Collaboration
This course is presented in collaboration with STEP-UP
Overview
This course aims to introduce the use of containers with the goal of using them to effect reproducible computational environments. Such environments are useful for ensuring reproducible research outputs and for simplifying the setup of complex software dependencies across different systems. The course will introduce the use of Podman and Apptainer containers but the material will be of use for whatever container technology you plan to, or end up, using. On completion of this course attendees should:
- Have an understanding of what Podman/Apptainer containers are, why they are useful and the common terminology used
- Have a working Podman installation on your local system to allow you to use containers
- Understand how to use existing container images for common tasks
- Be able to build your own Podman/Apptainer container images by understanding both the role of a Contianerfile recipe in building container images, and the syntax used in Contianerfiles
- Understand how to manage Podman/Apptainer containers on your local system
- Appreciate decisions that need to be made around containerising research workflows
- Understand the differences between Podman and Apptainer containers and why Apptainer is often more suitable for multi-user systems (e.g. HPC)
- Appreciate issues around reproducibility in software, understand how containers can address some of these issues and what the limits to reproducibility using containers are
Requirements:
Participants must bring a laptop with a Mac, Linux, or Windows operating system (not a tablet, Chromebook, etc.) that they have administrative privileges on.
They are also required to abide by the ARCHER2 Code of Conduct.
Timetable:
To follow