[MOAB-dev] MOAB v5.6.0 is now available

[Vijay S. Mahadevan]

Dear MOAB users,

A new release of the MOAB library (v5.6.0) is now available. The tarball
can be downloaded at
http://web.cels.anl.gov/projects/sigma/downloads/moab/moab-5.6.0.tar.gz  (SHA:
8d24a38619eb9fd326c7bdf9fdb01466149a0ab7dc3ef1caffda728858bf5a85). If you
are working with release branches in Bitbucket, please use the newly
created "5.6.0" tag to get the latest changes. I've shared below the
notable updates, including a revamped CMake build system, new Conan package
manager support, Scikit-Build support for PyMOAB installation, and
considerable documentation updates, along with several new features to
support Earth system solvers.

   - *PR #748
   <https://urldefense.us/v3/__https://bitbucket.org/fathomteam/moab/pull-requests/748/overview__;!!G_uCfscf7eWS!a3zsWXEahDEv99TX1cKvwz9nimOz5AKK7Lm4Ep-WctrmtiGA6WqIzTgyWL6m_NH7de1QCmn2oVEixK8eLg8$ >*: A
   new *edge-splitting tool **for conservative flux remaps* between
   unstructured grids
   - *PR #746
   <https://urldefense.us/v3/__https://bitbucket.org/fathomteam/moab/pull-requests/746/overview__;!!G_uCfscf7eWS!a3zsWXEahDEv99TX1cKvwz9nimOz5AKK7Lm4Ep-WctrmtiGA6WqIzTgyWL6m_NH7de1QCmn2oVEiuHt-UbY$ >*:
*Enhanced
   documentation* and tight Doxygen integration
   - *PR #741
   <https://urldefense.us/v3/__https://bitbucket.org/fathomteam/moab/pull-requests/741/overview__;!!G_uCfscf7eWS!a3zsWXEahDEv99TX1cKvwz9nimOz5AKK7Lm4Ep-WctrmtiGA6WqIzTgyWL6m_NH7de1QCmn2oVEi_Yd6Pho$ >*:
   Improved *CMake build system* and dependency management
   - *PR #736
   <https://urldefense.us/v3/__https://bitbucket.org/fathomteam/moab/pull-requests/736/overview__;!!G_uCfscf7eWS!a3zsWXEahDEv99TX1cKvwz9nimOz5AKK7Lm4Ep-WctrmtiGA6WqIzTgyWL6m_NH7de1QCmn2oVEiHRPAZX4$ >*:
   Optimized *parallel reading and linear map* application algorithms
   - *PR #734
   <https://urldefense.us/v3/__https://bitbucket.org/fathomteam/moab/pull-requests/734/overview__;!!G_uCfscf7eWS!a3zsWXEahDEv99TX1cKvwz9nimOz5AKK7Lm4Ep-WctrmtiGA6WqIzTgyWL6m_NH7de1QCmn2oVEibsteCWQ$ >*:
Add *elevated
   edge visualization* for E3SM maps
   - *PR #707
   <https://urldefense.us/v3/__https://bitbucket.org/fathomteam/moab/pull-requests/707/overview__;!!G_uCfscf7eWS!a3zsWXEahDEv99TX1cKvwz9nimOz5AKK7Lm4Ep-WctrmtiGA6WqIzTgyWL6m_NH7de1QCmn2oVEiLYeFO1g$ >*:
   Support *uniform API for online/offline remap* computations
   - *PR #683
   <https://urldefense.us/v3/__https://bitbucket.org/fathomteam/moab/pull-requests/683/overview__;!!G_uCfscf7eWS!a3zsWXEahDEv99TX1cKvwz9nimOz5AKK7Lm4Ep-WctrmtiGA6WqIzTgyWL6m_NH7de1QCmn2oVEigD3deqA$ >*:
Use *CAAS
   nonlinear filter* for bounds preservation
   - *PR #681
   <https://urldefense.us/v3/__https://bitbucket.org/fathomteam/moab/pull-requests/681/overview__;!!G_uCfscf7eWS!a3zsWXEahDEv99TX1cKvwz9nimOz5AKK7Lm4Ep-WctrmtiGA6WqIzTgyWL6m_NH7de1QCmn2oVEinCUPxz0$ >*: *Remove
   ITAPS, iMesh, and CGM *dependencies
   - *PR #666
   <https://urldefense.us/v3/__https://bitbucket.org/fathomteam/moab/pull-requests/666/overview__;!!G_uCfscf7eWS!a3zsWXEahDEv99TX1cKvwz9nimOz5AKK7Lm4Ep-WctrmtiGA6WqIzTgyWL6m_NH7de1QCmn2oVEiuNFZb7U$ >*:
*Compare
   H5M files* utility for regression testing
   - *PR #665
   <https://urldefense.us/v3/__https://bitbucket.org/fathomteam/moab/pull-requests/665/overview__;!!G_uCfscf7eWS!a3zsWXEahDEv99TX1cKvwz9nimOz5AKK7Lm4Ep-WctrmtiGA6WqIzTgyWL6m_NH7de1QCmn2oVEiSD6Tk2g$ >*: Add
   option for culling the mesh in E3SM *domain reader* (use NO_CULLING to
   disable)
   - *PR #664
   <https://urldefense.us/v3/__https://bitbucket.org/fathomteam/moab/pull-requests/664/overview__;!!G_uCfscf7eWS!a3zsWXEahDEv99TX1cKvwz9nimOz5AKK7Lm4Ep-WctrmtiGA6WqIzTgyWL6m_NH7de1QCmn2oVEiveBTfVk$ >*:
*Auto-download
   Zoltan* for automatic configuration of partitioner

In addition to the above-listed changes, this release includes bug fixes,
configuration updates, easier Python usage, and several performance
improvements targeted at specific problem areas. Detailed release notes are
available in RELEASE_NOTES.md
<https://urldefense.us/v3/__https://bitbucket.org/fathomteam/moab/src/master/RELEASE_NOTES.md__;!!G_uCfscf7eWS!a3zsWXEahDEv99TX1cKvwz9nimOz5AKK7Lm4Ep-WctrmtiGA6WqIzTgyWL6m_NH7de1QCmn2oVEippkUYv4$ >.

*Deprecation Notice:*

   - This will be the last version of MOAB where autotools will be fully
   supported. Please transition your build system and workflows to use CMake
   when building MOAB.
   - The ITAPS interfaces (iMesh/iRel) have been removed, and legacy PyMOAB
   Python binding installations via CMake/autotools have been deprecated in
   this release. Please use Scikit-Build for PyMOAB installations.


Special thanks to all contributors who made this release possible:
- Ahnaf Tahmid Chowdhury
- Iulian Grindeanu
- Vijay Mahadevan
- Baptiste Mouginot
- Patrick Shriwise
- Tim Tautges
- Paul Wilson
- And all users who have emailed the list, submitted issues, and pull
requests to make the MOAB library better

As always, please let us know if you encounter issues with the new release.

Best,
Vijay