile RUN yum install -y vim-enhanced emacs-nox -->
-<!-- Dockerfile RUN rpmdb --rebuilddb && yum clean all -->
-<!-- Dockerfile RUN echo "source scl_source enable devtoolset-7" >> /etc/profile -->
-<!-- Dockerfile RUN echo "source scl_source enable devtoolset-7" >> /etc/bashrc -->
-<!-- Dockerfile RUN pip install alibuild -->
-<!-- Dockerfile RUN mkdir /lustre /cvmfs -->
-<!-- Dockerfile ENTRYPOINT ["/bin/bash"] -->
+By design these tools do not replace the standard tools shipped by the system and have to be enabled explicitly for every new shell session you open: 
 ```bash
 source scl_source enable devtoolset-7
 ```
-
-You can either do it in every shell manually, or add it to your `~/.bashrc` or `~/.bash_profile`. If
-you do so, the new GCC will always be enabled in every shell. This might not be desirable in some
-cases, so beware. Also, if you add this line to the shell configuration, this will be enabled in all
-new terminals (not the current one).
+If desired so, the above line can be added to your `~/.bashrc` or `~/.bash_profile`, so that tools shipped via devtoolset are automatically available in every shell. However beware that in some special cases that this might have undesired side effects. 
 
 You can check if you are running the correct version of GCC with:
 
 ```bash
 gcc --version
 ```
 
-It should report **GCC v7.3.1**.
+It should report `GCC v7.3.1`.
 
 You are now ready for [installing aliBuild and start building ALICE
 software](README.md#get-or-upgrade-alibuild)
+
+<!-- Dockerfile RUN yum install -y vim-enhanced emacs-nox -->
+<!-- Dockerfile RUN rpmdb --rebuilddb && yum clean all -->
+<!-- Dockerfile RUN echo "source scl_source enable devtoolset-7" >> /etc/profile -->
+<!-- Dockerfile RUN echo "source scl_source enable devtoolset-7" >> /etc/bashrc -->
+<!-- Dockerfile RUN pip install alibuild -->
+<!-- Dockerfile RUN mkdir /lustre /cvmfs -->
+<!-- Dockerfile ENTRYPOINT ["/bin/bash"] -->

building/prereq-fedora.md

@@ -1,51 +1,37 @@
-aliBuild prerequisites for Fedora 27
-====================================
+aliBuild prerequisites for Fedora
+=================================
 
-We support on a best-effort basis recent versions of Fedora as development platform. Currently
-supported version is Fedora 27. Other versions (older or newer) are to be considered not supported.
+<!-- Dockerfile UPLOAD_NAME alisw/o2-fedora31 -->
+<!-- Dockerfile FROM fedora:31 -->
+ALICE software on Fedora is supported on a best effort basis. There is no guarantee that software builds or runs correctly. Support requests might have low priority.
 
-{% callout "Fedora is bleeding-edge" %}
-Note that in general it is not so easy to support a distribution like Fedora due to its "bleeding
-edge" nature. Every new version tends to adopt new standards and packages very easily, requiring
-adjustments in our software chain. Such adjustments are, as per our
-[policy](https://indico.cern.ch/event/642232/#3-wp3-common-tools-and-softwar), are performed on a
-best-effort basis.
+## Install required system packages
 
-If you are a Fedora user, let us remind you once again that any version different than Fedora 27 is
-not supported at the moment. You might want to wait until we update our software chain and
-documentation before upgrading to a newer Fedora version. If you are impatient, you might want to
-use Docker with a supported OS (such as CentOS 7) as your development environment.
-{% endcallout %}
-
-
-## Corresponding Fedora container
-
-You can use Docker to run a Fedora environment even if your OS is different. Check out the official
-[Fedora images](https://hub.docker.com/_/fedora/). The image corresponding to a base Fedora 27
-installation is `fedora:27`.
-
-
-## Install or upgrade required packages
-
-Install packages (one long line, just copy and paste it), as **root user**:
+With root permissions, i.e. `sudo` or as `root` install the prerequisites using:
 
+<!-- Dockerfile RUN_INLINE -->
 ```bash
-dnf install -y git python mysql-devel curl curl-devel python python-devel python-pip bzip2 bzip2-devel unzip autoconf automake texinfo gettext gettext-devel libtool freetype freetype-devel libpng libpng-devel sqlite sqlite-devel ncurses-devel mesa-libGLU-devel libX11-devel libXpm-devel libXext-devel libXft-devel libxml2 libxml2-devel motif motif-devel kernel-devel pciutils-devel kmod-devel bison flex perl-ExtUtils-Embed environment-modules which gcc-gfortran gcc-c++ swig rsync
+dnf install -y git python mysql-devel curl curl-devel bzip2 bzip2-devel unzip autoconf automake texinfo gettext gettext-devel libtool freetype freetype-devel libpng libpng-devel sqlite sqlite-devel ncurses-devel mesa-libGLU-devel libX11-devel libXpm-devel libXext-devel libXft-devel libxml2 libxml2-devel motif motif-devel kernel-devel pciutils-devel kmod-devel bison flex perl-ExtUtils-Embed environment-modules which gcc-gfortran gcc-c++ swig rsync make
 ```
 
-**Note:** at the time of writing (February 2018), our current software does not support OpenSSL 1.1,
-therefore it is necessary to install the following two compatibility packages with the
-`--allowerasing` option:
-
+## Python and pip
+AliBuild, our build tool, is installed via the python Package manager `pip`.
+In case  
 ```bash
-dnf install compat-openssl10-devel compat-openssl10 --allowerasing
-```
-
-Now get some Python dependencies (again **as root user**):
-
+pip3 show pip
+``` 
+returns `command not found` or similar, install `pip` with root permissions, i.e. `sudo` or as `root`:
+<!-- Dockerfile RUN_INLINE -->
 ```bash
-pip install matplotlib numpy certifi ipython==5.1.0 ipywidgets ipykernel notebook metakernel pyyaml
+dnf install -y python3-pip
+pip3 install --upgrade pip
 ```
 
 You are now ready for [installing aliBuild and start building ALICE
 software](README.md#get-or-upgrade-alibuild)
+
+<!-- Dockerfile RUN dnf install -y vim-enhanced emacs-nox -->
+<!-- Dockerfile RUN dnf clean all -->
+<!-- Dockerfile RUN pip install alibuild -->
+<!-- Dockerfile RUN mkdir /lustre /cvmfs -->
+<!-- Dockerfile ENTRYPOINT ["/bin/bash"] -->