Installing FEniCS in Ubuntu

[dokken]

@howstheJosh

1. Use the Ubuntu PPA binary packages and install using the apt package manager.
2. Use the debian version of Dolfinx and use apt.
3. Install Docker and using the Docker images to run the container.

Please correct me at this point if I am wrong.

There are quite a few more options, as highlighted in GitHub - FEniCS/dolfinx: Next generation FEniCS problem solving environment

@howstheJosh

I have personally tried method 3 and have the run the container for the Jupyter notebook as per the original FEniCS tutorial page and got it to work. My doubt now lies in what happens when the normal container or image is used. Does the container basically produce a local version of the build which I can then access?

I would suggest having a look at:

Saving files & library in fenicsx environment

You are here mixing two different ways of using DOLFINx: Using conda; This creates a virtual environment on your computer. If you install jupyterlab in conda, you can use it without having to consider sharing files (as you are on your own system). Using docker. Docker creates a virtual machine, which has its own file system, and you would have to share directories (mount volumes in docker-lingo) to being able to save them. Also, as you do not give your docker container a name when you start …

@howstheJosh

Finally, would the dolfinx container need to be running when I am writing my program or only during any compilation?

You can start and stop a container with a name by calling docker container start -i name_of_container docker container stop name_of_container