[zt49]

Hi everyone,

I’m about to install OpenFOAM (on Mac and on Linux) for the first time and I’m getting a bit confused with all the different ways existing for the installation. I know that there are a lot of posts detailing the steps to follow for each of them, but I have seen no post answering the two following questions:

1. how to decide for an installation using the Docker system (on Mac and Linux) / an installation using home-brew (on Mac) / an installation from source (on Linux) / another one. Would there be any difference in the use of OpenFOAM, depending on the installation choice? Knowing that I will probably work on my laptop (Mac) as well as on my desktop (Linux), would it be a better idea to use the Docker to provide a same environment if I want to share files?

2. what is the difference between the numbering of the OpenFOAM version used by the OpenFOAM foundation (http://openfoam.org/download/) and the one used by http://openfoam.com/ ? For example one uses Version 4.1 and the other one is talking about a v1606+. Is it only another way to number the version or is there another difference? Sorry if the question seems a bit stupid but I would like to be sure that I understand things correctly before choosing a version!


Thank you for your help!
Nathan

[Fole]

Regarding question 1, from my experience I can tell you the following:

I use a desktop machine with Windows 8.1. Firstly I installed OpenFOAMv1606+ with Docker.

When executing OpenFOAM this way, it appears as a Windows command prompt but the text input is that of Ubuntu. The main problem is that there is no graphic interface to interact with the container. I think it would be fine for browsing for OpenFOAM files (looking for tutorials, source code, etc.) or for editing files (on Windows is harder than with Gedit).

Another issue is that sometimes the solvers try to create symbolic links. It happens when your case uses dynamic code (for example, coded function objects). If you run Docker with administrative rights those cases run but with some warnings when compiling.

I eventually created an Ubuntu virtual machine and installed OpenFOAM from source. However when doing a lot of I/O and using file sharing with SAMBA some files are lost in Windows. However there are some utilities that can help to work with OpenFOAM (file browsing, code editors, etc.)

Regarding question 2, this thread is the one you need.

Cheers.

[wyldckat]

Greetings to all!

To add to Ovid's answer:

Originally Posted by zt49

1. how to decide for an installation using the Docker system (on Mac and Linux) / an installation using home-brew (on Mac) / an installation from source (on Linux) / another one. Would there be any difference in the use of OpenFOAM, depending on the installation choice? Knowing that I will probably work on my laptop (Mac) as well as on my desktop (Linux), would it be a better idea to use the Docker to provide a same environment if I want to share files?

If you're on Linux, you might as well build from source code or install the Deb packages. If you have trouble following the official installations instructions, let us know here on the forum and unofficial instructions will be written and tested, if they aren't already available.

Using Docker on Linux adds a layer of complexity which depends on what exactly you're planning on doing. If you've already mastered using Docker, it may make sense that you use a single installation instruction for any of your machines.

On Mac OS X, it really depends on the level of use you are planning on doing. Using Docker is a somewhat simple way to get OpenFOAM or OpenFOAM+ on Mac OS X, but building from source code will make it easier to access and manage the simulation cases. Either way, you should probably install ParaView on Mac with the official installation packages for Mac.
If you build from source code on Mac, make sure to use the case sensitive file-system option, for both building and running OpenFOAM cases, because there are a few simulation cases that can have conflicting file names, e.g. "K" and "k".

Originally Posted by zt49

2. what is the difference between the numbering of the OpenFOAM version used by the OpenFOAM foundation (http://openfoam.org/download/) and the one used by http://openfoam.com/ ? For example one uses Version 4.1 and the other one is talking about a v1606+. Is it only another way to number the version or is there another difference? Sorry if the question seems a bit stupid but I would like to be sure that I understand things correctly before choosing a version!

When in doubt, check the release notes and what's written on the websites for each one
In the http://openfoam.com page you will find the following description:

OpenFOAM+ uses the OpenFOAM Foundation version as a common code base, and offers wider functionality and platform support. Its purpose is to accelerate the public availability of new features which are sponsored by OpenCFD’s customers and contributed by the OpenFOAM community

This means that the release notes for OpenFOAM+ will have the indication of how the versions relate to each other, e.g. quoting from here: http://openfoam.com/version-v1606+/

Includes all Foundation code changes to commit level 449a9ec 21-04-2016

Given that OpenFOAM 4.0 was released two months later on the 28th June 2016: http://openfoam.org/release/4-0/ - means that v1606+ didn't inherit all of the features that 4.0 has got.

Nonetheless, OpenFOAM+ v1612+ is meant to be released this month and it should include the features that 4.0 has got, along with other features that are in OpenFOAM-dev: http://openfoam.org/version/dev/

Best regards,
Bruno