homebrew-bxtap : Linuxbrew tap for the BxCppDev software suite

Contents

• Introduction
• Installing Linuxbrew on your system
  • Installation steps for Ubuntu Linux 16.04 or 18.04
  • Test Linuxbrew after installation
  • Optional setup of temporary and cache directories
  • Build from source only
  • Number of jobs used in parallel build
  • Setup Linuxbrew
• Installation of the tap
  • Installation steps
  • Additional useful commands
• Note
• List of available formulas
  • Third party software
  • BxCppDev software projects
• Examples
  • Install the Bayeux last release step by step
  • Install Vire
• Useful links
• Miscellaneous

Introduction

This tap provides a set of Linuxbrew formulas to ease the installation of the software packages released by the BxCppDev group and try to solve software dependency issues. Linuxbrew is not the ultimate solution to solve package installation and dependency problems. It can be very useful and practical but it may also add some software management complexity and issues on some particular environment.

We assume you have installed Linuxbrew on your system. Our philosophy is not to activate Linuxbrew per default but only when it is needed on your system, mainly to use the tools provided by the BxCppDev group. Recommended Linuxbrew installation and setup procedures are given below.

Ubuntu Linux (current release: 18.04 LTS) being our main development system, we give here some installation and configuration hints for this environment. In principle, the procedures explained below should work on other Linux distros, maybe with some minor changes. However, it is very difficult for us to guarantee it will work for your own system; we don't have the resources to check all existing operating systems and/or environments.

Installing Linuxbrew on your system

We strongly recommend that you work from a bare environment/shell which means that your PATH environment variable should be as short as possible and confined for a minimal system usage. Example from a bash shell on Ubuntu 18.04:

$ echo $PATH
/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/games:/usr/local/games:/snap/bin

Ideally the LD_LIBRARY_PATH environment variable should not be used at all, i.e. it should not be set in your default working environment from your .bashrc profile (see https://blogs.oracle.com/ali/avoiding-ldlibrarypath%3a-the-options). Our experience is that the use of LD_LIBRARY_PATH by end users in some arbitrary customer environment often ends with problems.

Installation steps for Ubuntu Linux 16.04 or 18.04

Here we assume you use a Bash shell:

1. Install system dependencies required to initiate properly the Linuxbrew installation:

   $ sudo apt-get install build-essential curl git python-setuptools ruby

2. In order to minimize the number of packages installed through Linuxbrew, the following system packages should also be installed on Ubuntu 18.04:

   • make
   • ninja-build
   • cmake
   • m4
   • autoconf
   • automake
   • libautomake
   • libtool
   • pkg-config
   • gettext
   • libreadline7, libreadline-dev
   • pandoc
   • python-docutils
   • doxygen
   • libexpat1, libexpat1-dev
   • libbz2-1.0, libbz2-dev, bzip2
   • zlib1g, zlib1g-dev
   • xz-utils
   • bison, libbison-dev
   • graphviz-dev, graphviz-doc, libgraphviz-dev
   • libgsl23, libgsl-dev, gsl-bin
   • libfreetype6, libfreetype6-dev
   • fontconfig, fontconfig-dev
   • libfontconfig1, libfontconfig1-dev
   • libxml2, libxml2-dev
   • openssl, libssl1.1-dev
   • sqlite

3. Clone the Linuxbrew GitHub repository:

   $ mkdir ${HOME}/Software/Linuxbrew
   $ cd ${HOME}/Software/Linuxbrew
   $ git clone https://github.com/Linuxbrew/brew.git linuxbrew

   Note: Here the HOME directory can be changed to any location of your filesystem for which you have write access and also enough available storage capacity, depending on which software you will need to manage through Linuxbrew (several Gb sounds reasonnable).

4. Edit your ~/.bashrc file and create a Bash setup function for Linuxbrew as well as a useful alias:

   function do_linuxbrew_setup()
   {
     echo >&2 "[info] do_linuxbrew_setup: Setup Linuxbrew..."
     if [ -n "${LINUXBREW_INSTALL_DIR}" ]; then
        echo >&2 "[warning] do_linuxbrew_setup: Linuxbrew is already setup!"
        return 1
     fi
     # Define the Linuxbrew installation path:
     export LINUXBREW_INSTALL_DIR="${HOME}/Software/Linuxbrew/linuxbrew"
     # ... and other useful paths:
     export PATH="${LINUXBREW_INSTALL_DIR}/bin:${PATH}"
     export MANPATH="${LINUXBREW_INSTALL_DIR}/share/man:${MANPATH}"
     export INFOPATH="${LINUXBREW_INSTALL_DIR}/share/info:${INFOPATH}"
     export PKG_CONFIG_PATH="${LINUXBREW_INSTALL_DIR}/lib/pkgconfig:${PKG_CONFIG_PATH}"
   
     ### Additional commands may be added from here:
     # -- Set the path to a download cache directory:
     # export HOMEBREW_CACHE=/some/directory/for/caching/brew/downloads
     # -- Set the path to a temporary working/build directory:
     # export HOMEBREW_TEMP=/some/directory/for/building/brew/driven/software/packages
     # -- Uncomment the following line to force Linuxbrew builds from source:
     # export HOMEBREW_BUILD_FROM_SOURCE=1
     # -- Uncomment the following line to set the number of parallel jobs during GNU make build:
     # export HOMEBREW_MAKE_JOBS=4
     # -- Uncomment the following line to activate ROOT 6:
     # source $(brew --prefix root6)/bin/thisroot.sh     # for 6.12.04
     # or
     # source $(brew --prefix root6)/libexec/thisroot.sh # for 6.08.06
   
     echo >&2 "[info] do_linuxbrew_setup: Linuxbrew is setup."
     return 0
   }
   export -f do_linuxbrew_setup
   alias linuxbrew_setup='do_linuxbrew_setup'

   This approach allows to setup Linuxbrew only on explicit demand from a given shell. IMHO, it is a bad practice to systematically load tons of paths to all the executable programs installed on your system. You end up with a very heavy environment, polluted by plenty of software that you won't use during a specific working session. Our credo is thus: Activate only what you will use!.

   So, when you want to use the Linuxbrew software, open a terminal and use the following alias (defined above):

   $ linuxbrew_setup

   Then your shell is ready to go further with Linuxbrew and the software it provides to you. When you are done with Linuxbrew and its embedded companions, simply terminate the shell. Of course, it is not a perfect approach and it may not cover all users' needs or ways of working. Feel free to adapt according to your needs.

Test Linuxbrew after installation

From a bare Bash shell, activate your Linuxbrew system:

$ export PATH="${HOME}/Software/Linuxbrew/linuxbrew/bin:${PATH}"

Then install a dummy package:

$ brew install hello  # Brew basic installation of the package 'hello'
...
$ which hello
/home/your-login/Software/Linuxbrew/linuxbrew/bin/hello
$ hello
Bonjour, le monde !

Optional setup of temporary and cache directories

Linuxbrew uses default locations to store downloaded files (default: ~/.cache/Homebrew/ on Linux) and temporary build directories (default: /tmp). It may occur these default paths are not suitable on your system or have not enough storage capacity. You can explicitely define dedicated directories to be used during the build process. For that, you can define the two following environment variables. Example:

$ mkdir -p /scratch/${USER}/Software/Linuxbrew/tmp.d
$ mkdir -p /scratch/${USER}/Software/Linuxbrew/cache.d
$ export HOMEBREW_TEMP=/scratch/${USER}/Software/Linuxbrew/tmp.d
$ export HOMEBREW_CACHE=/scratch/${USER}/Software/Linuxbrew/cache.d

Such lines can be added in the setup script shown above (in function do_linuxbrew_setup).

Build from source only

You may also want to force the installation of brew formulas from source only, including dependencies. In that case, it is possible to set the following environment variable:

$ export HOMEBREW_BUILD_FROM_SOURCE=1

This will prevent to install any brewed software from pre-compiled binary packages (bottles).

Number of jobs used in parallel build

You can check the number of cores on your Linux system using:

$ cat /proc/cpuinfo | grep ^processor | wc -l
4

This allows to define an optimal value for the HOMEBREW_MAKE_JOBS variable that will be used within Linuxbrew to force the number of parallel jobs during the build of any package; example:

$ export HOMEBREW_MAKE_JOBS=4

You may also want to use less or more jobs than the available cores but take care not to overload your system.

Setup Linuxbrew

Each time you need to use Linuxbrew and software packages managed by Linuxbrew, you should use the function:

$ do_linuxbrew_setup

or its alias:

$ linuxbrew_setup

Your PATH should then be updated to something like:

$ echo $PATH
/path/to/Linuxbrew/installation/directory/bin:/other/directories/in/your/path...

Thus the Linuxbrew binary path has the priority over other paths, including the system paths.

The brew executable will be available from:

$ which brew
/path/to/Linuxbrew/installation/directory/bin/brew

and you will be able to immediately enter a brew shell when needed:

$ brew sh

or use the brew command:

$ brew help

This is it! You are ready to enjoy Linuxbrew.

Installation of the tap

Once installed and setup Linuxbrew on your system, you can install/register the bxcppdev/homebrew-bxtap tap in your Linuxbrew repository. This tap will add a set of Linuxbrew formulas dedicated to the installation and usage of software provided by the BxCppDev group. This includes third party dependee software packages too.

Installation steps

1. Setup Linuxbrew:

   $ linuxbrew_setup

2. Register the bxcppdev/homebrew-bxtap tap in your Linuxbrew package manager:

   $ brew tap bxcppdev/homebrew-bxtap

   The tap is downloaded from https://github.com/BxCppDev/homebrew-bxtap.git and installed locally in your $(brew --prefix)/Library/Taps/bxcppdev/homebrew-bxtap directory.

Additional useful commands

A few more commands may be useful:

1. Prioritize the bxcppdev/homebrew-bxtap tap in your Linuxbrew package manager (see: http://docs.brew.sh/brew-tap.html):

   $ brew tap-pin bxcppdev/homebrew-bxtap

2. You can deregister the homebrew-bxtap tap from your Linuxbrew package manager:

   $ brew tap-unpin bxcppdev/homebrew-bxtap
   $ brew untap bxcppdev/homebrew-bxtap

   However, I expect the packages previously installed through the tap should meet issues in a short term.

Note

If you want to install a local copy of the tap, for example because you want, as a BxCppDev developper or contributor, to test a brand new formula, please run:

$ brew tap bxcppdev/homebrew-bxtap \
    file:///path/to/your/homebrew-bxtap/local/git/repo

You'll be able to locally debug and test a new formula from your local repository.

List of available formulas

You can print the list of supported formulas published by bxcppdev/bxtap :

$ brew search bxcppdev/bxtap/
...

Third party software

• Boost: The Boost C++ library. Installation of the 1.63 version:

  $ brew install bxcppdev/bxtap/boost

  Note: Linuxbrew/core provides its own Boost formulas.

• Camp: The Camp C++ reflection library. Installation of the 0.8.0 version:

  $ brew install bxcppdev/bxtap/camp

• CLHEP: The CLHEP C++ library for High Energy Physics. Installation of the 2.1.3.1 version:

  $ brew install bxcppdev/bxtap/clhep

  Note: Linuxbrew provides its own CLHEP formula.

• Qt5 base: The Qt5 C++ core libraries. Installation of the 5.10.0 version:

  $ sudo apt-get install libuuid1
  $ brew install bxcppdev/bxtap/qt5-base

  Note: Linuxbrew provides its own QT5 formula which conflicts with this qt5-base.

• Xerces-C: The Xerces-C XML parser. Installation of the 3.1.4_3 version:

  $ brew install bxcppdev/bxtap/xerces-c

  Note: Linuxbrew provides its own Xerces-C formula.

• Geant4: The Geant4 C++ toolkit for the simulation of the passage of particles through matter. Installation of the 9.6.4 version:

  $ brew install bxcppdev/bxtap/geant4  \
       --with-opengl-x11

  Note: Linuxbrew provides its own Geant4 formula.

• Root (version 6): The Root Data Analysis Framework. Installation of the 6.12.04_1 version:

  $ brew install bxcppdev/bxtap/root6

  Note: Here is a command to be used in order to properly setup ROOT 6.X. It can be added in the do_linuxbrew_setup function:

  $ . $(brew --prefix root6)/libexec/thisroot.sh

• Protobuf: The Protocol Buffers C++ and Java libraries. Installation of the 3.3.0 version:

  $ brew install bxcppdev/bxtap/protobuf [--with-java] [--with-brew-java]

  Note: Linuxbrew provides its own Protobuf formulas but they do not support Java.

BxCppDev software projects

• BxJsontools: The BxJsontools C++ library for JSON serialization. Installation of the 0.3 version (C++11):

  $ brew install bxcppdev/bxtap/bxjsontools [--without-test]

• BxRabbitMQ: The BxRabbitMQ C++ library for RabbitMQ client and server management. Installation of the 0.4 version:

  $ brew install bxcppdev/bxtap/bxrabbitmq [--with-manager]

• BxProtobuftools: The BxProtobuftools C++ library for Protocol Buffer based serialization. Installation of the 0.3.0 version:

  $ brew install bxcppdev/bxtap/bxprotobuftools

• BxDecay0: The BxDecay0 C++ library for Monte Carlo generation of nuclear decays (C++ port of the Fortran GENBB/Decay0 program). Installation of the 1.0.0 version:

  $ brew install bxcppdev/bxtap/bxdecay0

• Bayeux (last release): The Bayeux C++ library:

  $ brew install bxcppdev/bxtap/bayeux [--without-geant4]

  • Installation of Bayeux-3.2.0 :

    $ brew install bxcppdev/bxtap/[email protected] [--without-geant4]

• Vire : The Vire C++ library (not available yet).

Examples

Install the Bayeux last release step by step

• Install system dependencies (Ubuntu 16.04):

  $ sudo apt-get install libgl-dev
  $ sudo apt-get install libglu-dev
  $ sudo apt-get install libcups2-dev
  $ sudo apt-get install libxpm-dev
  $ sudo apt-get install libxft-dev
  $ sudo apt-get install libxml2-dev
  $ sudo apt-get install \
         gnuplot5 \
         gnuplot5-doc \
         gnuplot-mode \
         gnuplot5-x11

• Install system dependencies (Ubuntu 18.04):

  $ sudo apt-get install libgl1-mesa-dev
  $ sudo apt-get install libglu1-mesa-dev
  $ sudo apt-get install libcups2-dev
  $ sudo apt-get install libxpm-dev
  $ sudo apt-get install libxft-dev
  $ sudo apt-get install libxml2-dev
  $ sudo apt-get install libxmu-dev
  $ sudo apt-get install \
         gnuplot \
         gnuplot-doc \
         gnuplot-mode \
         gnuplot-x11

• Brew some Linuxbrew modules from source, step by step:

  $ export HOMEBREW_BUILD_FROM_SOURCE=1
  $ brew install bxcppdev/bxtap/gsl
  $ brew install bxcppdev/bxtap/doxygen
  $ brew install bxcppdev/bxtap/boost
  $ brew install bxcppdev/bxtap/camp
  $ brew install bxcppdev/bxtap/clhep
  $ brew install bxcppdev/bxtap/qt5-base
  $ brew install bxcppdev/bxtap/xerces-c
  $ brew install bxcppdev/bxtap/root6
  $ brew install bxcppdev/bxtap/geant4
  $ brew install bxcppdev/bxtap/bayeux

  or use explicitely the last Bayeux's tag:

  $ brew install bxcppdev/bxtap/[email protected]

• Installation with all dependencies automatically resolved and built from source:

  $ export HOMEBREW_BUILD_FROM_SOURCE=1
  $ brew install bxcppdev/bxtap/bayeux

Install Vire

1. Install system dependencies (Ubuntu 16.04):

   $ sudo apt-get install openjdk-8-jdk
   $ sudo apt-get install maven

2. Install system dependencies (Ubuntu 18.04):

   $ sudo apt-get install openjdk-11-jdk openjdk-11-jre openjdk-11-doc
   $ sudo apt-get install maven

3. Install dependencies:

   $ brew install bxcppdev/bxtap/protobuf
   $ brew install bxcppdev/bxtap/bxprotobuftools
   $ brew install bxcppdev/bxtap/bxjsontools
   $ brew install bxcppdev/bxtap/bxrabbitmq

4. Install Bayeux (Geant4 module is not required):

   $ brew install bxcppdev/bxtap/bayeux --without-geant4

5. Install Vire: NOT AVAILABLE YET.

Useful links

• Linuxbrew
  • Brew tap documentation
  • Brew formulas documentation
• SuperNEMO-DBD : original work on Linuxbrew support for Bayeux

Miscellaneous

• About Qt5:

  A brew formula is provided for a minimal installation of Qt5 from brew: bxcppdev/bxtap/qt5-base (see above).

  However, on Ubuntu 16.04, it is also possible to use the Qt5 system installation (version 5.5). Should the qt5-base tap fail to build, please make a try with the system Qt5 and then rebuild Bayeux. Typically, you should use:

  $ sudo aptitude install libqt5core5a
  $ sudo aptitude install libqt5gui5
  $ sudo aptitude install libqt5svg5
  $ sudo aptitude install libqt5svg5-dev
  $ sudo aptitude install libqt5widgets5
  $ sudo aptitude install qtbase5-dev
  $ sudo aptitude install qt5-default