[petsc-dev] merging PETSc and BuildSystem packages

[Barry Smith]

   Can we “merge” the BuildSystem and PETSc package.py and put all the packages/*.py together in one place?  It seems arbitrary in which each package is and having these differences make enhancing and simplifying the system difficult. 

   Here specifically is what I propose. 

1) Introduce a CMakePackage much like GNUPackage for packages that use CMake 

2) “Fix” all the BuildSystem/config/packages/*.py to modern standards using GNUPackage and CMakePackage when possible. This would include adding MPICH.py and OpenMPI.py to handle those installs.

3) Move the PETSc/packages/*.py one at a time over to the config/packages.py location, updating to follow modern standards and use GNUPackage or CMakePackage as needed.

   Now, about versioning? I think it is too much to maintain full information about versions of all packages and which work with which but the current system where we keep no information is troublesome (for example MUMPS doesn’t currently work in our suite). BuildSystem should at least know which combinations are not currently workable and why.  Currently we track the “latest” version of some packages but for other ones we don’t always update to the latest so we are somewhat as guilty as the MUMPS folks.

  Barry