Mathematica

Overview

Mathematica is an integrated technical computing environment which combines numeric and symbolic compute engines, a graphics system, a programming language, a documentation system and connectivity to other programs. Mathematica may be used for handling complex symbolic calculations involving millions of terms, analyzing and visualizing data, numerical modeling and simulation, rapid application development, producing publication-quality output and presentations.

Version 11.1.1, 10.0.2 and 8.0.4 is currently installed on the CSF.

Set up procedure

To set up the Mathematica environment you need to issue the following command

module load apps/binapps/mathematica/11.1.1

OR

module load apps/binapps/mathematica/10.0.2

OR

module load apps/binapps/mathematica/8.0.4

Running the application interactively

To run Mathematica 8 interactively you should first log into the CSF using the -X switch as follows

ssh -X -l username csf.itservices.manchester.ac.uk

Next, load the Mathematica modulefile

module load apps/binapps/mathematica/11.1.1

Finally, run Mathematica via qrsh

qrsh -V -l inter -l twoday mathematica

• Further information about how to start X-Windows and GUI applications on the CSF.
• More details concerning qrsh

Serial batch job submission

It is not possible to run Mathematica .nb files in batch mode. Instead, you must create a text-only file containing your Mathematica program. For example, create a text file called myprog.m containing the following

Table[
 NIntegrate[Sin[x^n], {x, 1, 10}, MaxRecursion -> 1000]
 , {n, 1, 70}]

A suitable SGE submission script, mathematica_job.sge, for the above would be

#$ -cwd
#$ -j y
#$ -V
math < myprog.m > out.txt

Note that the executable that runs your script is math (i.e. the Mathematica Kernel) and not mathematica (The notebook interface)

To run the above job you should first load the Mathematica modulefile (if you haven’t already)

module load apps/binapps/mathematica/11.1.1

and then use qsub

qsub mathematica_job.sge

Parallel batch job submission

A parallel version of myprog.m is

LaunchKernels[4];
ParallelTable[
  NIntegrate[Sin[x^n], {x, 1, 10}, MaxRecursion -> 1000], {n, 1, 70}] // AbsoluteTiming
CloseKernels[];

A suitable submission script is

#$ -cwd
#$ -j y
#$ -V
## The number on the pe line (number of cores) **must** match the number you set in LaunchKernels[]
#$ -pe smp.pe 4
math < myprog.m > out.txt

Note that the only difference is the -pe switch. Job submission is similar to that of serial jobs: Load the module and use qsub.

Further info

• IT Services webpage for Mathematica.
• Making Mathematica faster with the Compile function.