What is the difference between dictionary, library, utility and application?
 

Hi

I am new in openfoam. Can anyone say me, what is the difference between dictionary, library, utility and application in openfoam?

Please explain about that.

Thank you my friends.

dictionary = input file. These are in your case directory, usually in constant or system.

library = a collection of code that is used by the applications. If you have two applications that read the mesh, then it makes more sense to put all the mesh code into a common library that they both can use, rather than duplicate that code in each application.

application = code that can be executed from the console. Each application has a specific purpose, such as setFields, blockMesh, potentialFoam.

utility = we can categorise the applications into three groups: solvers, utilities and tests. Tests are for development purposes. Utilities perform many pre and post processing tasks, such as data conversion, meshing, and geometry manipulation. Solvers are the work horses for which OpenFOAM exists.