Release 6.0.0

Workflow Editor

  • Components in a workflow can now be temporarily disabled: during workflow execution, these components and all their connections are treated as if they didn't exist
  • Added an option to show the number of connections represented by a line between two components
  • The connection editor dialog can now be opened by double-clicking a connection line, too
  • Added shortcuts for "Draw Connection" mode (ALT + D) and "Selection" mode (ALT + S)

Connection Editor

  • Improved handling of workflows with many connections
  • Inputs which are already connected to an output are now marked by a small arrow
  • Added more filtering options for inputs and outputs (match exactly, start with, contain)

Workflow List

  • Pause/Resume/Cancel/Dispose can now be applied to multiple workflows at once

Timeline GUI

  • Added new feature that visualizes when each component was running during workflow execution

Configuration

  • Merged all previous configuration files (*.json) into a single file (configuration.json)
  • Added option to open and edit this configuration file within the GUI (Help -> Open Configuration File)
  • Made example configurations and path information accessible from the GUI (Help -> Open Configuration Information)
  • Moved example configuration files to the easier-to-find "examples/configuration" folder
  • The "instanceName" configuration entry now supports the placeholders ${systemUser} and ${hostName} for better default naming of RCE instances
  • Added "connectOnStartup" option to network connections; the old behavior was to always connect when RCE starts, which is now optional

Multi-User Support

  • Added full support for multi-user operation, i.e. one RCE installation can be used by multiple users on the same system; the RCE installation directory can be set to "read-only" for all users
  • Added support for multiple profiles per user, each with its own configuration, log files, and data storage
  • On Linux, temporary file directories are now automatically separated (/tmp/rce-temp-) to prevent file ownership and permission problems; when customizing this path, the placeholder ${systemUser} is available

Installation and Release Signing

  • Provided .deb packages for Debian/Ubuntu/Mint
  • Provided .rpm packages for CentOS/Red Hat/SUSE
  • Provided a signed APT repository for Linux Debian/Ubuntu/Mint which allows installation via "apt-get" or package managers with GUI (e.g. Synaptic), as well as full integration with automatic system updates
  • All .zip, .deb, and .rpm release packages now have digitally signed checksum files (SHA256SUMS.asc)

Linux Support

  • Completely reworked (and simplified) Linux daemon installation and handling ("rce-daemon" command)
  • Improved Linux distribution compatibility; RCE is now regularly tested on Debian 7, SUSE 11 SP 2, and CentOS 7 (all 64 bit); it is also confirmed to run on Ubuntu 12 LTS, Ubuntu 14 LTS, Mint 17, and Red Hat Enterprise 6
  • Added standard Linux desktop integration (application icon and basic menu entry)

Remote Tool/Workflow Access

  • Added a Remote Workflow Access template, which can also be used for out-of-the box testing
  • Simplified the handling of input and output directories; when accessing them from script code, no additional sub-directory levels ("/input/") are required anymore
  • Moved example script files to the easier-to-find "examples/remote_access" folder

Optimizer Component

  • Added an output that indicates whether gradients are requested by the optimizer method within the current iteration
  • Updated integrated Dakota version from 5.1 to 6.0
  • Added Dakota methods: SOGA, MOGA
  • Added support for using precalculation files (reset files)
  • Added support for failure-tolerant optimization loops (see Section "Workflow Engine" below)

Script API

  • Various improvements and extensions (e.g. support for "not a value", execution count, persistent state)
  • Added option to close the outputs of tools in pre/postprocessing scripts of tool integration
  • Removed deprecated parts of the API

Tool Integration

  • Made the script API accessible in pre/postprocessing
  • Added an option to limit the number of parallel tool executions (e.g. to prevent excessive license usage)

Data Management

  • Major rework of the data management backend (data model and API) to increase performance and robustness
  • Workflow Data Browser now shows input and output data of all components and additional workflow run information
  • Workflow Data Browser now also shows the path to the working directories of integrated tools (for manual inspection)

Usability

  • Simplified resetting the "Don't ask again" setting of the workspace chooser. It can be reset via "Help -> Open Configuration Information".

Batch mode (rce --batch)

  • Command execution output is now written to standard output as well, which makes it available from the invoking command line
  • Improved robustness

Workflow Engine

  • Completely reworked workflow execution (as a prerequisite for single component run, restart after failure, and stepwise execution)
  • Reworked scheduling options (initial, required, optional -> constant, single, consumed and required, required if connected, not required). For details and migration path, see documentation.
  • Provided better support for nested loops including reset of nested loops
  • Made optimization and parametric study loops failure-tolerant, i.e. extended Python/Jython script API to allow to indicate that tool/script failed, but only because of invalid input parameters
  • Added automatic writing of basic history data (inputs, outputs) to all components
  • Fixed workflow console row writer to ensure no log rows are missing after workflow execution
  • Added handling of system time differences between workflow controller and component
  • Added handling of system time differences between workflow controller and component hosts
  • Added support for limitation of parallel tool executions

Cluster

  • Added support for TORQUE 5.0

Converger

  • Added possiblity to finish on first check for negative values

Commands

  • Added "–dispose" flag to "wf run" command to allow disposal after workflow execution
  • Added "–dispose", "–pr" and "–sr" flags to "wf verify" command (for automated testing)

Other/Misc

  • Merged the three former RCE editions (Standard/CPACS/Transport) into a single one
  • Improved branding (splash screen, about dialog, ...)
  • Upgraded to Eclipse RCP 3.7.2
  • Improved the cleanup mechanism for temporary files
  • On RCE startup, the last debug.log and warnings.log files are automatically preserved as *.previous.log
  • Various bugfixes
  • Various usability tweaks