Reviewing procedure for easyconfig updates

[bedroesb]

Hello

Many tools that get wrapped get regular updates, and it is sometimes difficult to keep track of them all. Is there a suggested interval to update packages?

Reason why I'm asking is that I made this PR in the past, and by now it is outdated... and I wonder if it is even still worth now ... because maybe I bring it to the latest update today, but next month, if it doesn't get reviewed, it is outdated again.

Any tips on this and how to get my PR reviewed? PR that is hanging: #25088

[Thyre]

Is there a suggested interval to update packages?

It depends on the toolchain (generation) you're targeting. Most of the time, a toolchain generation only has one version of a particular software (e.g. HDF5, GCC, LLVM or Mesa). For software which no other software depends on (e.g. GROMACS), additional versions can be added.

For SYSTEM EasyConfigs, there's no defined interval in how often packages are updated. CUDA for example has almost every version, NVHPC is missing some.

Any tips on this and how to get my PR reviewed?

Unfortunately, maintainers only have a limited amount of time, so PRs might get overlooked. This certainly can be frustrating, absolutely agreed.
If you're able to join the EasyBuild Slack, I'd definitely recommend mentioning your PR in the #merge_sprint channel. While this does not guarantee that your PR will be looked at immediately, this makes other people / maintainers more aware of your contribution.

Uploading test reports (see here) for your contributions also helps significantly.

Also pinging @boegel here, for awareness.

[bedroesb]

@Thyre thanks a lot for this detailed response! This helps for future updates and let me have a look at the slack channel, since I don't want to randomly tag big contributors in my PR's, so flagging it there sounds more future proof. I appreciate the efforts put into this project!