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<h1 align="center">Gmsh: a three-dimensional finite element mesh
generator with built-in pre- and post-processing facilities</h1>
<p>
<h3 align="center">Christophe Geuzaine and Jean-Fran�ois Remacle</h3>
<p>
<h3 align=center>Version <a href="doc/VERSIONS">1.51</a>, 28 February 2004</h3>
<p>
<center>
<a href="#Description">Description</a> |
<a href="#Documentation">Documentation</a> |
<a href="#Mailing lists">Mailing lists</a> |
<a href="#Download"><b>Download</b></a> |
<a href="#Authors">Authors and credits</a> |
<a href="#Licensing">Licensing</a> |
<a href="#Screenshots">Screenshots</a> |
<a href="#Links">Links</a>
</center>
<h2><a name="Description"></a>Description</h2>
Gmsh is an automatic 3D finite element mesh generator (primarily
Delaunay) with build-in CAD and post-processing facilities. Its
design goal is to provide a simple meshing tool for academic test
cases with parametric input and up to date visualization
capabilities.
<p>
Gmsh is built around four modules: geometry, mesh, solver and
post-processing. The specification of any input to these modules is
done either interactively using the graphical user interface or in
ASCII text files using Gmsh's own scripting language.
<p>
See Gmsh's reference manual for a more thorough <a
href="/gmsh/doc/texinfo/gmsh_2.html">overview of Gmsh's
capabilities</a>.
<h2><a name="Documentation"></a>Documentation</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="/gmsh/doc/texinfo/gmsh.html">Reference manual</a>
(also available in
<a href="/gmsh/doc/texinfo/gmsh.ps">postscript</a>,
<a href="/gmsh/doc/texinfo/gmsh.pdf">pdf</a>,
<a href="/gmsh/doc/texinfo/gmsh.txt">text</a>,
<a href="/gmsh/doc/texinfo/gmsh-full.html">html</a> and
<a href="/gmsh/doc/texinfo/gmsh-info.tgz">info</a> formats)
<li><a href="/gmsh/doc/FAQ">Frequently asked questions (FAQ)</a>
<li><a href="/gmsh/doc/VERSIONS">Version history</a>
<li><a href="/gmsh/doc/CREDITS">Credits</a>
<li><a name="mysolver"></a>Interactive solver examples:
<a href="/gmsh/doc/mysolver.tgz">C solver</a>,
<a href="/gmsh/doc/myperlsolver.tgz">Perl solver</a>
</ul>
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<h2><a name="Mailing lists"></a>Mailing lists</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="/mailman/listinfo/gmsh/">gmsh</a> is the public mailing
list for Gmsh users. You should send all questions, bug reports,
requests or pleas for changes related to Gmsh to this list. The
list is archived <a href="/pipermail/gmsh/">here</a>.
<li><a href="/mailman/listinfo/gmsh-announce/">gmsh-announce</a> is
a moderated (i.e. "read-only") list for announcements about
significant Gmsh events. You should subscribe to this list to get
information about software releases, important bug fixes and
other Gmsh-specific news. The list is archived <a
href="/pipermail/gmsh-announce/">here</a>.
</ul>
<h2><a name="Download"></a>Download</h2>
Gmsh is distributed under the terms of the <a
href="http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html">GNU General Public License
(GPL)</a>. Pre-compiled binaries (dynamically linked with OpenGL<a
href="#opengl-footnote" name="opengl-footmark"><sup>1</sup></a>) are
available for Windows, Linux and Mac OS X. The tutorial and demo files
are included in the archives.
<ul>
<li><a href="/gmsh/bin/Windows/gmsh-1.51.5-Windows.zip">Windows zip archive (95/98/NT/2000/XP)</a>
<li><a href="/gmsh/bin/Linux/gmsh-1.51.5-1.i386.rpm">Linux RPM (i386, Red Hat >= 7.3)</a>
<li><a href="/gmsh/bin/Linux/gmsh-1.51.5-Linux.tgz">Linux tarball (i386, glibc >= 2.2)</a>
<li><a href="/gmsh/bin/MacOSX/gmsh-1.51.5-MacOSX.tgz">Mac OS X tarball (Mac OS X >= 10.2)</a>
<li><a href="/gmsh/src/gmsh-1.51.5-source.tgz">Source tarball (all platforms)</a>
<a href="#build-footnote" name="build-footmark"><sup>2</sup></a>
</ul>
<p>
Older versions are also still available: <a
href="/gmsh/src/">sources</a>, <a href="/gmsh/bin/">binaries</a>.
<p>
<a name="opengl-footnote"></a><a
href="#opengl-footmark"><sup>1</sup></a>You need the OpenGL libraries
installed on your system (and in the path of the library loader). A
free replacement for OpenGL can be found at <a
href="http://mesa3d.sourceforge.net">http://mesa3d.sourceforge.net</a>.
Remember that you may have to reconfigure the loader (ldconfig under
Linux) or modify the LD_LIBRARY_PATH/SHLIB_PATH/etc. environment
variable in order for Gmsh to find the libraries.
<p>
<a name="build-footnote"></a><a
href="#build-footmark"><sup>2</sup></a>You need the <a
href="http://sources.redhat.com/gsl/">GSL (> 1.2)</a> and <a
href="http://www.fltk.org/">FLTK (1.1.x)</a> libraries properly
installed on your system in order to compile Gmsh. Non-graphical
versions can be compiled without FLTK. Compiling the Windows version
requires the <a href="http://www.cygwin.com">Cygwin</a> tools and
compilers.
<h2><a name="Authors"></a>Authors and credits</h2>
Gmsh is developed by Christophe Geuzaine (currently with the <a
href="http://www.caltech.edu">California Institute of Technology</a>)
and Jean-Fran�ois Remacle (currently with the <a
href="http://www.ucl.ac.be">Catholic University of Louvain</a>).
The <a href="doc/CREDITS">CREDITS file</a> has more information.
<p>
Please use <a HREF="mailto:gmsh@geuz.org">gmsh@geuz.org</a> to send
questions or bug reports.
<h2><a name="Licensing"></a>Licensing</h2>
Gmsh is copyright (C) 1997-2004 by C. Geuzaine and J.-F. Remacle and
is distributed under the terms of the <a
href="http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html">GNU General Public License
(GPL)</a>.
<p>
In short, this means that everyone is free to use Gmsh and to
redistribute it on a free basis. Gmsh is not in the public domain; it
is copyrighted and there are restrictions on its distribution (see the
<a href="http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html">license</a> and its
associated <a href="http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl-faq.html">FAQ</a>).
For example, you cannot integrate this version of Gmsh (in full or in
parts) in any <em>closed-source</em> software you plan to distribute
(commercially or not).
<p>
If you want to integrate Gmsh into a closed-source software, or want
to sell a modified closed-source version of Gmsh, please contact us in
person. You can purchase a version of Gmsh under a different license,
with "no strings attached" (for example allowing you to take parts of
Gmsh and integrate them into your own proprietary code).
<h2><a name="Screenshots"></a>Screenshots</h2>
Everybody loves screenshots... So here are some:
<a href="/gmsh/gallery/screenshot1.gif">screenshot 1</a>
(<a href="/gmsh/gallery/screenshot1-small.gif">small</a>),
<a href="/gmsh/gallery/screenshot2.gif">screenshot 2</a>
(<a href="/gmsh/gallery/screenshot2-small.gif">small</a>),
<a href="/gmsh/gallery/screenshot3.gif">screenshot 3</a>
(<a href="/gmsh/gallery/screenshot3-small.gif">small</a>),
<a href="/gmsh/gallery/screenshot4.gif">screenshot 4</a>
(<a href="/gmsh/gallery/screenshot4-small.gif">small</a>).
<p>
And here are some other pictures made with Gmsh:
<ul>
<li>Part of a shoulder bone:
<a href="/gmsh/gallery/shoulder1.gif">pict1</a>,
<a href="/gmsh/gallery/shoulder2.gif">pict2</a>,
<a href="/gmsh/gallery/shoulder3.gif">pict3</a>,
<a href="/gmsh/gallery/shoulder4.gif">pict4</a>,
<a href="/gmsh/gallery/shoulder5.gif">pict5</a>,
<a href="/gmsh/gallery/shoulder6.gif">pict6</a>
(J. Fatemi).
<li>Lena as background mesh:
<a href="/gmsh/gallery/lena.gif">pict1</a>.
<li>Parts of a magnetron:
<a href="/gmsh/gallery/magnetron1.gif">pict1</a>,
<a href="/gmsh/gallery/magnetron2.gif">pict2</a>,
<a href="/gmsh/gallery/magnetron3.gif">pict3</a>,
<a href="/gmsh/gallery/magnetron4.gif">pict4</a>
(P. Lef�vre).
<li>A circuit breaker:
<a href="/gmsh/gallery/breaker.gif">pict1</a>
(S. K. Choi).
<li>A mechanical part in the demo files:
<a href="/gmsh/gallery/piece1.gif">pict1</a>,
<a href="/gmsh/gallery/piece2.gif">pict2</a>,
<a href="/gmsh/gallery/piece3.gif">pict3</a>.
<li>The log-periodic antenna in the demo files:
<a href="/gmsh/gallery/antenna.gif">pict1</a>.
<li>An electrical machine:
<a href="/gmsh/gallery/machine.gif">pict1</a>
(J. Gyselinck).
<li>Breads:
<a href="/gmsh/gallery/tresse1.gif">pict1</a>,
<a href="/gmsh/gallery/tresse2.gif">pict2</a>
(D. Colignon).
<li>Mach number on a F16:
<a href="/gmsh/gallery/f16-1.gif">pict1</a>,
<a href="/gmsh/gallery/f16-2.gif">pict2</a>,
<a href="/gmsh/gallery/f16-3.gif">pict3</a>,
<a href="/gmsh/gallery/f16-5.gif">pict4</a>
(P. Geuzaine).
<li>Stream lines:
<a href="/gmsh/gallery/f16_stream.jpg">F16</a>,
<a href="/gmsh/gallery/f18_stream.jpg">F18</a>
<!-- a href="/gmsh/gallery/valve.jpg">valve</a -->
(P. Geuzaine).
<li>An example of on-screen information display:
<a href="/gmsh/gallery/infodisplay1.gif">pict1</a>,
<a href="/gmsh/gallery/infodisplay2.gif">pict2</a>.
<li>2D colormap:
<a href="/gmsh/gallery/blob.gif">pict1</a>.
<li>Structured and unstructured mesh of an extruded geometry:
<a href="/gmsh/gallery/spirale.gif">pict1</a>.
<li>Some didactic animations about computational electromagnetics at
<a href="http://elap.montefiore.ulg.ac.be/elm/demos_en.html">ELAP</a>.
</ul>
<h2><a name="Links"></a>Links</h2>
Check out <a href="/getdp/">GetDP</a>, a scientific computation
software for the numerical solution of integro-differential equations,
using finite element and integral type methods.
<p>
The mesh database that will be used by Gmsh in the future has its
own webpage: take a look at <a href="http://www.scorec.rpi.edu/AOMD/">AOMD,
the Algorithm Oriented Mesh Database</a>.
<p>
Gmsh can use Jonathan Shewchuk's <a
href="http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/~quake/triangle.html">Triangle</a> as an
alternative isotropic 2D mesh generator. You can download Triangle <a
href="http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~jrs/triangle.shar.gz">here</a>.
<p>
Gmsh's high quality vector PostScript and PDF output is produced by <a
href="/gl2ps/">GL2PS</a>.
<p>
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