Conda is an open source package management system and environment management system. Conda as a package manager helps you find and install packages. If you need a package that requires a different version of Python, you do not need to switch to a different environment manager, because conda is also an environment manager. With just a few commands, you can set up a totally separate environment to run that different version of Python, while continuing to run your usual version of Python in your normal environment.
As Pinnacle is a shared system, you don’t have the ability to add software to “system space”, thus it must go into your /home space.
Conda environments or “envs” essentially provide “a place for everything, and everything in its place!”
Rather than just dumping everything in one big pile and then trying to ascertain what you’ve installed, it makes much more sense to have groups of similar software together. One can (and should) also create a unique env for the more complex packages with lots of “moving parts” such as most assemblers.
To get started…
$ module load python/anaconda-3.8 $ source /share/apps/bin/conda-3.8.sh
So…just a few caveats/warnings for using conda: