Software Setup Instructions for 2018 Hall A & C Data Analysis Workshop¶

In order to run the interactive tutorials, certain software must be available to you:

• bash (shell)
• git (version control)
• ROOT with Python bindings
• Hall C analyzer (hcana)
• Python 2.7 and/or 3.4+, ideally both
• Various Python packages, all available via pip:
  • numpy
  • scipy
  • matplotlib
  • pandas
  • uproot
  • ipython
  • notebook

Scripts and data files can be downloaded/accessed over the network during the workshop.

There are essentially three approaches to get a usable software environment, in order of preference:

1. Recommended: Use our pre-configured Virtual Machine Image for VirtualBox. This will yield consistent results on all supported platforms (Windows, macOS, recent Linuxes), but will consume significantly more system resources than a native installation. The installation of VirtualBox may be challenging on some Linux systems.
2. Install all required software locally on your machine. This will yield the fastest performance, but may be time-consuming and error-prone. Installation on Windows can be challenging since much of the software and scripts is designed for a Unix-like environment. Recommended for advanced users.
3. Access a machine with a suitable environment remotely, e.g. the JLab ifarm systems. This is a last resort since performance will be lower and there may still be compatibility problems. For graphics, your system requires an X server installed locally.

If your machine is reasonably powerful (e.g. i5 CPU, 4+ GB RAM, 30-40 GB free disk space) and runs a recent OS, your best bet is probably our Virtual machine since the environment is completely set up and configured for the workshop exercises. Please see the linked page for detailed instructions.

If you feel comfortable installing software on your system and/or you already have much of the required software available, option 2. may be for you. You can find some guidance here:

• JLab 2018 Software Carpentry Workshop Setup Instructions (covers bash, git and Python, even for Windows)
• Hall A ROOT Installation Guide
• Hall C Analyzer Installation Guide

Please start well in advance of the workshop.

Connecting to ifarm or some other remote system (e.g. your office desktop) requires an ssh client with X forwarding and an X server. For using ROOT on ifarm, see the CUE ROOT documentation. ifarm is missing ipython and notebook, however, and pip is not available to perform user-level package installation, so some exercises will not work. As mentioned, do this as a last resort.

Please contact Ole Hansen (ole@jlab.org) with questions.