Bug#575259: mpi-default-dev doesn't ensure that the right implementation is used

[Thibaut Paumard]

Package: mpi-default-dev
Version: 0.6
Severity: normal
Tags: patch

As discussed on [1]debian-science, the way mpi-default-dev works does  
not ensure
that the right MPI implementation is used.  For instance, if libmpich2- 
dev is
installed on the system, it will _always_ be used by default because  
it has the
same priority as OpenMPI and sorts before OpenMPI in lexicological  
order.

Several solutions were [2]discussed. The easiest and most robust is to  
conflict
with all the non-default implementations of mpi-dev.  A smoother  
solution is to
provide links like "mpicc.default" pointing to the right  
implementation, and
install them as alternatives for mpicc et al. with a high priority.  
This should
always work on buildds but leaves a possibility to build with the wrong
implementation on a box where the admin has set the alternative  
manually.

I provide a patch implementing the first of these two solutions.

Best regards, Thibaut.

[1] http://lists.debian.org/debian-science/2010/03/msg00033.html
[2] http://lists.debian.org/debian-science/2010/03/msg00056.html

-- System Information:
Debian Release: squeeze/sid
   APT prefers unstable
   APT policy: (500, 'unstable'), (1, 'experimental')
Architecture: i386 (i686)

Kernel: Linux 2.6.32-trunk-686 (SMP w/1 CPU core)
Locale: LANG=fr_FR.UTF-8, LC_CTYPE=fr_FR.UTF-8 (charmap=UTF-8)
Shell: /bin/sh linked to /bin/dash

Versions of packages mpi-default-dev depends on:
ii  libopenmpi-dev                1.4.1-2    high performance message  
passing l

mpi-default-dev recommends no packages.

mpi-default-dev suggests no packages.

-- debconf-show failed

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: mpi-default-dev_conflict_other_implementations.diff
Type: application/octet-stream
Size: 2150 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lists.alioth.debian.org/pipermail/debian-science-maintainers/attachments/20100324/9ed0903d/attachment.obj>