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1.4 Objectives of the club

The main objectives of the MODULEF club are:

• to develop a finite element library using the latest results of theoretical and numerical research in functional and numerical analysis, as well as industrial experience in the solution of large concrete problems,
• to assemble organizations interested in the same subject in order to join efforts in obtaining an optimal methodology with the view of programming it,
• to promote the exchange and sharing of knowledge between the members,
• to validate new methods by integrating and comparing them with those which are already implemented, and
• to promote the use of MODULEF.

The realization of the above objectives requires the adoption of the following standards:

• Standardization of programs:
  The MODULEF library of programs is written in Fortran 77. A comprehensive documentation of the programming standards is given in
  [4][MODULEF User Guide - 2].
• Portability of programs:
  The MODULEF library has been implemented and tested successfully on various Fortran 77 compilers and operating systems, for example, HP/Apollo, CDC, Cray, IBM, Vax, Sun, etc. The installation procedures are given in detail in Part III of this user guide.
• Development of computer tools in order to create a coherent, easy-to-use, multi-computer suite of programs.
• Documentation and instruction:
  In order to ensure readability of the code, understanding of the underlying algorithms and numerical methods, as well as making the software geared to research, documentation is available at different levels:
  • A MODULEF handbook summarizes the main aspects of the MODULEF library and introduces the reader to the ways of using the library (this book serves as a guide at the general five-day teaching course organized periodically by INRIA).
  • A set of MODULEF User Guides are available giving a full documentation of the entire library, including installation procedure and programming norms. A set of documentation is distributed to all new members along with the system tape. This documentation is updated each year.
  • Documentation is also available in the source code which is accessible by all users. Each module starts with a short summary of the purpose, parameters, input and output data, and name of author. This summary can be extracted by a special processor.
  • On-line documentation gives a short description of the important or more difficult steps. This is particularly useful for students.
  • Lastly, a processor is available which generates information regarding the routines called by a given routine, the common storage used, the libraries required and other information regarding the structure of the software, automatically.
• Organization of work groups:
  Seminars and practical work groups are regularly organized at INRIA.
• Maintenance of the MODULEF library:
  The system tape is distributed annually to all members of the MODULEF club. It contains the source code of all the routines, benchmarks and documentation. Special tools are available to split the source code stored on the tape into source and object libraries automatically.

  The code and corresponding documentation, the MODULEF User Guide, is updated annually and distributed, along with the contributions from members, to all members of the club.