Arm Compiler for Linux

Arm Compiler for Linux (ACfL) is a suite of tools containing Arm C/C++ Compiler (armclang), Arm Fortran Compiler (armflang), and Arm Performance Libraries (ArmPL). It is tailored to the development of High Performance Computing (HPC) applications.

Arm Compiler for Linux runs on 64-bit Arm machines and supports all 64-bit Arm-based server-class hardware . It is not a cross-compiler.

You don’t require any additional license to use Arm Compiler for Linux.

Before you begin

Confirm you are using an Arm machine by running:

    

        
        
uname -m

    

The output should be:

    

        
        aarch64

        
    

If you see a different result, you are not using an Arm computer running 64-bit Linux.

Ensure you are using a supported Linux distribution .

If any of the following tools are not already installed by your Linux distribution, install them before installing Arm Compiler for Linux. These packages can be installed with the appropriate package manager for your OS:

• SLES: awk environment-modules glibc-devel gzip python3 tar
• RHEL: environment-modules glibc-devel procps python3
• Amazon Linux: environment-modules glibc-devel gzip procps python3 tar
• Ubuntu: environment-modules libc6-dev python3

Ensure that you’re running the minimum supported version for Python, which is version 3.6.

Ensure that you have at least 2 GB of free hard disk space to both download and unpack the Arm Compiler for Linux package. You must also have an additional 6 GB of free space to install the package.

Run the following commands:

    

        
        
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y python-is-python3 libc6-dev

    

You are now ready to install ACfL manually or with Spack .

Download and install ACfL using an install script

Use an Arm recommended script to select, download, and install your preferred ACfL package.

    

        
        
bash <(curl -L https://developer.arm.com/-/cdn-downloads/permalink/Arm-Compiler-for-Linux/Package/install.sh)

    

Download and install ACfL manually with wget

Download releases from the command line using wget. Install wget if not present.

    

        
        
sudo apt install wget

    

Fetch the appropriate ACfL installer

ACfL installation packages are available to download from Arm Developer . Individual Arm Performance Libraries (ArmPL) packages are also available.

To fetch the ACfL installers, run:

Ubuntu Linux

    

        
        
wget  https://developer.arm.com/-/cdn-downloads/permalink/Arm-Compiler-for-Linux/Version_24.10.1/arm-compiler-for-linux_24.10.1_Ubuntu-22.04_aarch64.tar

    

Red Hat Linux

    

        
        
wget https://developer.arm.com/-/cdn-downloads/permalink/Arm-Compiler-for-Linux/Version_24.10.1/arm-compiler-for-linux_24.10.1_RHEL-9_aarch64.tar

    

Install ACfL

To install Arm Compiler for Linux on your 64-bit Linux Arm machine, extract the package and run the installation script.

Each command sequence includes accepting the license agreement to automate the installation and installing Environment Modules.

Ubuntu Linux

    

        
        
sudo -E apt-get -y install environment-modules python3 libc6-dev
tar -xvf arm-compiler-for-linux_24.10.1_Ubuntu-22.04_aarch64.tar
cd ./arm-compiler-for-linux_24.10.1_Ubuntu-22.04
sudo ./arm-compiler-for-linux_24.10.1_Ubuntu-22.04.sh --accept

    

Red Hat Linux

    

        
        
sudo yum -y install environment-modules python3 glibc-devel
tar -xvf arm-compiler-for-linux_24.10.1_RHEL-9_aarch64.tar
cd ./arm-compiler-for-linux_24.10.1_RHEL-9
sudo ./arm-compiler-for-linux_24.10.1_RHEL-9.sh --accept

    

Download and install ACfL using system packages

To download and install ACfL using system packages, follow these steps.

Install ACfL on Ubuntu Linux 20.04 and 22.04

Arm Compiler for Linux is available to install with the Ubuntu system package manager apt command.

Set up the ACfL package repository

Add the ACfL apt package repository to your system.

After adding the repository to your system, the ACfL Ubuntu package repository is now ready to use. Run the commands below to install the dependencies needed.

    

        
        
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y wget gnupg gpg environment-modules python3 libc6-dev
wget -qO - https://developer.arm.com/packages/ACfL%3AUbuntu-22/jammy/Release.key | sudo tee /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/developer-arm-com.asc
echo "deb https://developer.arm.com/packages/ACfL%3AUbuntu-22/jammy/ ./" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/developer-arm-com.list
sudo apt update

    

Install Arm Compiler for Linux

To install Arm Compiler for Linux, run:

    

        
        
sudo apt install acfl -y

    

Install ACfL on Amazon Linux 2023 (AL2023)

Arm Compiler for Linux is available to install from the AL2023 package repository with either the dnf or yum system package manager.

Install ACfL and prerequisites from the AL2023 rpm package repository with dnf:

    

        
        
sudo dnf update -y
sudo dnf -y install 'dnf-command(config-manager)' procps psmisc make environment-modules
sudo dnf config-manager addrepo --from-repofile=https://developer.arm.com/packages/ACfL%3AAmazonLinux-2023/latest/ACfL%3AAmazonLinux-2023.repo
sudo dnf -y install acfl

    

Or using the equivalent yum commands:

    

        
        
sudo yum update -y
sudo yum -y install 'dnf-command(config-manager)' procps psmisc make environment-modules
sudo yum config-manager addrepo --from-repofile=https://developer.arm.com/packages/ACfL%3AAmazonLinux-2023/latest/ACfL%3AAmazonLinux-2023.repo
sudo yum -y install acfl

    

The ACfL tools are now ready to use.

Install ACfL on Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 9

Arm Compiler for Linux is available to install from the RHEL 9 package repository with either the dnf or yum system package manager.

Install ACfL and prerequisites from the RHEL 9 rpm package repository with dnf:

    

        
        
sudo dnf update -y
sudo dnf -y install 'dnf-command(config-manager)' procps psmisc make environment-modules
sudo dnf config-manager addrepo --from-repofile=https://developer.arm.com/packages/ACfL%3ARHEL-9/standard/ACfL%3ARHEL-9.repo
sudo dnf -y install acfl

    

Or using the equivalent yum commands:

    

        
        
sudo yum update -y
sudo yum -y install 'dnf-command(config-manager)' procps psmisc make environment-modules
sudo yum config-manager addrepo --from-repofile=https://developer.arm.com/packages/ACfL%3ARHEL-9/standard/ACfL%3ARHEL-9.repo
sudo yum -y install acfl

    

The ACfL tools are now ready to use.

Set up the environment for ACfL

Arm Compiler for Linux uses environment modules to dynamically modify your user environment. Refer to the Environment Modules documentation for more information.

Set up the environment, for example, in your .bashrc and add module files. Then, list the available modules:

Ubuntu Linux:

    

        
        
echo ". /usr/share/modules/init/bash" >> $HOME/.bashrc
echo "module use /opt/arm/modulefiles" >> $HOME/.bashrc
source $HOME/.bashrc
module avail

    

Red Hat or Amazon Linux

    

        
        
echo ". /usr/share/Modules/init/bash" >> $HOME/.bashrc
echo "module use /opt/arm/modulefiles" >> $HOME/.bashrc
source $HOME/.bashrc
module avail

    

To configure Arm Compiler for Linux:

    

        
        
module load acfl/24.10.1

    

To configure GCC:

    

        
        
module load gnu/14.2.0

    

ACfL is now ready to use .

Download and install ACfL with Spack

Arm Compiler for Linux is available with the Spack package manager. For more information, see the Arm Compiler for Linux and Arm PL now available in Spack blog post.

Set up Spack for ACfL

Clone the Spack repository and add bin directory to the path:

    

        
        
git clone -c feature.manyFiles=true https://github.com/spack/spack.git
export PATH=/home/ubuntu/spack/bin:$PATH

    

Set up shell support:

    

        
        
. /home/ubuntu/spack/share/spack/setup-env.sh

    

Spack is now ready to use.

Install ACfL using Spack

To download and install Arm Compiler for Linux, run:

    

        
        
spack install acfl

    

To install only the Arm Performance Libraries, use:

    

        
        
spack install armpl-gcc

    

Set up the environment for ACfL using Spack

Use the commands below to set up the environment:

    

        
        
spack load acfl
spack compiler find

    

ACfL is now ready to use .

Get started with the Arm C/C++ compiler

To get started with the Arm C/C++ Compiler and compile a simple application, follow these steps.

Check that you’re using the correct compiler version:

    

        
        
armclang --version

    

Create a text file named hello.c with the following contents:

    

        
        
#include <stdio.h>

int main()
{
    printf("Hello, C World!\n");
    return 0;
}

    

Build the application:

    

        
        
armclang hello.c -o hello

    

Run the application:

    

        
        
./hello

    

The output should be:

    

        
        Hello, C World!

        
    

Get started with the Arm Fortran compiler

To get started with the Arm Fortran Compiler and compile a simple application, follow these steps.

Check that you’re using the correct compiler version:

    

        
        
armflang --version

    

Create a text file named hello.f90 with the following contents:

    

        
        
program hello
  ! This is a comment line; it is ignored by the compiler
  print *, 'Hello, Fortran World!'
end program hello

    

Build the application:

    

        
        
armflang hello.f90 -o hello

    

Run the application:

    

        
        
./hello

    

The output should be:

    

        
        Hello, Fortran World!

        
    

Get started with Arm Performance Libraries

To get started with the Arm Performance Libraries and learn how to select the optimal library for your system, see Get started with Arm Performance Libraries .