The Software Complexity Puzzle

Abstract: Installing and using software can be seamless... until you get a build error with an error message about a missing symbol or segmentation fault! In this talk, "The Software Complexity Puzzle" I'll introduce some work at Lawrence Livermore National Lab that aims to account for binary compatibility during software installation. I'll introduce the idea of application binary interfaces (ABI) and compatibility, and examples of what can go wrong when you aren't careful about checking your binaries for ABI issues. Along with ABI we will talk about ELF, DWARF, and linking, and I won't tell you in advance if I'm making Lord of the Rings references or something else! Bring your ears, brain, and sense of humor to join me in this engaging talk.

Bio: Vanessa Sochat is a Computer Scientist in Lawrence Livermore National Lab and a research software engineer for over a decade. She received her PhD in Biomedical Informatics from Stanford University, and has done extensive work in Open Source developing container technologies, supporting tools, and fostering open source communities. She founded and hosts the Research Software Engineer Stories podcast and is an active member of the US Research Software Engineer Association, along with the Open Container Initiative. In her current role, she is studying ABI compatibility in the context of containers and solvers. In her free time, Vanessa likes working on fun programming projects, learning new programming languages, running fast, and eating avocados.

https://cuboulder.zoom.us/j/190280621