Overriding Software Versions

Overview

Most of the software titles installed in the SBGrid software collection have several versions available. We try to provide at least three versions of each software package, although very old or very new applications may have fewer versions.

Display Available Software Versions

You can display a list of available software versions for your particular platform using the  sbgrid utility:  _s_bgrid -l. From a Linux machine, a search for CCP4 versions looks like this:

$ sbgrid -l ccp4 Version information for: /programs/x86_64-linux/ccp4 
Default version: 6.4.0 
In-use version: 6.4.0 
Other available versions: 6.3.0 6.2.0 
Overrides use this shell variable: CCP4_X

Running sbgrid -L will display the available versions for the three current platforms (OS X PowerPC and Intel, Linux). The output below uses the gnuplot application as an example:

$ sbgrid -L gnuplot Version information for: /programs/x86_64-linux/gnuplot 
Default version: 4.6.4 
In-use version: 4.6.4 
Other available versions: 4.6.0 4.4.3 4.2.6 
Overrides use this shell variable: GNUPLOT_X 

Version information for: /programs/i386-linux/gnuplot 
Default version: 4.6.0 
Other available versions: 4.4.3 4.2.6 
Overrides use this shell variable: GNUPLOT_L 

Version information for: /programs/i386-mac/gnuplot 
Default version: 4.6.4 
Other available versions: 4.4.3 4.2.6 4.6.0 
Overrides use this shell variable: GNUPLOT_M

Overriding Default Versions

To override the default version of a software title, you will need to create an override file. The shell configuration scripts will read this file and override the default version.

The override file is named .sbgrid.conf and should be found in your $HOME directory. The syntax for overrides is a simple key=value pair. E.G. it should look like this:

APPLICATION_X=1.2

APPLICATION_X is the name of the application followed by an underscore and the shorthand initial for the architecture. The last field on the line is the software version number you want to use. The initials for each software branch are:

Software Directory	Shorthand Initial
powermac	_P
x86_64-linux	_X
i386-mac	_M

To open the overrides file in your default $EDITOR, run this command:_ _sbgrid-overrides -e.

When you open a new shell, you will see a message about the overridden version. Note that a site administrator can create site-wide or machine- specific overrides as well.

The example output below shows a default version change for CCP4 on Linux:

 Configuration options in effect for this shell: Variable Setting Configuration CCP4_M 6.3.0 personal 

Disabling a Software Package

To disable a specific software package, set its version to “disable” in your ~/.sbgrid.conf file.