How to use GANDALF?

GANDALF contains two principle code components; (a) a main C++ code that performs all intensive numerical computations such as self-gravitating hydrodynamics, and (b) a Python front-end which can call functions from the main C++ and execute simulations from a Python environment. This approach allows GANDALF to be run in three principle modes :

Command-line mode

In command-line mode, the C++ code is run alone as a stand-alone as an executable using a parameters file to provide details of the simulation. This mode is most often used for running on larger mult-core clusters.

Executable python script

Running a simulation via a python script is a convenient way of running batch simulations, or often-repeated simulations such as standard benchmarks during development.

Interactive python shell

An interactive shell can be useful for analysing newly run simulations on-the-fly, both for generating statistical data and for generating plots.