NOX's flexibility is based on the fact that it does not depend on any particular linear algebra package. Interfacing to NOX requires concrete implementations or instatiations that derive from the following abstract classes:
The Vector supports basic vector operations such as dot products and so on. The Group supports the linear algebra functionality as well as the interface to evaluate the function (nonlinear equations) and, optionally, the Jacobian. Complete details are provided in the class descriptions.
Users have two choices on how to supply the concrete implementations of the above classes: (1) write your own implementation of the NOX::Abstract::Vector and NOX::Abstract::Group classes (see Writing your own instantiation) or (2) use one of the predefined implementations (see Instantiations provided with NOX).
We recommend using the
NOX::LAPACK concrete implementation as a guide. In this case, the underlying vectors are C++ STL vector<double> objects, and the matrices are stored in our own
NOX::LAPACK::Matrix class. Both the vectors and matrices are manipulated using LAPACK. The
NOX::LAPACK::Vector is straightforward; see
NOX_LAPACK_Vector.H and
NOX_LAPACK_Vector.C. The
NOX::LAPACK::Group uses the
NOX::LAPACK::Vector and
NOX::LAPACK::Matrix objects. The interface with the application is handled in a separate class (
NOX::LAPACK::Interface) that is passed to the
NOX::LAPACK::Group when it is constructed.
NOX includes four ready-made instantiations.
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The NOX::LAPACK instantiation is an interface to the BLAS/LAPACK library. It is not intended for large-scale computations, but to serve as an easy-to-understand example of how one might interface to NOX. To compile the NOX::LAPACK library, use the --enable-nox-lapack option to configure; see NOX Configuration Options.
- Note:
- The NOX::LAPACK instatiation is serial only.
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The NOX::Epetra instantiation is an interface to the Trilinos/Epetra linear algebra library. It is Sandia's workhorse code for parallel applications. For more information see the Epetra Home Page. When you download NOX as part of Trilinos (see Downloads), Epetra is included in the distribution. To compile the NOX::Epetra library, use the --enable-nox-epetra option to configure; see NOX Configuration Options. For instructions on interfacing your code to the epetra implementation see The Epetra Interface.
- Note:
- The epetra support interface actually requires 3 Trilinos libraries: Epetra, AztecOO, and Ifpack. All three of these libraries must be enabled during configure. Optionally, it can also use two other libraries, the EpetraExt and ML libraries.
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The NOX::Thyra instantiation is an interface to the Trilinos/Thyra package. The Thyra package contains a set of interfaces and supporting code that defines basic interoperability mechanisms between different types of numerical software. The foundation of all the interfaces related to abstract numerical algorithms (ANAs) are the mathematical concepts of vectors, vector spaces, and linear operators. All other ANA interfaces and support software are built on these fundamental operator/vector interfaces. We expect this interface to supersceed the Epetra interface above when all functionality is moved into the Trilinos/Stratimikos layer. For more information see the Thyra Home Page. When you download NOX as part of Trilinos (see Downloads), Thyra is included in the distribution. To compile the NOX::Thyra library, use the --enable-nox-thyra option during configure; see NOX Configuration Options. For instructions on interfacing your code to the thyra implementation see The Thyra Interface.
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The NOX::PETSc instantiation is an interface with the PETSc library. PETSc was developed at Argonne National Labs; for more information see the PETSc Home Page To compile the NOX::Petsc library and examples, use the --enable-nox-petsc option to configure; see NOX Configuration Options. For instructions on interfacing your code to the petsc implementation see The PETSc Interface.
Please report any issues regarding NOX and LOCA to
Bugzilla; see
Reporting Bugs and Making Enhancement Requests for more information.
Go on to
Step 3: Call NOX from your code.