[mesa-users] using MESA for education

[Bill Paxton]

I love the name, "MESA-on-a-stick".  We have to do it just because the name is so great.  ;D

With that scheme, how do you deal with file output from mesa?   Where does it go?


On Jun 9, 2014, at 9:55 AM, Dean Townsley wrote:

> I also saw having the students get familiar with the MESA environment as 
> part of the learning process.  I think any piece of "real" custom 
> scientific software, which a physics grad is not unlikely to encounter 
> once they get a real job or go into research, is going to have a similar 
> level of "special needs" for its required runtime environment or 
> possibly moreso.  They may get lucky and just have the appropriate thing 
> on hand or already installed for them, or they may be handed what some 
> other person had set up but is no longer working and just have to figure 
> it out.
> 
> But it concerns me that although I suggested the memory stick option to 
> students who were starting with a windows-only PC, most of them opted 
> for dual-boot instead, and without doing the appropriate preparatory 
> backups and such.  It worked out for these particular students, but it 
> could have gone very wrong.
> 
> As a result, I think more prudence on my part is critical so that they 
> better understand the risks involved.  Realistically I should not help a 
> student install linux dual boot on a PC until I have ensured that they 
> have 1) backed up all their own data, 2) backed up or have installation 
> media for any software they have on the computer that they need, and 3) 
> made recovery disks per their vendor's instructions.  (Actually there is 
> a fair chance that the student will have no idea how to make recovery 
> disks, as vendors are not always clear on this.)  Really these are not 
> strange "extra" safety measures, it is simple standard procedure for 
> repartitioning.  I would never repartition my own machine without having 
> taken these steps, so I shouldn't recommend, let alone assist, someone 
> else to do it either.  I think when faced with the choice of doing all 
> this or buying a $15 USB stick, many students will just buy the stick.  
> Especially if there is a pre-canned "MESA-on-a-stick" installation!
> 
> Dean
> 
> 
> On 06/08/2014 08:08 PM, James Lloyd wrote:
>> Hi All,
>> 
>> Although I have not taught a course using MESA, I have taught a course that focusses on astronomical computing/data analysis.  In early versions of the course, the students worked in a pre-built and carefully controlled environment on lab computers.  More recently, the students use their own laptops and have to install python/IDL and learn how to install all the extra packages they will need.  All that futzing around with installations and compilers _is_ at least as important as the rest of it to get going in research, so I let it be one of the skills learned in the course.
>> 
>> Give a student compiled code and you feed him for a day, teach a student to install a compiler and he's running code for a lifetime, or something like that...
>> 
>> Regards,
>> 
>> James
>> 
>> On Jun 8, 2014, at 8:52 PM, Bill Paxton wrote:
>> 
>>> On Jun 8, 2014, at 5:43 PM, Josiah Schwab wrote:
>>> 
>>>> On  8 June 2014 at 12:14 PDT, Dean Townsley wrote:
>>>> 
>>>>> My suggestion would be to provide a "live DVD" that can be put on a DVD
>>>>> or USB stick and booted on a PC.  One that would contain a linux
>>>>> distribution with MESA pre-built and setup.  Then the student could just
>>>>> grab some inlists from dropbox or a website and go.  Ideally there might
>>>>> be some user data area on a USB stick too.  Or just put important things
>>>>> back on dropbox.
>>>> As is, MESA (9GB) can't fit on a DVD (4GB).
>>> 
>>> How big is it if you don't send all of mesa but instead just what is needed to run mesa/star.
>>> 
>>> no source code.  tar files for data.
>>> 
>>> i bet you could get that on a DVD.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>>> Does anyone have any experience running MESA in a VM (e.g., VirtualBox)?
>>>> Any idea how much of a performance hit there is?
>>>> 
>>>> A VM image would have the advantage of not requiring the students to
>>>> provide any installation media.
>>>> 
>>>> Josiah
>>>> 
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> 
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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> http://www.hpccsystems.com
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