xref: /libCEED/doc/sphinx/source/releasenotes.md (revision 3d8e882215d238700cdceb37404f76ca7fa24eaa)
1# Changes/Release Notes
2
3On this page we provide a summary of the main API changes, new features and examples
4for each release of libCEED.
5
6(main)=
7
8## Current `main` branch
9
10### Interface changes
11
12- Update {c:func}`CeedQFunctionGetFields` and {c:func}`CeedOperatorGetFields` to include number of fields.
13- Promote to the public API: QFunction and Operator field objects, `CeedQFunctionField` and `CeedOperatorField`, and associated getters, {c:func}`CeedQFunctionGetFields`; {c:func}`CeedQFunctionFieldGetName`; {c:func}`CeedQFunctionFieldGetSize`; {c:func}`CeedQFunctionFieldGetEvalMode`; {c:func}`CeedOperatorGetFields`; {c:func}`CeedOperatorFieldGetElemRestriction`; {c:func}`CeedOperatorFieldGetBasis`; and {c:func}`CeedOperatorFieldGetVector`.
14- Clarify and document conditions where `CeedQFunction` and `CeedOperator` become immutable and no further fields or suboperators can be added.
15- Add {c:func}`CeedOperatorLinearAssembleQFunctionBuildOrUpdate` to reduce object creation overhead in assembly of CeedOperator preconditioning ingredients.
16- Promote {c:func}`CeedOperatorCheckReady`to the public API to facilitate interactive interfaces.
17- Warning added when compiling OCCA backend to alert users that this backend is experimental.
18- `ceed-backend.h`, `ceed-hash.h`, and `ceed-khash.h` removed. Users should use `ceed/backend.h`, `ceed/hash.h`, and `ceed/khash.h`.
19- Added {c:func}`CeedQFunctionGetKernelName`; refactored {c:func}`CeedQFunctionGetSourcePath` to exclude function kernel name.
20- Clarify documentation for {c:func}`CeedVectorTakeArray`; this function will error if {c:func}`CeedVectorSetArray` with `copy_mode == CEED_USE_POINTER` was not previously called for the corresponding `CeedMemType`.
21- Added {c:func}`CeedVectorGetArrayWrite` that allows access to uninitalized arrays; require initalized data for {c:func}`CeedVectorGetArray`.
22- Added {c:func}`CeedQFunctionContextRegisterDouble` and {c:func}`CeedQFunctionContextRegisterInt32` with {c:func}`CeedQFunctionContextSetDouble` and {c:func}`CeedQFunctionContextSetInt32` to facilitate easy updating of {c:struct}`CeedQFunctionContext` data by user defined field names.
23- Added {c:func}`CeedQFunctionContextGetFieldDescriptions` to retreive user defined descriptions of fields that are registered with `CeedQFunctionContextRegister*`.
24- Renamed `CeedElemTopology` entries for clearer namespacing between libCEED enums.
25- Added type `CeedSize` equivalent to `ptrdiff_t` for array sizes in {c:func}`CeedVectorCreate`, {c:func}`CeedVectorGetLength`, `CeedElemRestrictionCreate*`, {c:func}`CeedElemRestrictionGetLVectorSize`, and {c:func}`CeedOperatorLinearAssembleSymbolic`. This is a breaking change.
26- Added {c:func}`CeedOperatorSetQFunctionUpdated` to facilitate QFunction data re-use between operators sharing the same quadrature space, such as in a multigrid hierarchy.
27
28### New features
29
30- `CeedScalar` can now be set as `float` or `double` at compile time.
31- Added JiT utilities in `ceed/jit-tools.h` to reduce duplicated code in GPU backends.
32- Added support for JiT of QFunctions with `#include "relative/path/local-file.h"` statements for additional local files. Note that files included with `""` are searched relative to the current file first, then by compiler paths (as with `<>` includes). To use this feature, one should adhere to relative paths only, not compiler flags like `-I`, which the JiT will not be aware of.
33- Remove need to guard library headers in QFunction source for code generation backends.
34- `CeedDebugEnv()` macro created to provide debugging outputs when Ceed context is not present.
35- Added {c:func}`CeedStringAllocCopy` to reduce repeated code for copying strings internally.
36- Added {c:func}`CeedPathConcatenate` to facilitate loading kernel source files with a path relative to the current file.
37- Added support for non-tensor H(div) elements, to include CPU backend implementations and {c:func}`CeedBasisCreateHdiv` convenience constructor.
38- Added {c:func}`CeedQFunctionSetContextWritable` and read-only access to `CeedQFunctionContext` data as an optional feature to improve GPU performance. By default, calling the `CeedQFunctionUser` during {c:func}`CeedQFunctionApply` is assumed to write into the `CeedQFunctionContext` data, consistent with the previous behavior. Note that if a user asserts that their `CeedQFunctionUser` does not write into the `CeedQFunctionContext` data, they are responsible for the validity of this assertion.
39
40### Maintainability
41
42- Refactored preconditioner support internally to facilitate future development and improve GPU completeness/test coverage.
43- `Include-what-you-use` makefile target added as `make iwyu`.
44- Create backend constant `CEED_FIELD_MAX` to reduce magic numbers in codebase.
45- Put GPU JiTed kernel source code into separate files.
46- Dropped legacy version support in PETSc based examples to better utilize PETSc DMPlex and Mat updates to support libCEED; current minimum PETSc version for the examples is v3.17.
47
48(v0-9)=
49
50## v0.9 (Jul 6, 2021)
51
52### Interface changes
53
54- Minor modification in error handling macro to silence pedantic warnings when compiling with Clang, but no functional impact.
55
56### New features
57
58- Add {c:func}`CeedVectorAXPY` and {c:func}`CeedVectorPointwiseMult` as a convenience for stand-alone testing and internal use.
59- Add `CEED_QFUNCTION_HELPER` macro to properly annotate QFunction helper functions for code generation backends.
60- Add `CeedPragmaOptimizeOff` macro for code that is sensitive to floating point errors from fast math optimizations.
61- Rust support: split `libceed-sys` crate out of `libceed` and [publish both on crates.io](https://crates.io/crates/libceed).
62
63### Performance improvements
64
65### Examples
66
67- Solid mechanics mini-app updated to explore the performance impacts of various formulations in the initial and current configurations.
68- Fluid mechanics example adds GPU support and improves modularity.
69
70### Deprecated backends
71
72- The `/cpu/self/tmpl` and `/cpu/self/tmpl/sub` backends have been removed. These backends were intially added to test the backend inheritance mechanism, but this mechanism is now widely used and tested in multiple backends.
73
74(v0-8)=
75
76## v0.8 (Mar 31, 2021)
77
78### Interface changes
79
80- Error handling improved to include enumerated error codes for C interface return values.
81- Installed headers that will follow semantic versioning were moved to {code}`include/ceed` directory. These headers have been renamed from {code}`ceed-*.h` to {code}`ceed/*.h`. Placeholder headers with the old naming schema are currently provided, but these headers will be removed in the libCEED v0.9 release.
82
83### New features
84
85- Julia and Rust interfaces added, providing a nearly 1-1 correspondence with the C interface, plus some convenience features.
86- Static libraries can be built with `make STATIC=1` and the pkg-config file is installed accordingly.
87- Add {c:func}`CeedOperatorLinearAssembleSymbolic` and {c:func}`CeedOperatorLinearAssemble` to support full assembly of libCEED operators.
88
89### Performance improvements
90
91- New HIP MAGMA backends for hipMAGMA library users: `/gpu/hip/magma` and `/gpu/hip/magma/det`.
92- New HIP backends for improved tensor basis performance: `/gpu/hip/shared` and `/gpu/hip/gen`.
93
94### Examples
95
96- {ref}`example-petsc-elasticity` example updated with traction boundary conditions and improved Dirichlet boundary conditions.
97- {ref}`example-petsc-elasticity` example updated with Neo-Hookean hyperelasticity in current configuration as well as improved Neo-Hookean hyperelasticity exploring storage vs computation tradeoffs.
98- {ref}`example-petsc-navier-stokes` example updated with isentropic traveling vortex test case, an analytical solution to the Euler equations that is useful for testing boundary conditions, discretization stability, and order of accuracy.
99- {ref}`example-petsc-navier-stokes` example updated with support for performing convergence study and plotting order of convergence by polynomial degree.
100
101(v0-7)=
102
103## v0.7 (Sep 29, 2020)
104
105### Interface changes
106
107- Replace limited {code}`CeedInterlaceMode` with more flexible component stride {code}`compstride` in {code}`CeedElemRestriction` constructors.
108  As a result, the {code}`indices` parameter has been replaced with {code}`offsets` and the {code}`nnodes` parameter has been replaced with {code}`lsize`.
109  These changes improve support for mixed finite element methods.
110- Replace various uses of {code}`Ceed*Get*Status` with {code}`Ceed*Is*` in the backend API to match common nomenclature.
111- Replace {code}`CeedOperatorAssembleLinearDiagonal` with {c:func}`CeedOperatorLinearAssembleDiagonal` for clarity.
112- Linear Operators can be assembled as point-block diagonal matrices with {c:func}`CeedOperatorLinearAssemblePointBlockDiagonal`, provided in row-major form in a {code}`ncomp` by {code}`ncomp` block per node.
113- Diagonal assemble interface changed to accept a {ref}`CeedVector` instead of a pointer to a {ref}`CeedVector` to reduce memory movement when interfacing with calling code.
114- Added {c:func}`CeedOperatorLinearAssembleAddDiagonal` and {c:func}`CeedOperatorLinearAssembleAddPointBlockDiagonal` for improved future integration with codes such as MFEM that compose the action of {ref}`CeedOperator`s external to libCEED.
115- Added {c:func}`CeedVectorTakeAray` to sync and remove libCEED read/write access to an allocated array and pass ownership of the array to the caller.
116  This function is recommended over {c:func}`CeedVectorSyncArray` when the {code}`CeedVector` has an array owned by the caller that was set by {c:func}`CeedVectorSetArray`.
117- Added {code}`CeedQFunctionContext` object to manage user QFunction context data and reduce copies between device and host memory.
118- Added {c:func}`CeedOperatorMultigridLevelCreate`, {c:func}`CeedOperatorMultigridLevelCreateTensorH1`, and {c:func}`CeedOperatorMultigridLevelCreateH1` to facilitate creation of multigrid prolongation, restriction, and coarse grid operators using a common quadrature space.
119
120### New features
121
122- New HIP backend: `/gpu/hip/ref`.
123- CeedQFunction support for user `CUfunction`s in some backends
124
125### Performance improvements
126
127- OCCA backend rebuilt to facilitate future performance enhancements.
128- Petsc BPs suite improved to reduce noise due to multiple calls to {code}`mpiexec`.
129
130### Examples
131
132- {ref}`example-petsc-elasticity` example updated with strain energy computation and more flexible boundary conditions.
133
134### Deprecated backends
135
136- The `/gpu/cuda/reg` backend has been removed, with its core features moved into `/gpu/cuda/ref` and `/gpu/cuda/shared`.
137
138(v0-6)=
139
140## v0.6 (Mar 29, 2020)
141
142libCEED v0.6 contains numerous new features and examples, as well as expanded
143documentation in [this new website](https://libceed.org).
144
145### New features
146
147- New Python interface using [CFFI](https://cffi.readthedocs.io/) provides a nearly
148  1-1 correspondence with the C interface, plus some convenience features.  For instance,
149  data stored in the {cpp:type}`CeedVector` structure are available without copy as
150  {py:class}`numpy.ndarray`.  Short tutorials are provided in
151  [Binder](https://mybinder.org/v2/gh/CEED/libCEED/main?urlpath=lab/tree/examples/tutorials/).
152- Linear QFunctions can be assembled as block-diagonal matrices (per quadrature point,
153  {c:func}`CeedOperatorAssembleLinearQFunction`) or to evaluate the diagonal
154  ({c:func}`CeedOperatorAssembleLinearDiagonal`).  These operations are useful for
155  preconditioning ingredients and are used in the libCEED's multigrid examples.
156- The inverse of separable operators can be obtained using
157  {c:func}`CeedOperatorCreateFDMElementInverse` and applied with
158  {c:func}`CeedOperatorApply`.  This is a useful preconditioning ingredient,
159  especially for Laplacians and related operators.
160- New functions: {c:func}`CeedVectorNorm`, {c:func}`CeedOperatorApplyAdd`,
161  {c:func}`CeedQFunctionView`, {c:func}`CeedOperatorView`.
162- Make public accessors for various attributes to facilitate writing composable code.
163- New backend: `/cpu/self/memcheck/serial`.
164- QFunctions using variable-length array (VLA) pointer constructs can be used with CUDA
165  backends.  (Single source is coming soon for OCCA backends.)
166- Fix some missing edge cases in CUDA backend.
167
168### Performance Improvements
169
170- MAGMA backend performance optimization and non-tensor bases.
171- No-copy optimization in {c:func}`CeedOperatorApply`.
172
173### Interface changes
174
175- Replace {code}`CeedElemRestrictionCreateIdentity` and
176  {code}`CeedElemRestrictionCreateBlocked` with more flexible
177  {c:func}`CeedElemRestrictionCreateStrided` and
178  {c:func}`CeedElemRestrictionCreateBlockedStrided`.
179- Add arguments to {c:func}`CeedQFunctionCreateIdentity`.
180- Replace ambiguous uses of {cpp:enum}`CeedTransposeMode` for L-vector identification
181  with {cpp:enum}`CeedInterlaceMode`.  This is now an attribute of the
182  {cpp:type}`CeedElemRestriction` (see {c:func}`CeedElemRestrictionCreate`) and no
183  longer passed as `lmode` arguments to {c:func}`CeedOperatorSetField` and
184  {c:func}`CeedElemRestrictionApply`.
185
186### Examples
187
188libCEED-0.6 contains greatly expanded examples with {ref}`new documentation <Examples>`.
189Notable additions include:
190
191- Standalone {ref}`ex2-surface` ({file}`examples/ceed/ex2-surface`): compute the area of
192  a domain in 1, 2, and 3 dimensions by applying a Laplacian.
193
194- PETSc {ref}`example-petsc-area` ({file}`examples/petsc/area.c`): computes surface area
195  of domains (like the cube and sphere) by direct integration on a surface mesh;
196  demonstrates geometric dimension different from topological dimension.
197
198- PETSc {ref}`example-petsc-bps`:
199
200  - {file}`examples/petsc/bpsraw.c` (formerly `bps.c`): transparent CUDA support.
201  - {file}`examples/petsc/bps.c` (formerly `bpsdmplex.c`): performance improvements
202    and transparent CUDA support.
203  - {ref}`example-petsc-bps-sphere` ({file}`examples/petsc/bpssphere.c`):
204    generalizations of all CEED BPs to the surface of the sphere; demonstrates geometric
205    dimension different from topological dimension.
206
207- {ref}`example-petsc-multigrid` ({file}`examples/petsc/multigrid.c`): new p-multigrid
208  solver with algebraic multigrid coarse solve.
209
210- {ref}`example-petsc-navier-stokes` ({file}`examples/fluids/navierstokes.c`; formerly
211  `examples/navier-stokes`): unstructured grid support (using PETSc's `DMPlex`),
212  implicit time integration, SU/SUPG stabilization, free-slip boundary conditions, and
213  quasi-2D computational domain support.
214
215- {ref}`example-petsc-elasticity` ({file}`examples/solids/elasticity.c`): new solver for
216  linear elasticity, small-strain hyperelasticity, and globalized finite-strain
217  hyperelasticity using p-multigrid with algebraic multigrid coarse solve.
218
219(v0-5)=
220
221## v0.5 (Sep 18, 2019)
222
223For this release, several improvements were made. Two new CUDA backends were added to
224the family of backends, of which, the new `cuda-gen` backend achieves state-of-the-art
225performance using single-source {ref}`CeedQFunction`. From this release, users
226can define Q-Functions in a single source code independently of the targeted backend
227with the aid of a new macro `CEED QFUNCTION` to support JIT (Just-In-Time) and CPU
228compilation of the user provided {ref}`CeedQFunction` code. To allow a unified
229declaration, the {ref}`CeedQFunction` API has undergone a slight change:
230the `QFunctionField` parameter `ncomp` has been changed to `size`. This change
231requires setting the previous value of `ncomp` to `ncomp*dim` when adding a
232`QFunctionField` with eval mode `CEED EVAL GRAD`.
233
234Additionally, new CPU backends
235were included in this release, such as the `/cpu/self/opt/*` backends (which are
236written in pure C and use partial **E-vectors** to improve performance) and the
237`/cpu/self/ref/memcheck` backend (which relies upon the
238[Valgrind](http://valgrind.org/) Memcheck tool to help verify that user
239{ref}`CeedQFunction` have no undefined values).
240This release also included various performance improvements, bug fixes, new examples,
241and improved tests. Among these improvements, vectorized instructions for
242{ref}`CeedQFunction` code compiled for CPU were enhanced by using `CeedPragmaSIMD`
243instead of `CeedPragmaOMP`, implementation of a {ref}`CeedQFunction` gallery and
244identity Q-Functions were introduced, and the PETSc benchmark problems were expanded
245to include unstructured meshes handling were. For this expansion, the prior version of
246the PETSc BPs, which only included data associated with structured geometries, were
247renamed `bpsraw`, and the new version of the BPs, which can handle data associated
248with any unstructured geometry, were called `bps`. Additionally, other benchmark
249problems, namely BP2 and BP4 (the vector-valued versions of BP1 and BP3, respectively),
250and BP5 and BP6 (the collocated versions---for which the quadrature points are the same
251as the Gauss Lobatto nodes---of BP3 and BP4 respectively) were added to the PETSc
252examples. Furthermoew, another standalone libCEED example, called `ex2`, which
253computes the surface area of a given mesh was added to this release.
254
255Backends available in this release:
256
257| CEED resource (`-ceed`)  | Backend                                             |
258|--------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------|
259| `/cpu/self/ref/serial`   | Serial reference implementation                     |
260| `/cpu/self/ref/blocked`  | Blocked reference implementation                    |
261| `/cpu/self/ref/memcheck` | Memcheck backend, undefined value checks            |
262| `/cpu/self/opt/serial`   | Serial optimized C implementation                   |
263| `/cpu/self/opt/blocked`  | Blocked optimized C implementation                  |
264| `/cpu/self/avx/serial`   | Serial AVX implementation                           |
265| `/cpu/self/avx/blocked`  | Blocked AVX implementation                          |
266| `/cpu/self/xsmm/serial`  | Serial LIBXSMM implementation                       |
267| `/cpu/self/xsmm/blocked` | Blocked LIBXSMM implementation                      |
268| `/cpu/occa`              | Serial OCCA kernels                                 |
269| `/gpu/occa`              | CUDA OCCA kernels                                   |
270| `/omp/occa`              | OpenMP OCCA kernels                                 |
271| `/ocl/occa`              | OpenCL OCCA kernels                                 |
272| `/gpu/cuda/ref`          | Reference pure CUDA kernels                         |
273| `/gpu/cuda/reg`          | Pure CUDA kernels using one thread per element      |
274| `/gpu/cuda/shared`       | Optimized pure CUDA kernels using shared memory     |
275| `/gpu/cuda/gen`          | Optimized pure CUDA kernels using code generation   |
276| `/gpu/magma`             | CUDA MAGMA kernels                                  |
277
278Examples available in this release:
279
280:::{list-table}
281:header-rows: 1
282:widths: auto
283* - User code
284  - Example
285* - `ceed`
286  - * ex1 (volume)
287    * ex2 (surface)
288* - `mfem`
289  - * BP1 (scalar mass operator)
290    * BP3 (scalar Laplace operator)
291* - `petsc`
292  - * BP1 (scalar mass operator)
293    * BP2 (vector mass operator)
294    * BP3 (scalar Laplace operator)
295    * BP4 (vector Laplace operator)
296    * BP5 (collocated scalar Laplace operator)
297    * BP6 (collocated vector Laplace operator)
298    * Navier-Stokes
299* - `nek5000`
300  - * BP1 (scalar mass operator)
301    * BP3 (scalar Laplace operator)
302:::
303
304(v0-4)=
305
306## v0.4 (Apr 1, 2019)
307
308libCEED v0.4 was made again publicly available in the second full CEED software
309distribution, release CEED 2.0. This release contained notable features, such as
310four new CPU backends, two new GPU backends, CPU backend optimizations, initial
311support for operator composition, performance benchmarking, and a Navier-Stokes demo.
312The new CPU backends in this release came in two families. The `/cpu/self/*/serial`
313backends process one element at a time and are intended for meshes with a smaller number
314of high order elements. The `/cpu/self/*/blocked` backends process blocked batches of
315eight interlaced elements and are intended for meshes with higher numbers of elements.
316The `/cpu/self/avx/*` backends rely upon AVX instructions to provide vectorized CPU
317performance. The `/cpu/self/xsmm/*` backends rely upon the
318[LIBXSMM](http://github.com/hfp/libxsmm) package to provide vectorized CPU
319performance. The `/gpu/cuda/*` backends provide GPU performance strictly using CUDA.
320The `/gpu/cuda/ref` backend is a reference CUDA backend, providing reasonable
321performance for most problem configurations. The `/gpu/cuda/reg` backend uses a simple
322parallelization approach, where each thread treats a finite element. Using just in time
323compilation, provided by nvrtc (NVidia Runtime Compiler), and runtime parameters, this
324backend unroll loops and map memory address to registers. The `/gpu/cuda/reg` backend
325achieve good peak performance for 1D, 2D, and low order 3D problems, but performance
326deteriorates very quickly when threads run out of registers.
327
328A new explicit time-stepping Navier-Stokes solver was added to the family of libCEED
329examples in the `examples/petsc` directory (see {ref}`example-petsc-navier-stokes`).
330This example solves the time-dependent Navier-Stokes equations of compressible gas
331dynamics in a static Eulerian three-dimensional frame, using structured high-order
332finite/spectral element spatial discretizations and explicit high-order time-stepping
333(available in PETSc). Moreover, the Navier-Stokes example was developed using PETSc,
334so that the pointwise physics (defined at quadrature points) is separated from the
335parallelization and meshing concerns.
336
337Backends available in this release:
338
339| CEED resource (`-ceed`)  | Backend                                             |
340|--------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------|
341| `/cpu/self/ref/serial`   | Serial reference implementation                     |
342| `/cpu/self/ref/blocked`  | Blocked reference implementation                    |
343| `/cpu/self/tmpl`         | Backend template, defaults to `/cpu/self/blocked`   |
344| `/cpu/self/avx/serial`   | Serial AVX implementation                           |
345| `/cpu/self/avx/blocked`  | Blocked AVX implementation                          |
346| `/cpu/self/xsmm/serial`  | Serial LIBXSMM implementation                       |
347| `/cpu/self/xsmm/blocked` | Blocked LIBXSMM implementation                      |
348| `/cpu/occa`              | Serial OCCA kernels                                 |
349| `/gpu/occa`              | CUDA OCCA kernels                                   |
350| `/omp/occa`              | OpenMP OCCA kernels                                 |
351| `/ocl/occa`              | OpenCL OCCA kernels                                 |
352| `/gpu/cuda/ref`          | Reference pure CUDA kernels                         |
353| `/gpu/cuda/reg`          | Pure CUDA kernels using one thread per element      |
354| `/gpu/magma`             | CUDA MAGMA kernels                                  |
355
356Examples available in this release:
357
358:::{list-table}
359:header-rows: 1
360:widths: auto
361* - User code
362  - Example
363* - `ceed`
364  - * ex1 (volume)
365* - `mfem`
366  - * BP1 (scalar mass operator)
367    * BP3 (scalar Laplace operator)
368* - `petsc`
369  - * BP1 (scalar mass operator)
370    * BP3 (scalar Laplace operator)
371    * Navier-Stokes
372* - `nek5000`
373  - * BP1 (scalar mass operator)
374    * BP3 (scalar Laplace operator)
375:::
376
377(v0-3)=
378
379## v0.3 (Sep 30, 2018)
380
381Notable features in this release include active/passive field interface, support for
382non-tensor bases, backend optimization, and improved Fortran interface. This release
383also focused on providing improved continuous integration, and many new tests with code
384coverage reports of about 90%. This release also provided a significant change to the
385public interface: a {ref}`CeedQFunction` can take any number of named input and output
386arguments while {ref}`CeedOperator` connects them to the actual data, which may be
387supplied explicitly to `CeedOperatorApply()` (active) or separately via
388`CeedOperatorSetField()` (passive). This interface change enables reusable libraries
389of CeedQFunctions and composition of block solvers constructed using
390{ref}`CeedOperator`. A concept of blocked restriction was added to this release and
391used in an optimized CPU backend. Although this is typically not visible to the user,
392it enables effective use of arbitrary-length SIMD while maintaining cache locality.
393This CPU backend also implements an algebraic factorization of tensor product gradients
394to perform fewer operations than standard application of interpolation and
395differentiation from nodes to quadrature points. This algebraic formulation
396automatically supports non-polynomial and non-interpolatory bases, thus is more general
397than the more common derivation in terms of Lagrange polynomials on the quadrature points.
398
399Backends available in this release:
400
401| CEED resource (`-ceed`) | Backend                                             |
402|-------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------|
403| `/cpu/self/blocked`     | Blocked reference implementation                    |
404| `/cpu/self/ref`         | Serial reference implementation                     |
405| `/cpu/self/tmpl`        | Backend template, defaults to `/cpu/self/blocked`   |
406| `/cpu/occa`             | Serial OCCA kernels                                 |
407| `/gpu/occa`             | CUDA OCCA kernels                                   |
408| `/omp/occa`             | OpenMP OCCA kernels                                 |
409| `/ocl/occa`             | OpenCL OCCA kernels                                 |
410| `/gpu/magma`            | CUDA MAGMA kernels                                  |
411
412Examples available in this release:
413
414:::{list-table}
415:header-rows: 1
416:widths: auto
417* - User code
418  - Example
419* - `ceed`
420  - * ex1 (volume)
421* - `mfem`
422  - * BP1 (scalar mass operator)
423    * BP3 (scalar Laplace operator)
424* - `petsc`
425  - * BP1 (scalar mass operator)
426    * BP3 (scalar Laplace operator)
427* - `nek5000`
428  - * BP1 (scalar mass operator)
429    * BP3 (scalar Laplace operator)
430:::
431
432(v0-21)=
433
434## v0.21 (Sep 30, 2018)
435
436A MAGMA backend (which relies upon the
437[MAGMA](https://bitbucket.org/icl/magma) package) was integrated in libCEED for this
438release. This initial integration set up the framework of using MAGMA and provided the
439libCEED functionality through MAGMA kernels as one of libCEED’s computational backends.
440As any other backend, the MAGMA backend provides extended basic data structures for
441{ref}`CeedVector`, {ref}`CeedElemRestriction`, and {ref}`CeedOperator`, and implements
442the fundamental CEED building blocks to work with the new data structures.
443In general, the MAGMA-specific data structures keep the libCEED pointers to CPU data
444but also add corresponding device (e.g., GPU) pointers to the data. Coherency is handled
445internally, and thus seamlessly to the user, through the functions/methods that are
446provided to support them.
447
448Backends available in this release:
449
450| CEED resource (`-ceed`) | Backend                         |
451|-------------------------|---------------------------------|
452| `/cpu/self`             | Serial reference implementation |
453| `/cpu/occa`             | Serial OCCA kernels             |
454| `/gpu/occa`             | CUDA OCCA kernels               |
455| `/omp/occa`             | OpenMP OCCA kernels             |
456| `/ocl/occa`             | OpenCL OCCA kernels             |
457| `/gpu/magma`            | CUDA MAGMA kernels              |
458
459Examples available in this release:
460
461:::{list-table}
462:header-rows: 1
463:widths: auto
464* - User code
465  - Example
466* - `ceed`
467  - * ex1 (volume)
468* - `mfem`
469  - * BP1 (scalar mass operator)
470    * BP3 (scalar Laplace operator)
471* - `petsc`
472  - * BP1 (scalar mass operator)
473* - `nek5000`
474  - * BP1 (scalar mass operator)
475:::
476
477(v0-2)=
478
479## v0.2 (Mar 30, 2018)
480
481libCEED was made publicly available the first full CEED software distribution, release
482CEED 1.0. The distribution was made available using the Spack package manager to provide
483a common, easy-to-use build environment, where the user can build the CEED distribution
484with all dependencies. This release included a new Fortran interface for the library.
485This release also contained major improvements in the OCCA backend (including a new
486`/ocl/occa` backend) and new examples. The standalone libCEED example was modified to
487compute the volume volume of a given mesh (in 1D, 2D, or 3D) and placed in an
488`examples/ceed` subfolder. A new `mfem` example to perform BP3 (with the application
489of the Laplace operator) was also added to this release.
490
491Backends available in this release:
492
493| CEED resource (`-ceed`) | Backend                         |
494|-------------------------|---------------------------------|
495| `/cpu/self`             | Serial reference implementation |
496| `/cpu/occa`             | Serial OCCA kernels             |
497| `/gpu/occa`             | CUDA OCCA kernels               |
498| `/omp/occa`             | OpenMP OCCA kernels             |
499| `/ocl/occa`             | OpenCL OCCA kernels             |
500
501Examples available in this release:
502
503:::{list-table}
504:header-rows: 1
505:widths: auto
506* - User code
507  - Example
508* - `ceed`
509  - * ex1 (volume)
510* - `mfem`
511  - * BP1 (scalar mass operator)
512    * BP3 (scalar Laplace operator)
513* - `petsc`
514  - * BP1 (scalar mass operator)
515* - `nek5000`
516  - * BP1 (scalar mass operator)
517:::
518
519(v0-1)=
520
521## v0.1 (Jan 3, 2018)
522
523Initial low-level API of the CEED project. The low-level API provides a set of Finite
524Elements kernels and components for writing new low-level kernels. Examples include:
525vector and sparse linear algebra, element matrix assembly over a batch of elements,
526partial assembly and action for efficient high-order operators like mass, diffusion,
527advection, etc. The main goal of the low-level API is to establish the basis for the
528high-level API. Also, identifying such low-level kernels and providing a reference
529implementation for them serves as the basis for specialized backend implementations.
530This release contained several backends: `/cpu/self`, and backends which rely upon the
531[OCCA](http://github.com/libocca/occa) package, such as `/cpu/occa`,
532`/gpu/occa`, and `/omp/occa`.
533It also included several examples, in the `examples` folder:
534A standalone code that shows the usage of libCEED (with no external
535dependencies) to apply the Laplace operator, `ex1`; an `mfem` example to perform BP1
536(with the application of the mass operator); and a `petsc` example to perform BP1
537(with the application of the mass operator).
538
539Backends available in this release:
540
541| CEED resource (`-ceed`) | Backend                         |
542|-------------------------|---------------------------------|
543| `/cpu/self`             | Serial reference implementation |
544| `/cpu/occa`             | Serial OCCA kernels             |
545| `/gpu/occa`             | CUDA OCCA kernels               |
546| `/omp/occa`             | OpenMP OCCA kernels             |
547
548Examples available in this release:
549
550| User code             | Example                           |
551|-----------------------|-----------------------------------|
552| `ceed`                | ex1 (scalar Laplace operator)     |
553| `mfem`                | BP1 (scalar mass operator)        |
554| `petsc`               | BP1 (scalar mass operator)        |
555```
556