Getting started: library concepts

This folder contains the slower, code-oriented introduction to the OpenPFC library. It is for readers who have already completed the short Start here build-and-run check and now want to understand the objects behind that run.

For the complete documentation map, use the documentation index. For a role-based sequence covering applications, extension work, or downstream integration, use Learning paths.

Tutorial sequence

1. Library basics

   • create a domain;

   • decompose it across MPI ranks;

   • construct and use the FFT layer;

   • build a small out-of-tree CMake consumer.

2. Functional field operations

   • express initial and boundary operations without repeating nested index loops;

   • connect field operations to the extension style used elsewhere in the framework.

The runnable examples that accompany these ideas are catalogued in Examples catalog. A guided sequence through the spectral examples is available in Spectral examples sequence.

Choose the next document

Next goal	Document
Build a config-driven executable in another repository	Minimal custom application
Understand the main package layers	Architecture
Find the header for a type	Tour of main types
Understand JSON/TOML wiring	Application pipeline
Add models, modifiers, or writers	Extending OpenPFC
Run an existing application	Applications

Scope

This folder teaches library concepts. Installation details belong in INSTALL.md, short operational procedures belong in recipes/, and exact options and formats belong in the reference index. Keeping those details in their canonical documents prevents tutorial examples from drifting away from the tested build and runtime interfaces.