numpy/scipy and mkl

[Ryan Schmidt]

> On Jun 11, 2016, at 10:11 AM, Gideon Simpson <gideon.simpson at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> I have an intel mkl license, and I know that numpy/scipy can be built against it for a performance boost. I was wondering two things:
> 
> 1.  Is it possible that we could have a variant of numpy/scipy that supports mkl, or is that fundamentally at odds with macports, since the mkl is commercial?

I wouldn't be opposed to adding that option. MacPorts already contains commercial software (like libxl, for which you must buy a license for certain uses, and oracle-instantclient, which connects to a commercial database and for which you must register and manually download the installer). I see there are a number of ways we might get a copy of mkl for free to help us create such a variant:

https://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/free-mkl

The question is whether all those packages contain the same or equivalent software, such that a variant created for use with one of them would work with the others as well.

Another question is whether to code the variant to work with the files installed by the Intel MKL installer in their normal locations, or whether we should create a port for Intel MKL which would adjust the installation to place the files inside the MacPorts prefix.