Overview

The new E4S Project website represents a major evolution from the original site.
It builds on years of experience curating, integrating, and deploying scientific software for extreme-scale computing while introducing a modern, user-focused design that helps researchers, developers, and educators find and use E4S software more effectively.

1. Expanded Focus: Reaching New Users

The new site emphasizes accessibility and discovery for new users of scientific libraries and tools.

  • The content structure, layout, and language have been redesigned to make it easier for users who are new to HPC and E4S to explore available software options.
  • Key entry points such as the E4S Product Guides, Feature Grids, and Interactive Buttons lead users toward curated information for their domain—whether they are working in AI/ML, math libraries, data tools, or performance analysis.
  • Each guide provides a set of attributes to help users describe their problem and environment, allowing E4S resources and bots to recommend the most relevant tools.

2. E4S Guide Bot and Custom Chatbots

A major new capability is the E4S Guide Bot, an AI-powered assistant designed to help users navigate the E4S ecosystem.

  • The Guide Bot integrates with a curated collection of project documents, including user guides, release notes, and descriptions of E4S member products.
  • Customizable versions of the bot can be embedded or extended for specific SDKs, product families, or institutional deployments, enabling domain-specific assistance.
  • Users can engage with the bot through natural language queries to learn about installation procedures, compatibility, and ecosystem relationships—reducing the learning curve for new users.

3. Product Family Emphasis

The new site highlights the role of product families within the E4S ecosystem.

  • Each family (e.g., Math Libraries, Data & Visualization Tools, AI/ML Frameworks, Performance Tools, Build Tools) is treated as a first-class component of the ecosystem.
  • Families provide a structured view of the E4S portfolio, showing how related products interoperate and complement one another.
  • Within each family page, users can explore member products, see feature comparisons, and access relevant Spack package details and container availability.

4. Attribute-Based Product Selection

For each product family, the new site introduces attribute tables that describe the key considerations for selecting an appropriate library or tool.

  • Users can define these attributes for their own problem or environment—such as programming model, target hardware, data precision, or interoperability requirements.
  • Once defined, these attributes can be used in prompts to the E4S Guide Bot, enabling AI-assisted tool selection.
  • This approach encourages consistent, transparent reasoning across the entire ecosystem and provides a foundation for future automated recommendation systems.

5. Modernized Presentation and Infrastructure

Beyond its expanded content, the new E4S site incorporates significant enhancements in design and maintainability:

  • Built on a customized Minimal Mistakes Jekyll theme, providing a responsive layout and support for modern CSS/HTML features.
  • Feature grids, oval buttons, and integrated navigation menus simplify movement between product areas and documentation portals.
  • A consistent footer, navigation structure, and metadata framework support improved long-term curation and automated documentation generation.
  • Enhanced integration with E4S GitHub repositories allows synchronized updates with each E4S release (e.g., E4S 25.06 and later).

6. Enhanced User Engagement

The new site makes it easier to connect with the E4S community:

  • Direct links to Slack, GitHub Discussions, and Issue trackers for each project.
  • Contextual help and “Contact the Team” links integrated into relevant pages.
  • More prominent visibility for DOE sponsorship and the Linux Foundation Projects affiliation.

Summary of Key Differences from the Original Site

Area Previous Site New Site
Audience Primarily experienced E4S developers and facility users Broader inclusion of new and prospective users
Navigation Flat menus and static product lists Hierarchical guides by product family and attributes
Support Static links to documentation Interactive E4S Guide Bot with access to curated content
Product Organization Alphabetical product catalog Product families with relationships and attribute tables
Visual Design Basic static pages Modern responsive layout with feature grids and custom buttons
Interactivity Limited search Integrated chat, guided exploration, and filtered tables
Ecosystem Context Implicit relationships Explicit emphasis on SDK-level and family-level structures

Looking Ahead

The redesigned E4S site establishes a foundation for continuous ecosystem evolution—where documentation, guidance, and community engagement evolve alongside the software.
Future plans include tighter integration between the Guide Bot and the E4S documentation repositories, interactive attribute-driven product filtering, and expanded support for AI-enabled scientific workflows.