v3.5.24 Milestone with mcstas-antlr support, NCrystal on Windows

What's Changed

Important note

• McStas and McXtrace will soon change organisation-name on GitHub - from McStasMcXtrace -> mccode-dev

User interfaces and tools

• [Feature] mcgui/mxgui Let configuration dialogue spawn your EDITOR to edit your local mccode_config.json
  by @willend in #1838 (available also by --edit-user-config from mcrun/mxrun)
• [Feature] mcrun/mxrun: New switch --cogen to allow on-demand switch to non-standard code generator.
  See also interoperability with mccode-antlr below
  by @willend in #1851
• [Feature] mcrun/mxrun Solution for picking up code generator from PATH if not found where expected
  by @willend in #1840
• [Feature] pygen minor revision: Build importable make() function and call from generic notebook
  by @willend in #1827
• [Fix] Support Scintilla editor on Debian with Qt6
  by @willend in #1813
• [Fix] Drop hard-coded check for PyQt5
  by @willend in #1814
• [Fix] No more hidden Perl dependencies! (perl -> python 1-liner readlinkf())
  by @willend in #1824
• [Fix] too-restrictive mcdisplay/mxdisplay instrument line parsing
  by @g5t in #1834
• [Fix] Patches for mcdisplay/mxdisplay in Windows
  from @LelandWH #1853

Components and instruments

• [Fix] McStas Vertical_bender: Add max iteration criterion for while loop (default 1000).
  by @willend in #1815
• [Fix] McStas NCrystal_sample: Remove possible out-of-bounds memory access
  by @g5t in #1821
• [Fix] McStas Elliptic_guide_gravity and Pol_mirror: Minor comp revisions, suppresses compilation warnings from clang
  by @willend in #1826
• [Fix] McStas SNS_ARCS.instr edits
  by @willend in #1838
• [Fix] McStas ISIS_IMAT.instr DEPENDENCY " @NEXUSFLAGS@ " added
  by @willend in #1839
• [Fix] McStas Union_master Adjustment of default parameter
  by @willend in #1840
• [Fix] McStas Union-related fixes and imports from DMSC school
  by @willend in #1841
• [Fix] McStas Elliptical_guide_gravity did not work in GROUPS as it always SCATTERS
  by @mads-bertelsen in #1843
• [Fix] Monitor_nD on GPU: Adjustments for coherence between CPU and GPU particle lists
  by @willend in #1816

Core simulation toolkit

• [Feature] NeXus: sort comp instances by index and include comp parameter information
  by @willend in #1828
• [Fix] Increased stability in NeXus x wide MPI
  by @willend in #1811
• [Fix] Portability, Windows + cl.exe: Remove variable length array allocations for issue #1817
  by @g5t in #1819 and
  #1818 by @willend in #1822

Interfaces and interoperability with other codes

NCrystal

• Thanks to @tkittel for ping-pong on this :)
• [Feature] McStas 3.5.24 and later now depends on NCrystal 4.0.0 and later. NCrystal is now available also on Windows!
  by @willend in #1848 and #1855

mccode-antlr

• Thanks to @g5t for ping-pong on this :)
• [Feature] mccode-antlr is an alternative code-generator for McStas and McXtrace - a new development by @g5t and based on ANTLR instead of lex/yacc. The new tool is mainly written in python and thus has a lower barrier for changes in language syntax and code generation. The tool implementations mcstas-antlr and mcxtrace-antlr are thus a candidate implementations to potentially replace the classic mcstas and mcxtrace code generators in the future. Current status is that
  • McStas: mcstas-antlr is fully feature complete wrt. mcstas for CPU simulations and close to complete for GPU simulations
  • McXtrace: Not all instruments will compile using mcxtrace-antlr but basic functionality is in place
  • To try:
    1. Install mccode-antlr from conda-forge or via pip
    2. Adapt your configuration to use e.g. mcstas-antlr by
    • Setting the new --cogen=mcstas-antlr option in mcrun
    • Enable or edit the MCCOGEN field of mccode_config.json using the new Save/Edit configuration in mcgui
    • (The antlr tools default to download comps etc. to an internal cache: Add e.g. -I${MCSTAS} to prefer ingredients fromyour local library)
    3. Use the mcrun-antlr/mxrun-antlr tools provided directly by mccode-antlr

Platform support

• Debian/Ubuntu
  • [Fix] Make hidden numpy dependency explicit also on Debian by @willend in #1825
  • [Fix] McXtrace meta-pkgs for Debian add libgsl-dev as dependency by @farhi in #185
• Windows
  • [Feature] NCrystal is now available with McStas on Windows
  • [Info] Windows via cross-compiled .exeinstaller from mccode.org:
    Please place the MCPL-related .bat files from the extras folder in e.g. c:\mcstas-3.5.24\bin to enable MCPL
    (May require giving your user 'full access' permissions to the bin folder)
  • [Info] Windows via conda-forge: MCPL is not yet available but expected during the spring

Full Changelog: v3.5.16...v3.5.24

v3.5.23 February "scoop-up" release

What's Changed

• Post 3.5.16 minor Union fixes + NeXus x wide MPI by @willend in #1811
• Issue 1721 fix: Support Scintilla editor on Debian with Qt6 by @willend in #1813
• Drop hard-coded check for PyQt5 by @willend in #1814
• Add max iteration criterion for while loop (default 1000). by @willend in #1815
• Adjustments for coherence between CPU and GPU particle lists by @willend in #1816
• Remove variable length array allocations for #1817 by @g5t in #1819
• Fix typos in polyhedron.c by @g5t in #1820
• Remove NCrystal_sample.comp possible out-of-bounds memory access by @g5t in #1821
• Fix for #1818 by @willend in #1822
• Sync variants of Monitor_nD acc/noacc McStas, McXtrace by @willend in #1823
• perl -> python 1-liner readlinkf() by @willend in #1824
• Make hidden numpy dependency explicit also on Debian by @willend in #1825
• Minor comp revisions, suppresses compilation warnings from clang by @willend in #1826
• pygen minor revision: Build importable make() function and call from generic notebook by @willend in #1827
• Sync with main by @willend in #1829
• Software stack update for 8-way GPU box by @willend in #1830
• Software stack update by @willend in #1831
• Switch ZLIB FETCH->IFAVAILABLE for cros-platform Windows by @willend in #1832
• [Fix] too-restrictive McDisplay instrument line parsing by @g5t in #1834
• Sync this NeXus dev branch against main by @willend in #1836
• Adapt tooling to edit json config in EDITOR + SNS_ARCS edits by @willend in #1838
• NeXus: sort comp instances by index and include comp parameter information by @willend in #1828
• Enable DEPENDENCY " @NEXUSFLAGS@ " in IMAT instr by @willend in #1839
• Param default adj Union_master + mcrun fallback solution for picking up code generator from PATH by @willend in #1840
• Union-related fixes and imports from DMSC school issue by @willend in #1841
• Elliptical_guide_gravity did not work in GROUPS as it always SCATTERS by @mads-bertelsen in #1843
• Update README.md by @willend in #1845
• Update README.md by @willend in #1846
• Various NCrystal 4.0.0 related patches by @willend in #1848
• Ncrystal 4 patches - remove from cross-compile build by @willend in #1849
• Config fixes openacc by @willend in #1850
• Add switch --cogen to allow on-demand switch betwen mcstas/mcstas-antlr by @willend in #1851
• meta-pkgs:deb:mcxtrace: add libgsl-dev as dependency by @farhi in #1852
• Gzip biggest McXtrace datafiles by @willend in #1847

Full Changelog: v3.5.16...v3.5.23

v3.5.22 minor update

What's Changed

• Post 3.5.16 minor Union fixes + NeXus x wide MPI by @willend in #1811
• Issue 1721 fix: Support Scintilla editor on Debian with Qt6 by @willend in #1813
• Drop hard-coded check for PyQt5 by @willend in #1814
• Add max iteration criterion for while loop (default 1000). by @willend in #1815
• Adjustments for coherence between CPU and GPU particle lists by @willend in #1816
• Remove variable length array allocations for #1817 by @g5t in #1819
• Fix typos in polyhedron.c by @g5t in #1820
• Remove NCrystal_sample.comp possible out-of-bounds memory access by @g5t in #1821
• Fix for #1818 by @willend in #1822
• Sync variants of Monitor_nD acc/noacc McStas, McXtrace by @willend in #1823
• perl -> python 1-liner readlinkf() by @willend in #1824
• Make hidden numpy dependency explicit also on Debian by @willend in #1825
• Minor comp revisions, suppresses compilation warnings from clang by @willend in #1826
• pygen minor revision: Build importable make() function and call from generic notebook by @willend in #1827
• Sync with main by @willend in #1829
• Software stack update for 8-way GPU box by @willend in #1830
• Software stack update by @willend in #1831
• Switch ZLIB FETCH->IFAVAILABLE for cros-platform Windows by @willend in #1832
• [Fix] too-restrictive McDisplay instrument line parsing by @g5t in #1834
• Sync this NeXus dev branch against main by @willend in #1836
• Adapt tooling to edit json config in EDITOR + SNS_ARCS edits by @willend in #1838
• NeXus: sort comp instances by index and include comp parameter information by @willend in #1828
• Enable DEPENDENCY " @NEXUSFLAGS@ " in IMAT instr by @willend in #1839
• Param default adj Union_master + mcrun fallback solution for picking up code generator from PATH by @willend in #1840
• Union-related fixes and imports from DMSC school issue by @willend in #1841
• Elliptical_guide_gravity did not work in GROUPS as it always SCATTERS by @mads-bertelsen in #1843
• Update README.md by @willend in #1845
• Update README.md by @willend in #1846
• Various NCrystal 4.0.0 related patches by @willend in #1848

Full Changelog: v3.5.16...v3.5.22

v3.5.21 minor update

What's Changed

• Post 3.5.16 minor Union fixes + NeXus x wide MPI by @willend in #1811
• Issue 1721 fix: Support Scintilla editor on Debian with Qt6 by @willend in #1813
• Drop hard-coded check for PyQt5 by @willend in #1814
• Add max iteration criterion for while loop (default 1000). by @willend in #1815
• Adjustments for coherence between CPU and GPU particle lists by @willend in #1816
• Remove variable length array allocations for #1817 by @g5t in #1819
• Fix typos in polyhedron.c by @g5t in #1820
• Remove NCrystal_sample.comp possible out-of-bounds memory access by @g5t in #1821
• Fix for #1818 by @willend in #1822
• Sync variants of Monitor_nD acc/noacc McStas, McXtrace by @willend in #1823
• perl -> python 1-liner readlinkf() by @willend in #1824
• Make hidden numpy dependency explicit also on Debian by @willend in #1825
• Minor comp revisions, suppresses compilation warnings from clang by @willend in #1826
• pygen minor revision: Build importable make() function and call from generic notebook by @willend in #1827
• Sync with main by @willend in #1829
• Software stack update for 8-way GPU box by @willend in #1830
• Software stack update by @willend in #1831
• Switch ZLIB FETCH->IFAVAILABLE for cros-platform Windows by @willend in #1832
• [Fix] too-restrictive McDisplay instrument line parsing by @g5t in #1834
• Sync this NeXus dev branch against main by @willend in #1836
• Adapt tooling to edit json config in EDITOR + SNS_ARCS edits by @willend in #1838
• NeXus: sort comp instances by index and include comp parameter information by @willend in #1828
• Enable DEPENDENCY " @NEXUSFLAGS@ " in IMAT instr by @willend in #1839
• Param default adj Union_master + mcrun fallback solution for picking up code generator from PATH by @willend in #1840
• Union-related fixes and imports from DMSC school issue by @willend in #1841

Full Changelog: v3.5.16...v3.5.21

v3.5.20 minor update

What's Changed

• Post 3.5.16 minor Union fixes + NeXus x wide MPI by @willend in #1811
• Issue 1721 fix: Support Scintilla editor on Debian with Qt6 by @willend in #1813
• Drop hard-coded check for PyQt5 by @willend in #1814
• Add max iteration criterion for while loop (default 1000). by @willend in #1815
• Adjustments for coherence between CPU and GPU particle lists by @willend in #1816
• Remove variable length array allocations for #1817 by @g5t in #1819
• Fix typos in polyhedron.c by @g5t in #1820
• Remove NCrystal_sample.comp possible out-of-bounds memory access by @g5t in #1821
• Fix for #1818 by @willend in #1822
• Sync variants of Monitor_nD acc/noacc McStas, McXtrace by @willend in #1823
• perl -> python 1-liner readlinkf() by @willend in #1824
• Make hidden numpy dependency explicit also on Debian by @willend in #1825
• Minor comp revisions, suppresses compilation warnings from clang by @willend in #1826
• pygen minor revision: Build importable make() function and call from generic notebook by @willend in #1827
• Sync with main by @willend in #1829
• Switch ZLIB FETCH->IFAVAILABLE for cros-platform Windows by @willend in #1832
• [Fix] too-restrictive McDisplay instrument line parsing by @g5t in #1834
• Sync this NeXus dev branch against main by @willend in #1836
• Adapt tooling to edit json config in EDITOR + SNS_ARCS edits by @willend in #1838
• NeXus: sort comp instances by index and include comp parameter information by @willend in #1828

Full Changelog: v3.5.16...v3.5.20

v3.5.19 minor update

What's Changed

• Post 3.5.16 minor Union fixes + NeXus x wide MPI by @willend in #1811
• Issue 1721 fix: Support Scintilla editor on Debian with Qt6 by @willend in #1813
• Drop hard-coded check for PyQt5 by @willend in #1814
• Add max iteration criterion for while loop (default 1000). by @willend in #1815
• Adjustments for coherence between CPU and GPU particle lists by @willend in #1816
• Remove variable length array allocations for #1817 by @g5t in #1819
• Fix typos in polyhedron.c by @g5t in #1820
• Remove NCrystal_sample.comp possible out-of-bounds memory access by @g5t in #1821
• Fix for #1818 by @willend in #1822

Full Changelog: v3.5.16...v3.5.19

v3.5.18 New year 2025 minor release

What's Changed

• Post 3.5.16 minor Union fixes + NeXus x wide MPI by @willend in #1811
• Issue 1721 fix: Support Scintilla editor on Debian with Qt6 by @willend in #1813

Full Changelog: v3.5.16...v3.5.18

v3.5.17 Christmas break release 2024

What's Changed

• Release-doc updates etc. for 3.5.16 by @willend in #1800
• Update README.md by @willend in #1801
• Post 3.5.16 minor fixes by @willend in #1802
• Correct dumb typo by @willend in #1803
• Post 3.5.16 minor fixes by @willend in #1804
• Post 3.5.16 minor fixes by @willend in #1805
• Ditch binder links by @willend in #1806
• Align with main by @willend in #1810
• Post 3.5.16 minor Union fixes + NeXus x wide MPI by @willend in #1811

Full Changelog: v3.5.16...v3.5.17

v3.5.16 Update release end of 2024, including Deb packages

What's Changed

• Tools, McStas and McXtrace:

  • m[c,x]gui Reorder m[c,x]gui config dialogue for better visibility on "small screens"
    by @willend in #1775
  • m[c,x]plot-pyqtgraph Fix to support for all combinations of Qt5, Qt6, PySide6 #1768
    by @willend in #1798 and #1797
  • m[c,x]test avoid recompile-attempts for already failed instruments by
    @willend in #1792

• McStas, McXtrace packaging:

  • Fix debian package structure/versioning (#1783)
    by @willend in #1787
  • Ensure the MCCODE_MAJOR/MINOR/PATCH vars always have a meaning
    by @willend in #1789

• McStas and McXtrace components and instruments

  • PowderN: fix warning message repeated for ever by
    @farhi in #1777
  • McXtrace fixes to 3 instrument models (expected values) and one component (compile error) -> "all green" status
    by @willend in #1793
  • Fix issue 1794 monitor_nd to ensure atomic list-mode on GPU
    by @willend in #1796

• McStas, increased support for mcstas-antlr code generator:

  • Let mcstas-antlr produce output for 1-2 SNS instruments by
    @willend in #1776
  • Use DECLARE/INIT vars to set up Mono/Ana in templateTAS
    @willend in #1778
  • Print warning when overwriting COPY EXTEND %{%} block from instance by
    @willend in #1786
  • Minor fix for ILL_H22_VIVALDI.instr
    by @willend in #1788
  • ANTLR-support: Replace nasty type var[] in fact headers by
    @willend in #1790
  • Various minor comp instr fixes
    by @willend in #1795

• Important note wrt. Debian packages:

  • If you install both of mcstas and mcxtrace on the same Debian/Ubuntu system, you will get a collision for the file /usr/bin/cif2hkl. As a workaround you may allow joint installation via overriding cif2hkl:
    sudo apt-get -f install -o Dpkg::Options::="--force-overwrite"

Full Changelog: v3.5.12...v3.5.16

v3.5.15 minor update

What's Changed

• Update CHANGES docs for 3.5.12 by @willend in #1770
• Updates to install-docs for McStas/McXtrace 3.5.12 update by @willend in #1771
• No repo solution for 3.5.12 by @willend in #1772
• Update changelogs with repo situation by @willend in #1773
• Adjust test target value by @willend in #1774
• Reorder config dialogue for "small screens" by @willend in #1775
• Let mcstas-antlr produce output for 1-2 SNS instruments by @willend in #1776
• PowderN: fix warning message repeated for ever by @farhi in #1777
• Use DECLARE/INIT vars to set up Mono/Ana by @willend in #1778
• Update SECURITY.md by @willend in #1779
• Patch "basictest" workflows for use of macOS 14/15 by @willend in #1780
• Patch workflows to re-include macOS 13 by @willend in #1781
• Raise a warning dialogue if pyside6 is found. by @willend in #1782
• PR for cmake deb fix (#1783) by @willend in #1787
• Print warning when overwriting COPY EXTEND %{%} block from instance by @willend in #1786
• Two minor fixes by @willend in #1788
• Ensure the MCCODE_MAJOR/MINOR/PATCH vars always have a meaning by @willend in #1789
• ANTLR-support: Replace nasty type var[] in fact headers by @willend in #1790
• Avoid recompile-attempts for failed instruments by @willend in #1792
• McXtrace fixes nightlies by @willend in #1793
• Various minor comp instr fixes by @willend in #1795
• Fix issue 1794 monitor_nd atomic listmode by @willend in #1796

Full Changelog: v3.5.12...v3.5.15