CGNS 2006 Summary

Overall goals / priorities

From CGNS Charter,

• Ensure CGNS remains useful, accessible, easy to use, and publicly available
  • Ensure maintenance of software, docs, and website
  • Provide mechanism for evolution of the standard
  • Promote acceptance
  • Provide mechanism for answering questions & exchanging ideas
  • Determine means by which CGNS is supported

Accomplishments 2006

• Maintenance
  • Went to release 2.5 - bug fixes, tweaks, added capabilities
  • UsersGuideCode upgraded to include C routines
• Evolution
  • Rind-for-unstructured capability added
  • Certain connectivity info made optional for patching (docs & MLL fixed)
  • Face-center connectivity now allowed (doc fix only)
  • Multiple-zone connectivity proposal accepted, but not implemented yet
  • 2 new proposals on the table (Regions & Face-based)
• Acceptance
  • San Francisco Tutorial session & Panel discussion held
  • Latest SIDS in AIAA's hands (Recommended Practice document update)
  • CGNS was represented/discussed at an NOAA workshop
• Answering questions & Exchanging ideas
  • Website improved & reorganized to include FAQ page
  • CGNSTalk archiving process improved
• Support
  • 3 new steering committee members added

Current emphasis

• Technical:
  • Seamless inter-usability between ADF and HDF5 (with HDF5 "officially" recommended by the committee)
  • Parallel HDF5 capability
  • Ensure bugs get fixed & docs remain up-to-date
  • Keep up with extensions (submission / approval / implementation)
• Other:
  • Promote acceptance through:
    • Papers/presentations (e.g., Poinot, Hauser 2005 & 2006)
    • Tutorial Session at AIAA San Francisco meeting 2006
    • Panel Discussion at San Francisco meeting 2006
    • Develop possible short course for AIAA (in process)

New/additional emphasis needed?

• Strive to secure funding for software development and support (through AIAA short course? other?)
• Improve extension proposal, approval, and implementation process
  • Proposal template? Guaranteed process timeline?
  • Extending MLL is difficult
• Develop official certification process
  • Define levels of compliance?
• More extensive updates to website - include Wiki page?
• Ideas to overcome vendor & user inertia?
• If we want to pursue any of these items, they need a leader and probably a small sub-committee