SoftEnv is a system designed to make it easier for users to define
what applications they want to use, and it allows administrators to
make applications available to users.
Its commands are independent
of the user's shell,
so both tcsh and bash users can use the same commands to change the
environment.
SoftEnv uses a file called .soft created in your home directory.
In this file, the desired user environment
is described using a set of keywords. These keywords are read by SoftEnv when
you log in and are expanded into a set of
environment variables. SoftEnv uses a database managed by the system
administrators to decide how to build your environment.
Details are available on the
An introduction to the SoftEnv system and how to use it page.
Note: You may be accustomed to the use of shell startup files
(.cshrc, .bashrc, etc.) to set your environment on other Unix systems.
SoftEnv is an alternative
to this, and with a few exceptions (outlined below), we
recommend using the
.soft file to set up your environment.
Useful SoftEnv Commands
- To list the available SoftEnv keywords, type softenv.
This command lists the SoftEnv keywords available along with a short
description.
- To see what environment changes are made by a particular keyword, use
the soft-dbq command.
For example, for keyword +totalview on the Xeon cluster, tungsten:
[tund ~]$ soft-dbq +totalview
This is all the information associated with
the key or macro +totalview.
-------------------------------------------
Name: +totalview
Description: Totalview Debugger from Etnus
Flags: none
Groups: none
Exists on: linux-rh9-ia32
-------------------------------------------
On the linux-rh9-ia32 architecture,
the following will be done to the environment:
The following environment changes will be made:
MANPATH = ${MANPATH}:/usr/apps/tools/toolworks/totalview/man
PATH = ${PATH}:/usr/apps/tools/toolworks/totalview/bin
TOTALVIEW = /usr/apps/tools/toolworks/totalview/bin/totalview
TOTALVIEW_HOME = /usr/apps/tools/toolworks/totalview
TVDSVRLAUNCHCMD = ssh
-------------------------------------------
Note: Use "-a `/bin/whatami`" with the soft-dbq command to limit the
output to information for the NCSA TG IA-64 cluster (mercury). The following
is example output for running soft-dbq to find out what the
keyword +intel-compilers does on mercury:
[tg-login2 ~]$ soft-dbq -a `/bin/whatami` +intel-compilers
This is all the information associated with
the key or macro +intel-compilers.
-------------------------------------------
Name: +intel-compilers
Description: Default Intel Compilers
Flags: none
Groups: none
Exists on: linux-debian_unstable-ia32 linux-sles8-ia32 linux-sles8-ia64
-------------------------------------------
On the linux-sles8-ia64 architecture,
the following will be done to the environment:
The following environment changes will be made:
INTEL_HOME = /opt/intel/compiler80
LD_LIBRARY_PATH = ${LD_LIBRARY_PATH}:/opt/intel/compiler80/lib
MANPATH = ${MANPATH}:/opt/intel/compiler80/man:/opt/intel/idb73/man
NLSPATH = /opt/intel/compiler80/lib/%N
PATH = ${PATH}:/opt/intel/compiler80/bin:/opt/intel/idb73/bin
-------------------------------------------
- To see the environment created by a particular macro, also use
the soft-dbq command.
[tund ~]$ soft-dbq @default
This is all the information associated with
the key or macro @default.
-------------------------------------------
Name: @default
Description: The recommended and complete path settings for tungsten.
Flags: none
Groups: none
Exists on: linux-rh9-ia32
-------------------------------------------
@default contains the following
keywords and macros:
@tun-1.1
-------------------------------------------
[tund ~]$ soft-dbq @tun-1.1
This is all the information associated with
the key or macro @tun-1.1.
-------------------------------------------
Name: @tun-1.1
Description: Tungsten Software Stack v1.1
Flags: useful
Groups: none
Exists on: linux-rh9-ia32
-------------------------------------------
@tun-1.1 contains the following
keywords and macros:
+krb5 +champion-pro-2.1.0-1tgm2 +system +tun-environment-1.0 +lsf @grid +gm
+softenv +intel-c-9.0.026-r1 +intel-mkl +pgi60 +afs +local_adm +dot_last
-------------------------------------------
- To set/reset the environment in the current shell to what is
specified in the .soft file, type resoft.
The resoft command immediately applies changes in the .soft file to the
current environment. It also removes changes you've previously made to the
environment via the "soft add" or "soft delete" commands.
- If you need to reset your .soft file to the system default,
remove your .soft file and log out. When you log back in, a
new .soft file will be created for you.
- To temporarily change your environment to prepend particular
software in the current shell only, use the soft add command.
(i.e., any added software will take precedence over everything else in your
environment.)
For example, the command:
soft add +intel-compilers71
will change your environment in the current shell to access the Intel version
7.1 compilers.
This command can be added to your batch script in order to change your
environment for a single job.
The following illustrates the change on the SGI Altix, cobalt:
[co-login1 ~]$ which ecc
/usr/local/intel/9.0.033/bin/ecc
[co-login1 ~]$ soft add +intel-compilers71
[co-login1 ~]$ which ecc
/usr/local/intel/7.1.044/compiler70/ia64/bin/ecc
-
To temporarily change your environment to append particular software
in the current shell only, use the soft append command.
i.e., any added software will be at the end of your $PATH, etc.
- To undo the changes made by a soft add or soft append command, use
the soft delete or resoft commands.
Example: To go back to the default, run
soft delete +intel-compilers71
[co-login1 ~]$ which ecc
/usr/local/intel/7.1.044/compiler70/ia64/bin/ecc
[co-login1 ~]$ soft delete +intel-compilers71
[co-login1 ~]$ which ecc
/usr/local/intel/9.0.033/bin/ecc
Note: Only use resoft if you want to completely return to
the environment as defined in your .soft file. Use the
soft delete command to undo a single soft add (or soft append on SGI Altix cobalt) command.
- To include particular software in the environment for
all new shells, you must edit your $HOME/.soft file.
For example, to change your environment to use the Intel version 7.1 compilers,
add the line +intel-compilers71 to the beginning of your .soft
file.
The following illustrates the changes:
#
# This is the .soft file.
# It is used to customize your environment by setting up environment
# variables such as PATH and MANPATH.
# To learn what can be in this file, use 'man softenv'.
#
#
+intel-compilers71
@default
Note: Order is important. If you put the Intel 7.1 compiler keyword at the end
of your .soft file, the changes will be appended instead of prepended
meaning that the default Intel compilers will be first in your path instead
of version 7.1.
- To permanently set an environment variable that is not
set in a SoftEnv keyword, add a SoftEnv assignment statement to
your .soft file.
For example, to set an environment variable called NEWVAR:
#
# This is the .soft file.
# It is used to customize your environment by setting up environment
# variables such as PATH and MANPATH.
# To learn what can be in this file, use 'man softenv'.
#
#
@default
NEWVAR = "value"
Note that this is equivalent to the following shell commands:
csh: setenv NEWVAR "value"
bash: export NEWVAR="value"
- To permanently add a directory to the end of a path variable
(i.e. PATH, MANPATH, etc) that can not be
added by using a SoftEnv keyword, use a "+=" SoftEnv statement at the end
of your .soft file.
For example, to add ${HOME}/last to the end of your path:
#
# This is the .soft file.
# It is used to customize your environment by setting up environment
# variables such as PATH and MANPATH.
# To learn what can be in this file, use 'man softenv'.
#
#
@default
PATH += ${HOME}/last
Note that this is equivalent to the shell commands:
csh: setenv PATH ${PATH}:${HOME}/last
bash: export PATH=${PATH}:${HOME}/last
- To permanently add a directory to the front of a path variable
(i.e. PATH, MANPATH, etc) that can not
be added by using a SoftEnv keyword, use a "+=" SoftEnv statement
at the beginning of your .soft file.
For example, to add ${HOME}/first to the beginning of your path:
#
# This is the .soft file.
# It is used to customize your environment by setting up environment
# variables such as PATH and MANPATH.
# To learn what can be in this file, use 'man softenv'.
#
#
PATH += ${HOME}/first
@default
Note that this is equivalent to the shell commands:
csh: setenv PATH ${HOME}/first:${PATH}
bash: export PATH=${HOME}/first:${PATH}
Exceptions to setting your environment in SoftEnv
The following are examples that will have to go in your shell-dependent
startup file (${HOME}/.cshrc or ${HOME}/.bashrc).
- setting aliases
- any environments set via the use of shell programming
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