Repository Structure

At the root of the repository there are six directories:

  • build
  • ci
  • Docker
  • docs
  • examples
  • fitbenchmarking

Build (build)

This directory contains scripts to allow for installing packages such as Mantid through setuptools.

CI (ci)

We use GitHub Actions to run our Continuous Integration tests. The specific tests run are defined in a series of Bash scripts, which are stored in this folder.

Docker (Docker)

The continuous integration process on Github Actions currently run on a Docker container, and this directory holds the Dockerfiles. The Docker containers are hosted on Dockerhub.

BasicInstall holds the Dockerfile that is pushed to the repository fitbenchmarking/fitbenchmarking-deps, the lastest of which should have the tag latest. This contains a basic Ubuntu install, with just the minimal infrastructure needed to run the tests.

FullInstall holds the Dockerfile that is pushed to the repository fitbenchmarking/fitbenchmarking-extras, the lastest of which should have the tag latest. This is built on top of the basic container, and includes optional third party software that FitBenchmarking can work with.

The versions on Docker Hub can be updated from a connected account by issuing the commands:

docker build --tag fitbenchmarking-<type>:<tag>
docker tag fitbenchmarking-<type>:<tag> fitbenchmarking/fitbenchmarking-<type>:<tag>
docker push fitbenchmarking/fitbenchmarking-<type>:<tag>

where <type> is, e.g., deps or extras, and <tag> is, e.g., latest.

Documentation (docs)

The documentation for FitBenchmarking is stored in this folder under source. A local copy of the documentation can be build using make html in the build directory.

Examples (examples)

Examples is used to store sample problem files and options files.

A collection of problem files can be found organised into datasets within the examples/benchmark_problems/ directory.

An options template file and a prewritten options file to run a full set of minimizers is also made available in the examples/ directory.

FitBenchmarking Package (fitbenchmarking)

The main FitBenchmarking package is split across several directories with the intention that it is easily extensible. The majority of these directories are source code, with exceptions being Templates, Mock Problems, and System Tests.

Each file that contains source code will have a directory inside it called tests, which contains all of the tests for that section of the code.

Benchmark Problems (benchmark_problems)

This is a copy of the NIST benchmark problems from examples/benchmark_problems. These are the default problems that are run if no problem is passed to the fitbenchmarking command, and is copied here so that it is distributed with the package when installed using, say, pip.

CLI (cli)

The CLI directory is used to define all of the entry points into the software. Currently this is just the main fitbenchmarking command.

Controllers (controllers)

In FitBenchmarking, controllers are used to interface with third party minimizers.

The controllers directory holds a base controller class (Controller) and all its subclasses, each of which of which interfaces with a different fitting package. The controllers currently implemented are described in Fitting Options and Minimizer Options.

New controllers can be added by following the instructions in Adding Fitting Software.

Core (core)

This directory holds all code central to FitBenchmarking. For example, this manages calling the correct parser and controller, as well as compiling the results into a data object.

Jacobian (jacobian)

This directory holds the Jacobian class, and subclasses, which are used by the controllers to approximate derivatives. Currenlty available options are described in Fitting Options, and new numerical Jacobians can be added by following the instructions in Adding new Jacobians.

Mock Problems (mock_problems)

The mock problems are used in some tests where full problem files are required. These are here so that the examples can be moved without breaking the tests.

Parsing (parsing)

The parsers read raw data into a format that FitBenchmarking can use. This directory holds a base parser, Parser and all its subclasses. Each subclass implements a parser for a specific file format. Information about existing parsers can be found in Problem Definition Files, and see Adding Fitting Problem Definition Types for instructions on extending these.

Results Processing (results_processing)

All files that are used to generate output are stored here. This includes index pages, text/html tables, plots, and support pages. Information about the tables we provide can be found in FitBenchmarking Output, and instructions on how to add further tables and change the formatting of the displayed information can be found in Amending FitBenchmarking Outputs.

System Tests (systests)

FitBenchmarking runs regression tests to check that the accuracy results do not change with updates to the code. These tests run fitbenchmarking against a subset of problems (in subdirectories of /fitbenchmarking/mock_problems/), and compares the text output with that stored in /fitbenchmarking/systests/expected_results/.

Templates (templates)

Files in Templates are used to create the resulting html pages, and are a combination of css, html, and python files. The python files in this directory are scripts to update the css and html assets. Instructions on updating these can be found in HTML/CSS Templates.

Utils (utils)

This directory contains utility functions that do not fit into the above sections. This includes the Options class (see Adding new Options to extend) and FittingResult class, as well as functions for logging and directory creation.