2.5 How to Use This Document

In the next chapter, we will introduce the reader to various computer science tools and ideas upon which we rely heavily in our development and deployment of Nektar++. The remainder of this developer’s guide is then partitioned into three parts.

In Part I, we provide an overview of the various data structures and algorithms that live within the library subdirectory. We think of the library as containing all the basic building blocks of the Nektar++ code, as discussed above. In this part of the developer’s guide, we have dedicated a chapter to each subdirectory within the library. Each chapter contains three main sections. The first section of a chapter provides an overview of the mathematical concepts and terminology used within the chapter. This is not meant to be a detailed tutorial, but rather a reminder of basic concepts. The second section of a chapter provides a detailed description of the data structures introduced in that part of the library. The third section of a chapter is dedicated to explaining the algorithmic aspects of the library. Instead of going function by function or method by method, we have decided to structure this section in the style of “frequently asked questions" (FAQ). Based upon our long experience with students, postdocs and collaborators, we have distilled down a collection of questions that we will use (from the pedagogical perspective) to allow us to drill down into key algorithmic aspects of the library.

In Part II, we provide an overview of the many solvers implemented on top of the Nektar++ library. Each chapter is dedicated to a different solver, and correspondingly may take on a slightly different style of presentation to match the depth of mathematical, computer science and engineering knowledge to understand the basic data structures and algorithms represented there.

In Part III, we provide an overview of many of the utilities often used in our simulation pipeline – from things that aid the user in the preprocessing steps such as setting up parameter files and meshing to the postprocessing step of field conversion for visualization.

How you engage with this material is based upon your goals. If your goal is to:

• Introduce a new solver, then you would want to jump to Part II and see how other solvers have been built. Then, depending on what library functions are needed, you may need to step back into the library parts of this manual to understand how to use some of our basic library functionality.