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that kind of thing.
Several software packages exist for
applications other than CFD or statistics.
If you need to do finite element analysis,
there’s elmer. It provides both a text-based
and GUI interface. There also is JavaFoil,
available for doing analysis on airfoils and
wings. If you are designing electrical
circuits, two packages are available. Electric
is a CAD program that helps you lay out a
circuit. And, once it is all laid out, you can
use PCB Designer to get it set up so you
can etch a board to make it real.
This is all fine and good if you can use
a standard toolset in your work. But, what
if you need computing power for really
cutting-edge research? CAELinux provides
the entire GNU toolset. This means you
have everything you need to go ahead
and start developing your own code. All
of the most common scientific and engineering libraries, like gsl and LAPACK, are
available. If you are working on really
large problems, MPI and openMP also are
available. This way, you can develop a
parallel programming solution if that is
what your problem needs.
Once you have finished all your calculations, an important part of data analysis
is graphical analysis. There is something
visceral and instinctive about actually
seeing your data represented. To this end,
CAELinux provides several packages. If
you simply want to plot your data, you
can use programs like grace and LabPlot.
If you want to do more complicated data
analysis, you have programs like G3Data
26 | SEPTEMBER 2011 WWW.LINUXJOURNAL.COM
and OpenDX Data Explorer. These programs
have lots of functionality that can be
used to look at your data graphically.
If you are doing CFD work, several
programs for visualizing your meshes
are available. So, you have your choice
based on what features you need.
