2022 09 26 Open NEST Developer Video Conference

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Agenda

1. Welcome
2. Review of NEST User Mailing List
3. Project team round
4. In-depth discussion
   • Hackathon
   • Kernel parameter documentation, see #2469
   • PR and Issue Review

Mailing list

• https://nest-simulator.org/mailinglist

Project team round

Here we discuss topics that need broader attention, for example questions that came up but are outside a single project's scope, larger planned changes/PRs that affect all teams or pending work that is blocked by external factors.

1. Models / NESTML
   • working on SpiNNaker backend with higher priority
     • in contact with experts for fix-point math implementation
2. NEST GPU
   • work on building phase ongoing
   • improving docs and CI setup
3. PyNEST
   • no major updates, work as usual
4. NEST Desktop
   • no major updates
   • presented NEST Desktop on Bernstein Conference
   • YouTube Video
   • planning to improve interface to model documentation next
     • currently only showing plain text
     • move to rendered online docs
5. Kernel
   • investigating performance behavior in specific thread setups
   • more technical documentation required for these deep refactorings
   • code updates to newer syntax/structures (clang-tidy + manual)
     • no semantic and no functional code changes
     • MacOS suite failing for unknown reason – to be investigated
     • reviewers very welcome!
   • main update loop should be refactored
   • implementing NEST SONATA interface, looking into optimizations
6. Installation & Infrastructure
   • CI chain cross server-type (github -- gitlab) with feed-back now possible
7. Documentation
   • work as usual
   • updates to be included in the next release
   • need to clear blocking issue for 3.4 milestone
8. EBRAINS
   • freeze of EBRAINS software stack planned beginning of October
   • aim to get 3.4 into next EBRAINS release

In-depth discussion

Hackathon

• Nov28–Dec2 (week after HBP CodeJam), planned in-person at Forschungszentrum Jülich
• main goal: developer centric hackathon to close as many open ends as possible and release 3.4
• Stay tuned! Short deadlines for quick setup.

PR and Issue Review

• online review session in second half of October to prepare for Hackathon
• poll will come (DT)

Issue #2406 Lack of parallelization of step_current_generator

• currently implemented a workaround by building a new neuron model
• NESTML example models directly in NESTML
• planning to create an extension module, since implementation directly in NEST could give combinatorial problems

Kernel parameter documentation, see #2469

• Same information is present in C++/doxygen and the PyNEST interface
• generally pynest and C++ documentation different, but kernel parameters are exactly the same (!)
• separate into specific discussion in NEST Doc team, invite all interested && relevant people!