JuliaFEM.jl/scripts/README.md

title, description, date, author, categories, keywords, audience, level, type

title	description	date	author	categories	keywords	audience	level	type
JuliaFEM Scripts	Development and code generation scripts for JuliaFEM	2025-11-09	Jukka Aho	development tools automation	scripts code generation automation development tools	contributors	intermediate	technical documentation

JuliaFEM Scripts

This directory contains development and code generation scripts for JuliaFEM.

Basis Function Generation

generate_lagrange_basis.jl

Purpose: Pre-generate all Lagrange basis functions for standard finite elements.

Why Pre-generate?

• Fast loading: No symbolic math at package load time (100+ ms → 0 ms)
• Full precompilation: Remove __precompile__(false) restriction
• Readable code: Generated code is easy to debug and understand
• Version control: Changes to mathematics show up in git diffs
• Reproducible: Same input always produces same output

When to Run:

• Adding new element types (Seg2, Tri3, Hex20, etc.)
• Fixing bugs in generation logic
• Changing polynomial ansatz strategy
• After modifying src/basis/lagrange_generator.jl

Usage:

cd /path/to/JuliaFEM.jl
julia --project=. scripts/generate_lagrange_basis.jl

Output:

• src/basis/lagrange_generated.jl (commit this file!)

Theory: See docs/book/lagrange_basis_functions.md for mathematical foundation.

Architecture:

src/basis/lagrange_generator.jl
    │
    │ (symbolic engine - uses symbolic differentiation)
    │
    ↓
scripts/generate_lagrange_basis.jl
    │
    │ (orchestration - defines all element types)
    │
    ↓
src/basis/lagrange_generated.jl
    │
    │ (clean Julia code - no eval, fully precompilable)
    │
    ↓
src/JuliaFEM.jl includes generated file

Generated Elements:

Dimension	Linear	Quadratic	Higher
1D	Seg2	Seg3	-
2D Tri	Tri3	Tri6	-
2D Quad	Quad4	Quad8, Quad9	-
3D Tet	Tet4	Tet10	-
3D Hex	Hex8	Hex20, Hex27	-
3D Pyramid	Pyr5	-	-
3D Wedge	Wedge6	Wedge15	-

Total: 15 element types covering all standard Lagrange families.

Performance Impact:

• Before: 150+ ms at package load (symbolic math for each element)
• After: < 1 ms (just include pre-generated file)
• Speedup: ~150× faster package loading

Workflow:

1. Edit element catalog in scripts/generate_lagrange_basis.jl
2. Run generation script
3. Review src/basis/lagrange_generated.jl
4. Run tests: julia --project=. -e 'using Pkg; Pkg.test()'
5. Commit both files: git add scripts/ src/basis/lagrange_generated.jl

Example: Adding Hex64 (Triquartic)

# In scripts/generate_lagrange_basis.jl, add to element catalog:
push!(elements, (
    name = "Hex64",
    description = "64-node triquartic hexahedral element",
    coordinates = [
        # ... 64 nodes (corners + edges + faces + volume)
    ],
    ansatz = [
        :(1), :(ξ), :(η), :(ζ),  # ... up to ξ³η³ζ³
    ]
))

Then regenerate:

julia --project=. scripts/generate_lagrange_basis.jl

The new Hex64 type will be automatically available in JuliaFEM!

---

Future Scripts (Planned)

benchmark_suite.jl

Run comprehensive performance benchmarks.

validate_against_reference.jl

Compare JuliaFEM results to Code Aster/ABAQUS.

generate_element_matrices.jl

Pre-compute stiffness matrices for simple elements.

---

See also:

• docs/book/lagrange_basis_functions.md - Mathematical theory
• src/basis/lagrange_generator.jl - Symbolic generation engine
• llm/VISION_2.0.md - Overall project architecture