A Stata + Wolfram Engine Docker Project

We demonstrate how you can combine Stata with Wolfram Engine into a single Docker image.

Note that this could also include installing Pandoc or LaTeX, if needed, for Stata.

Setting up

• Edit the init.config.txt to have the desired values for the Docker image you will create:

VERSION=17
# the TAG can be anything, but could be today's date
TAG=$(date +%F) 
MYHUBID=larsvilhuber
MYIMG=${PWD##*/}
STATALIC=/path/to/stata.lic

where

• VERSION is the Stata version you want to use (this might be ignored right now)

• TAG is the Docker tag you will be using - could be "latest", could be a specific name. Has to be lower-case.

• MYHUBID is presumably your Docker login

• MYIMG is the name you want to give the Docker image you are creating. By default, it presumes that it will be the same name as the Git repository.

• STATALIC is the path to a valid Stata license file (for instance, as installed on your laptop)

• Edit the Dockerfile. The primary configuration parameters are at the top:

ARG SRCVERSION=17
ARG SRCTAG=2022-01-17
ARG SRCHUBID=dataeditors
ARG WOLFRAMVERSION=latest

where

• SRCVERSION is the Stata version you want to use

• SRCTAG is the tag of the Stata version you want to use as an input

• SRCHUBID is where the Stata image comes from - should probably not be modified, but you could use your own.

• WOLFRAMVERSION is used to pin the wolframresearch/wolframengine:WOLFRAMVERSION versioned image. Adjust as necessary (e.g., "latest", "14.3")

• Finally, edit the setup.do file, which will install any Stata packages into the image.

Building

Use build.sh (NAME OF STATA LICENSE FILE), e.g.

./build.sh 

Activating Wolfram Engine

On first use, you need to activate Wolfram Engine with your Wolfram ID credentials. Use the activation script:

./activate_wolfram.sh

You will be prompted to enter your Wolfram ID and password. The activation will be saved to $HOME/.WolframEngine/Licensing on your host machine and will be automatically mounted in future runs.

Note: You need a (free) Wolfram Engine developer license. Sign up at https://www.wolfram.com/developer-license

Running

You also need the Stata license for running it all. For convenience, use the run.sh script:

./run.sh 

The run script automatically:

• Mounts your Stata license file
• Mounts your Wolfram Engine licensing directory (from $HOME/.WolframEngine/Licensing)
• Maps the code and data directories