We are pleased to announce release of PyLith version 2.1.0

Please submit bug reports via the World Wide Web at:
    https://github.com/geodynamics/pylith/issues

Please send all questions by electronic mail to:
    cig-short@geodynamics.org

PyLith is free software.  See the file COPYING for copying conditions.

This release allows the solution of both quasi-static and dynamic
problems in two or three dimensions. The code runs in either serial or
parallel mode, and the design allows for relatively easy scripting
using the Python programming language. Material properties and
parameters for boundary and fault conditions are specified using a
spatial database, which permits easy prescription of complex spatial
variations of properties and parameters. Simulation parameters are
generally specified through the use of simple ASCII files or the
command line.

You can download the source code and binaries from

    http://geodynamics.org/cig/software/pylith

Installation instructions are in the bundled README and INSTALL  
files, as well as in the User Manual on the web page.

PyLith is under active development and we expect a number of additions
and improvements in the near future. See
http://wiki.geodynamics.org/software:pylith:plans:2014 for the current
development plan.

======================================================================
TIPS
======================================================================

  * If the linear solve takes more than a few hundred iterations for a
    large problem (use the --petsc.ksp_monitor=1 and
    --petsc.ksp_view=1 to see diagnostic information for the solver),
    this is usually an indication that something is wrong. Either the
    preconditioner is inappropriate for the type of problem you are
    solving or there is an error in the problem setup.


======================================================================
MIGRATING FROM VERSION 2.0 TO 2.1
======================================================================

The points file for OutputSolnPoints must now contain station names as
the first column.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Version 2.1.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------

* Station names are required for output at arbitrary points
  (OutputSolnPoints) and are included in a /stations dataset in HDF5
  files.

* A progress monitor will update a text file with the progress of a
  simulation (time in the time stepping loop or the number of impulses
  completed) and given an estimate of when the simulation will be
  completed.

* Bug fixes

  - A few bugs related to creating cohesive cells for fault
    intersections have been fixed. Faults can now meet at T
    intersections provided the buried edges of the faults are
    clamped. In other words, the fault ending at the T intersection
    has a clamped edge along the intersection. The fault ending at the
    intersection must also come AFTER the through-going fault in the
    list of fault interfaces.

  - There have been two major bug fixes for Drucker-Prager plasticity,
    for both DruckerPrager3D and DruckerPragerPlaneStrain. The first fix
    was a missing initial pressure term for the plastic multiplier
    in the Drucker-Prager formulation. This affects plasticity
    calculations when initial stresses are used. The error has been
    corrected in the code, the manual, and the unit tests. The second
    bug was an incorrect test for tensile yield that could cause
    PyLith to exit with an error when plastic yield had not actually
    occurred. The error would only occur when the allow_tensile_yield
    flag was set to False. This bug has been fixed in the code, and the
    new test is also described in the manual. This should prevent
    problems that previously existed when allow_tensile_yield was set
    to False (as it should be for most quasi-static problems).

  - Fixed bug in DataWriterHDF5Ext associated with multiple processes
    writing information to the HDF5 file. With external datasets the
    HDF5 file is limited to metadata and is maintained by process 0.

  - A two-dimensional gravity example has been added, based on the
    tutorial from the June, 2014 workshop at Stanford University.
    The tutorial itself is in examples/2d/gravity, and a new section
    has also been added to the manual describing the example.

  - Fixed inconsistent fault orientation when running in parallel
    for 2-D domains.


======================================================================
MIGRATING FROM VERSION 1.9 TO 2.0
======================================================================

Changes to various C++ objects permitted simplifying the specification
of a number of components. The map below indicates the name changes.

  CellFilterAvgMesh -> CellFilterAvg
  CellFilterAvgSubMesh -> CellFilterAvg
  DataWriterVTKMesh -> DataWriterVTK
  DataWriterVTKSubMesh -> DataWriterVTK
  DataWriterVTKSubSubMesh -> DataWriterVTK
  DataWriterHDF5Mesh -> DataWriterHDF5
  DataWriterHDF5SubMesh -> DataWriterHDF5
  DataWriterHDF5SubSubMesh -> DataWriterHDF5
  DataWriterHDF5ExtMesh -> DataWriterHDF5Ext
  DataWriterHDF5ExtSubMesh -> DataWriterHDF5Ext
  DataWriterHDF5ExtSubSubMesh -> DataWriterHDF5Ext

  Running the script:

    bash $PYLITH_DIR/doc/developer/update_1.9to2.0.sh

  will update all .cfg files in the current directory and all
  subdirectories with the new names (you will need to replace
  $PYLITH_DIR with the directory containing the PyLith source code).


PyLith allows use of the Chaco and ParMetis/Metis partitioners. The
name of the ParMetis/Metis partitioner was changed from "parmetis" to
"metis".

  [pylithapp.mesh_generator]
  distributor.partitioner = metis

Buried edges of faults are handled differently in v2.0. A separate
nodeset/pset should be created and contain the vertices on the buried
edges of the fault. See the Section 6.4.2 of the PyLith manual for
more information.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Version 2.0.3
----------------------------------------------------------------------

* Bug fixes

  - Updated autotools files (Makefile.am, configure.ac) for
    compatibility with recent versions of automake (up to and including
    v1.14.1).

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Version 2.0.2
----------------------------------------------------------------------

* Bug fixes

  - Fixed linking issue in Darwin binary distribution, primarily
    affecting systems with OS X 10.7 and 10.8.

  - Improved example journal files for CUBIT/Trelis to improve
    compatibility (examples/meshing/surface_nurbs/dem).

  - Updated more journal in examples so that APREPRO lines have a
    leading '$' instead of a '#' to differentiate from comments.

  - Added examples/debugging files from Crustal Deformation Modeling
    workshop debugging tutorial.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Version 2.0.1
----------------------------------------------------------------------

* Bug fixes

  - Improved example journal files for CUBIT/Trelis to improve
    compatibility. All journal files should work with CUBIT 14.1 and
    Trelis 15.0.

  - Created examples of IDless journal files in examples/2d/greensfns.
    These files should work with all recent versions of CUBIT and
    Trelis.

  - Switched journal APREPRO lines to have leading '$' instead of '#'
    to differentiate from comments.


----------------------------------------------------------------------
Version 2.0.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------

* Replaced C++ Sieve implementation of finite-element data structures
  with C DMPlex implementation.

  DMPlex provides a simpler, more efficient implementation of the
  finite-element data structures that conforms to the PETSc data
  management (DM) interface. This provides tighter integration with
  the rest of PETSc. Additionally, this rewrite of the data structures
  results in a more efficient memory layout, resulting in better
  performance.

* Improved treatment of buried fault edges, so that the slip naturally
  tapers to zero along the buried edges.

  An additional nodeset/pset is used to designate the buried edges of
  a fault. This allows the cohesive cells to be inserted up to the
  edge of the fault without splitting the mesh at the fault edge. The
  slip will naturally taper to zero at along the buried edges as a
  result of how the cohesive cells are created.

* Switched from using Subversion to Git for version control.

  The source code repository changed from a CIG maintained Subversion
  repository to a Git repository at GitHub.com. The URL for the Git
  repository is https://github.com/geodynamics/pylith. The installer
  has been updated accordingly.

* Added ability to recursively refine a mesh.

  Global uniform refinement can now be done recursively. Each
  refinement reduces the vertex spacing by a factor of two. Using more
  than one level of refinement should be done carefully as the mesh
  quality will generally deteriorate with more levels of refinement.

* Directories for output are created as necessary.

  Directories where output files are written will be created if
  necessary. Previously, the directories would not be created, so that
  opening the output files in a nonexistent directory would generate
  an error.

* Improved error messages.

  Error messages originating in PETSc will include a stack trace that
  includes both PyLith and PETSc code. Previously, only the PETSc code
  was included. This provides significantly more information for
  debugging.

* Improved CUBIT example for mesh sizing functions.

  Based on experimentation with CUBIT 14.0, 14.1, and Trelis 15.0, we
  have improved the CUBIT mesh sizing examples
  (examples/meshing/cubit_cellsize). We were able to simplify the
  journal files and use fewer CUBIT commands. The new procedure also
  eliminates some CUBIT warnings.

* Several small improvements to various sections of the manual based
  on feedback and questions from users.

  - Added more information about the workflow involved in using PyLith.

  - Added a discussion of how to set scales for nondimensionalization.

  - Added a discussion of how the stable time step is computed for the
    various materials.

  - Updated and expanded the discussion of using initial state
    variables.

* Bug fixes

  - Fixed two MPI related bugs in computing Green's functions in
    parallel. The number of impulses corresponded to only those on
    process 0.

  - Corrected computation of fault tractions (Lagrange multipliers) on
    process boundaries for prescribed slip with explicit time stepping.

  - Fixed bug when reading in list of output points with just one
    point.

  - Adjusted autoconf Python setup macro to remove temporary
    sysconfig.pyc file.

  - Added check to make sure degree of freedom specified in Dirichlet
    BC is consistent with spatial dimension of problem.

  - Corrected two typos in the manual related to fault opening and
    tractions in examples/3d/hex8/step20 and updating to the use of
    cell.dimension for the quadrature scheme with tets.

  - Fixed stable time step computed for power-law viscoelastic
    rheology to match manual.


======================================================================
MIGRATING FROM VERSION 1.8 TO 1.9
======================================================================

No changes are needed in .cfg files to switch from v1.8.0 to
v1.9.0. Version 1.9.0 does includes some changes to the friction and
material model interfaces, so extensions do require changes. See the
templates for details.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Version 1.9.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------

* New features

  * Added Newton-Raphson algorithm for spontaneous rupture simulations
    with explicit-stepping.

    Enforcing the friction criterion in a spontaneous rupture
    simulation with explicit time-stepping now uses a Newton-Raphson
    algorithm to find the correct traction increment. This provides a
    more stable numerical solution and eliminates oscillatory behavior
    when using rate-state friction. 

    Added SCEC spontaneous rupture benchmark TPV102 to the benchmark
    repository. PyLith produces results very similar to several other
    finite-element codes.

* Bug fixes

  - Fixed two MPI related bugs in computing Green's functions in
    parallel. The number of impulses corresponded to only those on
    process 0 and the output of the impulses for vertices on processor
    boundaries was inconsistent.

  - Corrected computation of fault tractions (Lagrange multipliers) on
    process boundaries for prescribed slip with explicit time stepping.

  - Fixed bug when reading in list of output points with just one
    point.

  - Adjusted autoconf Python setup macro to remove temporary
    sysconfig.pyc file.

  - Added check to make sure degree of freedom specified in Dirichlet
    BC is consistent with spatial dimension of problem.

  - Corrected two typos in the manual related to fault opening and
    tractions in examples/3d/hex8/step20 and updating to the use of
    cell.dimension for the quadrature scheme with tetrahedral cells.

======================================================================
MIGRATING FROM VERSION 1.7 TO 1.8
======================================================================

Explicit time stepping with a non-lumped Jacobian has been eliminated
and ExplicitLumped is now Explicit.

  Old setting
  ------------------------------------------------
  formulation = pylith.problems.ExplicitLumped
  formulation = pylith.problems.ExplicitLumpedTri3
  formulation = pylith.problems.ExplicitLumpedTet4

  New setting
  ------------------------------------------------
  formulation = pylith.problems.Explicit
  formulation = pylith.problems.ExplicitTri3
  formulation = pylith.problems.ExplicitTet4

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Version 1.8.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------

* New features

  * Additional flexibility in PETSc nonlinear solver parameters

    The default line search type for the PETSc nonlinear (SNES) solver
    is a customized backtrace method included in PyLith. The user may
    now select alternative line search types (basic, bt, l2, cp)
    available in PETSc.

  * Post-processing utility pylith_eqinfo to compute slip information.

    This post-processing utility computes the moment magnitude,
    seismic moment, seismic potency, and average slip at
    user-specified snapshots in time from PyLith HDF5 output.
    Information is given for each fault and across all faults. See
    the Post-processing section in the Running PyLith
    chapter of the manual for more information.

  * Computation of the stable time step for explicit time-stepping.

    The stable time step for explicit time-stepping is computed based
    on the CFL condition and minimum edge lengths. For triangular and
    tetrahedral cells we also account for a reduction in the stable
    time step due to distorted cells (e.g., slivers and needles). See
    the Stable time step section in the Materials chapter of the
    manual for more information.

  * Output the stable time step for each cell in a material.
 
    Output cell_info_fields "stable_dt_implicit" and
    "stable_dt_explicit" can be included in material output.

  * Added netCDF Python module to binary distribution to provide
    Python interface to NetCDF files, including Exodus-II files. This
    is used in a new meshing example for setting the discretization
    size using an Exodus-II vertex field. Note that this required
    updating the NetCDF library.

* Bug fixes

  - Fixed omission of synchronization of stable time step computation
    among processors. Minimum time step among all processors rather
    than local value should be used.

  - Fixed density scale not being set in NondimElasticQuasistatic.
    Density scale should be set based on shear modulus, length scale,
    and relaxation time.

  - Added warning when initial state for a fault constitutive model is
    not set. If an initial state value is not given, for rate-state
    friction using a default value of L / reference slip rate. Other
    fault constitutive models use a default value of 0.0 for initial
    state variables.

  - Separated tensor components in Xdmf files to avoid confusion. The
    corresponding HDF5 files remain unchanged.

  - Removed explicit time-stepping formulation with non-lumped
    Jacobian. This formulation was not setup properly for spontaneous
    rupture models and is too computationally expensive for practical
    problems. The ExplicitLumped* formulations are now simply Explicit*.

  - Fixed parallel bug that resulting in inconsistent orientation of
    fault slip directions. Flipping the fault orientation was not
    synchronized across processors. This bug would only appear when
    running in parallel with faults that change from dipping in one
    direction to dipping in the opposite direction.

  - Fixed bug in setting name of field in OutputSolnPoints when output
    multiple fields. This bug caused the name of the first output
    field to be used and output data to overwrite each other.

======================================================================
MIGRATING FROM VERSION 1.6 TO 1.7
======================================================================

Two changes are required when migrating from version 1.6 to 1.7.

(1) The FIATSimplex object now has the same parameters as the
    FIAGLagrange object.

  Old setting                   New setting
  ------------------------      ------------------
  cell.shape = line             cell.dimension = 1
  cell.shape = triangle         cell.dimension = 2
  cell.shape = tetrahedron      cell.dimension = 3

(2) Prescribed fault tractions for spontaneous earthquake rupture use
    a new, more flexible implementation that follows the same
    functional form for spatial and temporal variation as that used in
    the Dirichlet and Neumann boundary conditions. Consequently, the
    output info fields are also different and follow the naming scheme
    used in the other time-dependent boundary conditions.

  Old settings
  --------------------------------------------------------------------
  [pylithapp.timedependent.interfaces.fault]
  db_initial_tractions = spatialdata.spatialdb.SimpleDB
  db_initial_tractions.iohandler.filename = tractions.spatialdb
  db_initial_tractions.label = Initial fault tractions

  New settings
  --------------------------------------------------------------------
  traction_perturbation = pylith.faults.TractPerturbation
  [pylithapp.timedependent.interfaces.fault.traction_perturbation]
  db_initial = spatialdata.spatialdb.SimpleDB
  db_initial.iohandler.filename = tractions.spatialdb
  db_initial.label = Initial fault tractions


----------------------------------------------------------------------
Version 1.7.1
----------------------------------------------------------------------

* Bug fixes

  - Fixed a couple of bugs in the spontaneous earthquake rupture for
    quasi-static problems when running in parallel. These prevented
    the nonlinear solve from converging and erroneously generated
    fault-opening in a some cases.

  - Minor updates to the documentation and manual. Added Green's
    function examples to the manual.


----------------------------------------------------------------------
Version 1.7.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------

* New features

  * User-friendly interface for Green's functions

    A new problem type provides a user-friendly interface for
    computing Green's functions associated with fault slip for complex
    spatial variation in elastic properties. See examples/2d/greensfns
    in the tutorials for examples.

  * Output of solution field at user-specified locations
 
    Added a new output manager for interpolation of the solution field
    to user-specified point locations. This feature is useful for
    comparison of the solution with observations and in computing
    Green's functions. See examples/3d/hex8/step19 and
    examples/2d/greensfns in the tutorials for examples.

  * Plane strain version of Drucker-Prager elastoplastic model

    Added a plane strain version of the Drucker-Prager elastoplastic
    model. Additionally, the user can now select whether to use an
    inscribed, intermediate, or circumscribed fit to the Mohr Coulomb
    criterion.

  * Spatial and temporal variation in tractions for spontaneous
    earthquake rupture

    Switched from a simple constant spatial variation in initial fault
    tractions to the more flexible spatial and temporal variation
    consistent with the Dirichlet, Neumann, and point force boundary
    conditions. Also added a switch to turn on/off applying prescribed
    fault tractions when the fault opens; the default behavior is to
    stop applying prescribed fault tractions when the fault opens, but
    turning this off allows simulation of dike intrusions via
    prescribed fault tractions. See examples/3d/hex8/step20 in the
    tutorials for an example of how to specify fault tractions with
    the new implementation.
  
  * Ability to use PETSc GPU solvers

    Added ability to build PyLith with either double (default) or
    single precision floating point values to facilitate use of
    GPUs. In order to use PETSc GPU solvers, CUDA and cusp must be
    installed and PETSc must be configured to use CUDA. See the PyLith
    manual and PETSc documentation for details.

  * User-specified start time for simulations.

    Users can set the simulation start time to any desired value. This
    facilitates combining simulations to model the earthquake cycle.

  * Elastic prestep in quasi-static simulations is optional.

    The elastic prestep in quasi-static simulations can be skipped
    (the default is to include the elastic prestep). This facilitates
    combining simulations to model the earthquake cycle.

* Bug fixes

  - Fixed bug in the spontaneous earthquake rupture for quasi-static
    problems when running in parallel. 


======================================================================
MIGRATING FROM VERSION 1.5 TO 1.6
======================================================================

No changes in parameters are required. Version 1.6.1 does require
users to specify descriptive labels for spatial databases and friction
models.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Version 1.6.3
----------------------------------------------------------------------

* Bug fixes

  - Improved error messages for problems encountered during processing
    of parameters. A backtrace of the object hierarchy is now included
    to pinpoint in which object the error occurred.

  - Added a line search to the inner friction solve in quasi-static
    simulations to increase the robustness of the nonlinear
    solve. Simulations using rate and state friction now converge
    under a much wider range of circumstances.

  - Fixed bug in updating slip state variable in slip-weakening
    friction. This caused slight errors in the cumulative slip. We
    also added a parameter that forces healing to occur in a single
    time step. This is used to confine slip to a single time step in
    quasi-static simulations. See examples/3d/hex8/step13.cfg for an
    example.

  - Tuned parameters in the slip-weakening friction and rate and state
    friction examples (step13.cfg and step14.cfg, respectively) in
    examples/3d/hex8 to give stick-slip behavior.

  - Fixed communication issue associated with writing boundary
    condition information output in parallel. 

  - Changed info in Xdmf file for fields that are not scalars,
    vectors, or tensors so that the each component is extracted,
    facilitating visualization in ParaView. The corresponding HDF5
    file remains the same.

  - Added the ability to specify non-derived units (e.g., degree and
    radian). This is useful in specifying parameters for the
    Drucker-Prager elastoplastic rheologies. If no units are
    specified, radians are assumed.

* Internal changes

  - Rate and state friction with ageing law

    The implementation of rate and state friction with ageing law was
    modified to work better with the iterative solver. We switched to
    the conventional, unregularized formulation but added a minimum
    cutoff for the slip rate. Below this cutoff friction has a linear
    rather than logarithmic dependence on slip rate. As long as this
    cutoff is close to the SNES solver tolerance, the difference in
    behavior is negligible while improving the ability of the solver
    to converge for very small deformations.

KNOWN ISSUES

  The rate and state friction with ageing law has not been tested for
  dynamic rupture simulations. We plan to run the SCEC Dynamic Rupture
  benchmarks for rate and state friction as soon as we add a
  spatial-temporal specification of initial fault tractions, which are
  required for the benchmark problems.

  Running simulations with more than a million cells and large faults
  in parallel can result in severe memory imbalances among
  processors. Some processors around the fault may use 10x more memory
  than processors away from the fault. We expect this problem to
  disappear in v1.7 when we switch to new, more efficient Sieve
  implementation.


----------------------------------------------------------------------
Version 1.6.2
----------------------------------------------------------------------

* Bug fixes

  - Fixed bug in writing tensor data for Xdmf files. Switched Tensor
    to Tensor6 to account for symmetry.

  - Fixed bug in writing HDF5 files in parallel when one processor
    does not write any information (e.g., faults and boundary
    conditions).

  - Added dimensioning of time dataset in HDF5 files. The units are
    now seconds rather than nondimensional time.

  - Fixed memory allocation error (std::bad_alloc) when a processor
    did not contain cells for a boundary condition or output. This bug
    did not show up on all architectures.

  - Increased robustness of spontaneous rupture (fault friction)
    implementation to broaden the range of conditions it can
    handle. The implementation now properly handles cases with fault
    opening and cases with zero shear or normal tractions.
    

* Internal changes

  - Fault implementation

    Several changes have been made to the fault implementation, but
    none of these affect the user interface. The runtime performance
    is nearly identical with improved accuracy for spontaneous rupture
    (fault friction) simulations. These changes involved switching to
    using tractions (non-integrated quantities) for the Lagrange
    multipliers in the global coordinate system rather than integrated
    quantities in the fault coordinate system. Additionally, initial
    fault tractions are associated with the fault vertices and their
    interpolation uses the finite-element basis functions.

  - Distribution of mesh among processors

    The data structures used to distribute the mesh among processors
    have been improved. This reduces memory use and runtime for this
    stage of the simulations.


KNOWN ISSUES

  The custom line search used with the PETSc nonlinear solver (SNES)
  has difficulty handling some loading cases. In cases where the
  direction of the line search tends to be nearly orthogonal to the
  residual, the rate of convergence in the SNES iterations is
  extremely slow. In other cases the nonlinear solver gets stuck in a
  local minimum. We plan to improve the line search algorithm in a
  future release in order to resolve this issue and improve the rate
  of convergence in spontaneous rupture simulations.


----------------------------------------------------------------------
Version 1.6.1
----------------------------------------------------------------------

* Validation of user input

  Added stricter requirements for descriptive labels of various
  objects, including spatial databases and friction models. The
  default labels are empty strings which do not result in useful error
  messages; the user is now required to specify a non-empty string for
  the labels. This makes errors related to spatial databases much
  easier to diagnose.


* Updates to manual

  - Updated description of cell_info_fields for Neumann boundary
    condition. The description had not been updated to reflect the
    time-dependence introduced in version 1.4.

  - Added steps 18 and 19 that discuss time-dependent Neumann boundary
    conditions to examples/3d/hex8.


* Bug fixes

  - Fixed bug in writing rupture information to VTK and HDF5 files
    when using multiple earthquake sources. Field names did not include
    name of rupture. This caused loss of information in VTK output and
    a corrupted Xdmf metadata file for HDF5 output.

  - Fixed error in use of initial stress tensor with generalized Maxwell
    models. The initial stress tensor was added to the current stress
    tensor twice.

  - Fixed two bugs in the fault friction implementation. One bug
    pertained to accounting for roundoff errors and convergence
    tolerances in computing the slip rate. Slip rates less than
    1.0e-12 (nondimensionalized) are set to zero. The friction
    implementation for quasi-static problems contained a bug that
    resulted in slip extending over all of the fault rather than the
    appropriate isolated patch.

  - Cleaned up Green's function example (examples/greensfns/hex8) so
    that it runs without errors. Eliminated extraneous processing.

  - Cleaned up meshing examples (examples/meshing), including
    elimination of superfluous pre-processing. 

  - Adjusted absolute tolerances for PETSc solves in examples/3d/hex8
    so that solver terminates with desired convergence criterion.

  - Updated examples/2d/subduction/geometry.jou to use APREPRO
    functions and variables to store id values.


----------------------------------------------------------------------
Version 1.6.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------

* New features

  * Parallel binary output via HDF5

    Provides much faster output by writing HDF5 files in parallel,
    which can be accessed directly from Matlab or indirectly from
    ParaView or Visit via automatically created Xdmf files. Temporal
    data is stored in 3-D arrays, permitting slicing in time and/or
    space. See examples/3d/hex8 Steps 6-9 and examples/2d/subduction
    in the tutorials for examples.

 * 2-D generalized Maxwell viscoelastic bulk rheology

    Added a 2-D generalized Maxwell viscoelastic bulk rheology
    corresponding to the plane strain version of the 3-D generalized
    Maxwell viscoelastic model.

 * Time-weakening fault constitutive model

    Added a linear time-weakening fault constitutive model. Some
    spontaneous rupture modelers prefer this model over linear
    slip-weakening because it is easier to maintain resolution of the
    cohesive zone.

 * Global uniform parallel mesh refinement

    Permits running larger problems through uniform global refinement
    of the mesh by a factor of 2 (reduces the node spacing by a factor
    of 2) after the mesh is distributed among processors. This allows
    running problems that are 4x larger in 2-D and 8x larger in
    3-D. See examples/3d/tet4 Steps 2 and 4 for examples.
  
 * Custom algebraic multigrid preconditioner

    Adds a custom preconditioner for Lagrange multiplier degrees of
    freedom associated with fault slip via prescribed slip or
    spontaneous ruptures with algebraic multigrid preconditioning for
    quasi-static solutions. In most cases, this results in fewer
    iterations in the linear solve and the number of iterations
    increases much less with problem size. See examples/3d/tet4 Steps
    2 and 4 for examples.

  * PyLith installer utility

    This utility provides a much more robust method for building
    PyLith and all of its dependencies from source, including
    dependency checking, installation to a central location, and
    creation of a shell script to set environment variables. 

* Bug fixes

    - Fixed the fault friction implementation to correctly update Lagrange
      multiplier values when the slip is overestimated in an
      iteration. This primary fixes problems encountered with the use
      of the Dieterich-Ruina rate and state fault constitutive model.

    - Corrected viscoelastic rheologies to properly account for a
      nonzero initial strain tensor.


======================================================================
MIGRATING FROM VERSION 1.4 TO 1.5
======================================================================

Three changes to the code require updating old parameters settings for use
with version 1.5.

(1) Recent releases of CUBIT include nodeset names in the Exodus file
and PyLith now uses them to associate vertices with boundary
conditions and faults. Use the NetCDF utility ncdump to examine the
contents of the Exodus (.exo) file to see it it includes the variable
ns_names. If it does, then use nodeset names rather than nodeset ids
for boundary condition label properties. If your Exodus file does not
contain nodeset names, then set the MeshIOCubit property
use_nodeset_names to False to continue to use nodeset id values for
boundary condition labels.

(2) The power-law constitutive parameters have been changed so that the
parameter units are no longer dependent on the power-law exponent. This
is a more logical implementation and allows (among other things) users to
vary power-law parameters using a spatial database. Previously, it was not
possible to vary power-law parameters unless everything used the same
power-law exponent. The new implementation uses reference-strain-rate,
reference-stress, and power-law-exponent to describe the material. This is
described in the 'Material Models' section of the manual.

(3) The fault property 'normal_dir' is obsolete. Only the property
'up_dir' is required to enforce that positive slip is left-lateral,
reverse, and fault-opening for dipping faults in 2-D and horizontal
fault surfaces in 3-D. Previously, in 2-D positive slip was always
left-lateral, but now the up-direction is used to enforce positive
slip corresponds to reverse motion for dipping faults. For horizontal
fault surfaces in 3-D a normal of (0,0,1) is assumed in determining
the up-dip direction.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Version 1.5.2
----------------------------------------------------------------------

  * PyLith 1.5.2 requires FIAT version 0.9.9 or later and an updated
    PETSc development version. It also requires users to update to the
    latest spatialdata version for compatibility of the SWIG generated
    files. These are included in the binary distribution, but users
    building PyLith from source will need to update FIAT, PETSc, and
    spatialdata.

  * Bug fixes

    - Fixed setting of elastic constants in DruckerPrager3D and
      computation of the yield function. Some off-diagonal elasticity
      constants were off by a factor of 2.0 and the yield function was
      missing a factor of 0.5 and sqrt().

    - Fixed computation of stable time step when using initial
      stresses with PowerLaw3D. If effective stress is zero, then
      stable time step is infinite.

    - Re-enabled check for compatibility of quadrature scheme and
      cells for bulk rheologies.

    - Added check to configure for compatible version of FIAT.

    - Fixed bug where buffer for output of initial stresses for
      dynamic (spontaneous) rupture.


----------------------------------------------------------------------
Version 1.5.1
----------------------------------------------------------------------

  * Bug fixes

    - Fixed dimensioning of velocity and acceleration fields in
      output. The scales were set to just the length scale rather than
      the length scale divided by the time scale and length scale
      divided by the time scale squared.

    - Fixed partitioning of cohesive cells. Cohesive cells were
      ignored during partitioning of the mesh, so they were randomly
      distributed among processors.


----------------------------------------------------------------------
Version 1.5.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------

  * Fault constitutive models

    Added fault friction interface conditions with static friction,
    linear slip-weakening friction, and rate- and state-friction with
    the ageing law. The implementation can be used in static,
    quasi-static, and dynamic problems.

  * Drucker-Prager elastoplastic bulk rheology

    Added a Drucker-Prager elastoplastic bulk rheology. This is a
    perfect plasticity implementation (no hardening). This is a
    nonlinear constitutive model, so the nonlinear solver is required
    when this rheology is used. Refer to the 'Material Models' section
    of the manual.

  * Plane strain Maxwell viscoelastic bulk rheology

    Linear Maxwell viscoelastic rheology for plane strain problems.

  * Finite-deformation formulation

    Added a finite-deformation (rigid body motion and small strains)
    implementation of elasticity with stress calculated using the
    Second Piola Kirchhoff stress tensor and strains calculated using
    the Green-Lagrange strain tensor.

  * Lumped Jacobian for explicit-time stepping

    Added the option to lump cell Jacobian matrices to form a diagonal
    system Jacobian matrix for explicit time stepping. This decouples
    all degrees of freedom and permits use of a fast, trivial, direct
    solver.

  * Optimized elasticity objects

    Added optimized elasticity objects for the most popular cell types
    and basis functions (linear polynomials). For tri3 and tet4 cells
    with one quadrature point, the optimized implementations do not
    use reference (mapped) cells in order to reduce the number of
    operations. 

  * Scientific notation for ASCII VTK files

    Data values in ASCII data files are written in scientific notation
    with user-specified precision.

  * Nodeset names in CUBIT Exodus files

    Use of nodeset names in CUBIT Exodus files for boundary conditions
    and faults. Users can specify to use nodeset names (default
    behavior) or ids.

  * Velocity and slip rate as output fields

    Velocity (domain and subdomain) and slip rate (fault) fields are
    can be requested as output fields. The fields are computed using
    the time-stepping algorithm and alleviates the need to compute
    them via post-processing.

  * Dimensionless values in spatial databases no longer need
    artificial dimensions. Values without dimensions are understood by
    the parser as dimensionless quantities.

  * Bug fixes

    - Updating state variables did not retrieve physical properties
      for cell. Last physical properties retrieved were used. Physical
      properties are now retrieved when updating state variables.

    - Fixed incorrect dimensioning of physical properties and state
      variables for the power-law rheology in output.

    - Fixed memory bug for a fault in a 1-D mesh when constructing the
      cohesive cells.


======================================================================
MIGRATING FROM VERSION 1.3 TO 1.4
======================================================================

A number of changes to the code require updating old parameter
settings for use with version 1.4.

(1) The mesh "importer" is now called "reader".

(2) The spatial database facility for a material, "db", is separated
into a "db_properties" and a "db_initial_state". The initial stress
and strain tensors are specified using the "db_initial_stress" and
"db_initial_strain" facilities. The names of some of the spatial
database values for physical properties for viscoelastic properties
have changed.

(3) The code is now intelligent enough to determine the dimensions of
the quadrature required (e.g., Quadrature2D and Quadrature2Din3D,
etc). Setting the quadrature to the object for a given spatial
dimension and cell dimension is no longer allowed because it is done
automatically.

(4) The names of the output filters have changed and include suffixes
Mesh or SubMesh to indicate that they operate on a mesh or submesh
(e.g., CellFilterAvg is now CellFilterAvgMesh or
CellFilterAvgSubMesh). This is related to the use of C++ templates.

(5) The DirichletPoints boundary condition has been renamed to
DirichletBC.

(6) The procedure for enabling certain features no longer involves
setting a "use" property to True. Instead, the features are enabled
when the user sets the component to a facility. This applies to
gravity, initial stresses, initial strains, and initial state
variables, and time-dependent boundary conditions (Dirichlet, Neumann,
and point force).

(7) Nondimensionalization of the problem eliminates the need to
condition the fault constraints. The "mat_db" facility was removed.

(8) The Dirichlet and Neumann boundary conditions now follow a more
general time dependence. The names of the facilities and the names of
the values in the spatial databases are, in most cases, different.

(9) The FixedDOFDB has been renamed to ZeroDispDB in order to better
reflect the type of spatial database.

======================================================================
MIGRATING FROM VERSION 1.2 TO 1.3
======================================================================

The implementation of different options for controlling the time step
requires adjusting input parameters from those used with PyLith
1.2. The time stepping is specified under the time-stepping
formulation rather than the problem (i.e., one level deeper).

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Version 1.3.1
----------------------------------------------------------------------

  * Added stages to PETSc logging (--petsc.log_summary=1) to collect
    event logging into groups.

  * Bug fixes

    - Fixed partitioning options. Partitioning options were ignored in
      the 1.3.0 release.

    - Fixed assembling of Jacobian, residual, and fault sections
      across processors. This bug caused errors in the computation of
      the change in tractions over the fault surface.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Version 1.3.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------

  * New time stepping options

    In addition to a uniform, user-specified time step, which is the
    default, there are two new time-stepping options. The user may
    supply a file with nonuniform time steps or, for quasi-static
    simulations, the user can request the code to compute the time
    step automatically. For the current bulk constitutive models, the
    automatically determined time step is independent of the
    deformation rate, so it is uniform.

  * Initial stresses

    Users may optionally supply an initial stress state for each
    material via a spatial database. The initial stress state can
    balance the gravitational body forces so that the model is in
    equilibrium without any deformation. This implementation of an
    initial stress state is a prelude to specifying an initial state
    for each material, which will be available in a future release.

  * Bug fixes

    - Fixed labeling of physical properties in output for the Maxwell
      viscoelastic and generalized Maxwell viscoelastic materials (mu
      and lambda were switched).

======================================================================
MIGRATING FROM VERSION 1.1 TO 1.2
======================================================================

There are two new features in PyLith version 1.2 that require users to
adjust input parameters from those used with PyLith 1.1. A dynamic
array of kinematic rupture replaces a single kinematic rupture on a
fault. Additionally, the default slip time function is now a
step-function. This eliminates the need to specify a peak slip rate
for quasi-static simulations. When using PyLith version 1.2 with a
problem previously setup for PyLith 1.1, look for warnings about
unknown components and settings in the screen output at the beginning
of a run.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Version 1.2.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------

  * New Sieve implementation

    The previous implementation of Sieve provided a very generalized
    implementation of data structures and operations for
    finite-element meshes. Switching to a more rigid implementation in
    the new implementation streamlined the data structures, resulting
    in a significant reduction in the memory use for storing the
    mesh. This leads to an overall reduction in memory use of 25-30%
    in many cases.

  * Multiple kinematic ruptures

    A single kinematic rupture on a fault has been replaced by a
    dynamic array of kinematic ruptures. This allows creation of an
    arbitrary number of kinematic ruptures on each fault surface. By
    using spatial databases to control the spatial and temporal extent
    of slip in each rupture independently, slip from different
    earthquake ruptures can overlap in space and/or
    time. Additionally, the rupture time at each location is specified
    with respect to the origin time of the corresponding earthquake
    rupture.

  * New slip time functions

    - Step slip time function (now the default)

      This slip time function simplifies specifying instantaneous slip
      in a quasi-static simulation compared with using the Brune slip
      time function.

    - Constant slip rate slip time function

      This slip time function permits prescribing a constant slip rate
      on the fault surface.

  * Gravitational body forces

    Gravitational body forces are implemented (they are turned off by
    default). The direction and acceleration of gravity may be specified.

  * Fixed Makefile.am files to not delete source files during "make
    clean" when building in the source tree.

======================================================================
MIGRATING FROM VERSION 1.0 TO 1.1
======================================================================

There are two new features in PyLith version 1.1 that require users to
adjust input parameters from those used with PyLith 1.0. The
elimination of containers in favor of the dynamic arrays of components
present in the latest version of Pyre requires switching from setting
the container to specifying the array of components on the command
line or .cfg file. Additionally, the new implementation of output
requires a completely new set of parameters. When using PyLith version
1.1 with a problem previously setup for PyLith 1.0, look for warnings
about unknown components and settings in the output at the beginning
of a run.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Version 1.1.2
----------------------------------------------------------------------

  * Fixed bug in output of solution over sub-domain boundary surfaces
    in parallel.

  * Fixed Makefile.am files to include documentation files in source
    distribution.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Version 1.1.1
----------------------------------------------------------------------

  * Fixed Makefile.am files to include files missing from the source
    distribution.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Version 1.1.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------

  * New boundary conditions

    - Neumann (traction) boundary conditions

    - Absorbing boundary conditions via simple, tuned dampers

    - Dirichlet boundary conditions with displacement and/or velocity values

  * New bulk constitutive models

    - Generalized Maxwell viscoelastic model 

  * New output implementation

    The output to VTK files has been completely rewritten. This new
    implementation includes output of physical properties and state
    variables associated with the bulk constitutive models, as well as
    output of fault information (earthquake rupture parameters and
    slip and traction time histories). Additionally, the VTK file with
    the solution no longer includes fault related values- it contains
    just the displacement field over the domain as one would expect. A
    user can now also request output of the solution over an arbitrary
    number of sub-domains of the domain boundary, e.g., the ground
    surface. For each of these different kinds of output, the
    frequency of output and the values included can be customized by
    the user. The names of the VTK files and the variable names have
    also been adjusted to permit animation of solutions within most
    VTK visualization tools.

  * New spatial database implementations

    Spatialdata includes two new spatial database implementations. The
    SCECCVMHDB provides a seamless interface to the SCEC CVM-H seismic
    velocity model for elastic material properties. The UniformDB
    permits creating a spatial database for uniform values using only
    .cfg files or the command line; this eliminates the need to create
    a SimpleDB database file with one location.

  * Dynamic arrays of components in Pyre

    Pyre now contains dynamic arrays of components, eliminating the
    need for containers for materials, boundary conditions, and
    faults.

  * Better consistency checking of input parameters

    - Uniqueness of material identifiers for materials and faults is
      enforced.

    - The material identifier of each cell in the mesh is checked to
      make sure it matches a material model.

    - Each boundary, interface condition, and output group is checked
      to make sure it exists in the mesh.

  * Bug fixes

    - Fixed bug causing segmentation fault with multiple,
      non-overlapping Dirichlet boundary conditions applied to vertices.

    - Fixed numerous bugs related to explicit time integration for
      dynamic problems.

    - Eliminated several small memory errors.

    - Fixed several bugs associated with writing VTK files in parallel.

  * Known issues

      - PyLith still uses much more memory that PyLith 0.8 due to the
        current general Sieve implementation. A much more efficient,
        albeit less general Sieve implementation is under
        development. Additionally, distribution of the mesh will also be
        improved in a future release.

      - The preconditioner for explicit time stepping provides
        relatively poor overall performance compared to a direct solve
        with traditional mass lumping. An appropriate preconditioner and
        traditional mass lumping will be supported in a future release.


----------------------------------------------------------------------
Version 1.0.2
----------------------------------------------------------------------

  * Performance optimizations have significantly reduced runtime and
    memory use relative to version 1.0.1. The default quadrature order
    for tetrahedral cells is now 1, which is appropriate for the
    default basis functions.

  * Added checks to verify the compatibility of quadrature scheme for solid
    and cohesive cells.

  * Bug fixes

      - In some cases, cohesive cells were not inserted into the
        finite-element mesh properly. The cells mixed together vertices
        from the different sides of the fault. A more efficient
        procedure for creating cohesive cells fixed this problem.

      - Cell adjacency graph was created incorrectly which resulted in
        a poor quality of partitioning among processors.

      - VTK output for meshes with N faults included cohesive cells
        for N-1 faults. Since VTK output does not understand cohesive
        cells, we now remove all cohesive cells from the VTK output.

      - Using the SimpleDB in Spatialdata from Python limited
        interpolation to the "linear" scheme instead of allowing use of
        the "nearest" scheme. Setting the SimpleDB property to "nearest"
        and "linear" now works as expected.

      - The reader for Spatialdata coordinate systems information did not
        correctly putback characters in the input stream, resulting in
        reading errors. The putback routines were fixed.

      - Fault "up" and "normal" directions remained as string arrays
        when passed to the module, instead of being converted to float
        arrays.


----------------------------------------------------------------------
Version 1.0.1
----------------------------------------------------------------------

  * Bug fixes

      - Cohesive cells lacked consistent orientation (inconsistent
        normals) in cases where cells were not ordered one side of the
        fault and then the other.

      - Final slip of zero resulted in fault slip and slip increments
        of Nan.

      - Parallel importing of meshes from LaGrit and CUBIT lacked
        guards against all processors reading the files.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Version 1.0.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------

  * Code now includes both dynamic and quasi-static solutions.

  * Completely rewritten in Python and C++, with bindings provided by
    Pyrex/Pyrexembed.

  * Easier specification of simulations:

      - Parameters are all set using .cfg files (or .pml/command-line).

      - Mesh may be directly imported from CUBIT, LaGriT, or using
        PyLith mesh ASCII format.

      - Material properties, fault dislocations, and BC are all given
        using spatial databases, which are independent of mesh
        discretization.

  * Faults are now implemented using cohesive elements:

      - Easy specification of kinematic fault slip using a spatial
        database.

      - Cohesive elements generate offsets in the mesh corresponding
        to fault slip, which increase the accuracy of displacement
        fields near faults and facilitate visualization of fault slip.

      - Usage of cohesive elements will facilitate the upcoming
        addition of fault constitutive relations, where fault slip
        occurs in response to prescribed physics.

  * Improved implicit time-stepping eliminates need to perform more
    than one iteration for linear rheologies.

  * Code is now completely modular and object-oriented, which allows
    much easier addition of new features.  Modules may be added
    without having to recompile the code.

  * Features present in 0.8 that are not present in 1.0 that will be
    added in the near future.

      - Traction boundary conditions

      - Generalized Maxwell and Power-law Maxwell viscoelastic models