= OpenVSP3Plugin A plugin to run OpenVSP in a MDAO frameworks.

== What is OpenVSP?

Open Vehicle Sketch Pad (OpenVSP) is a parametric aircraft geometry tool. OpenVSP allows the user to create a 3D model of an aircraft defined by common engineering parameters. This model can be processed into formats suitable for engineering analysis.footnoteref:[openvsporg, from www.openvsp.org/learn.shtml]

The predecessors to OpenVSP have been developed by J.R. Gloudemans and others for NASA since the early 1990's. On January 10 2012, OpenVSP was released as an open source project under the NASA Open Source Agreement (NOSA) version 1.3.footnoteref:[openvsporg]

== What is the OpenVPS3Plugin?

The OpenVSP3Plugin is a JAVA software tool that allows for the interface between OpenVSP and an analysis framework such as Phoenix Integration's ModelCenter or the NASA developed OpenMDAO software. The OpenVSP3Plugin is designed to work on any computer desktop platform (Mac, Linux, and Windows) that has a local installation of JAVA.

.[big]#The OpenVSP3Plugin performs three main functions:#

1. Parse an OpenVSP v. 3 file
2. Auto-generate an OpenVSP script and a design (.des) file
3. Execute OpenVSP with the auto-generated script and apply user selected design variables in the design file. (ModelCenter only)

The user selects the design variables written in the design file through the interactive graphical user interface.

== Build

To build the OpenVSP3Plugin, edit the build.bat file and run it. Edit the build.bat file and set JDK_HOME to the path of your JAVA installation. If you have ModelCenter installed set MC_INSTALL to the path of your ModelCenter installation.

[source,options-"nowrap"]

:: JDK_HOME is required and must point to an installed JDK set "JDK_HOME=C:/Program Files/Java/jdk1.8.0_151"

:: MC_INSTALL is optional but required to use the plugin with ModelCenter :: Comment this line if you don't have ModelCenter ::set "MC_INSTALL=C:/Program Files/Phoenix Integration/ModelCenter 12.0"

== Prebuilt releases (OpenVSP3Plugin.jar)

Prebuilt releases will be built using the latest source code and JAVA 8 JDK and ModelCenter 12 interfaces

== Installation

There is no custom installer for the OpenVSP3Plugin, it must be done by hand. + The OpenVSP3Plugin uses 2 environment variables:

*OpenVSP_EXE* (__Required__):: This needs to be set to the path of the OpenVSP executable (vsp.exe) that the plugin will use. *TMP* (__ModelCenter only__):: (probably already set on your machine) Is used to create temporary folders in which OpenVSP is executed, and the output files are parsed.

== OpenMDAO

To use the OpenVSP3Plugin in an OpenMDAO environment simply execute the OpenVSP3Plugin.jar file. This can be accomplished by running the following command: + java -jar OpenVSP3Plugin.jar

In this mode all temporary files are written to the current working directory.

== ModelCenter

See ModelCenter help on installing plugins and "registrationless plugins".

OpenVSP3Plugin logging can be viewed in the ModelCenter JAVA Console. Open the "Preferences" dialog, Tools->Preferences..., select the Java Plug-Ins tab, and check the Show Java Console checkbox.

== Documentation

A presentation on how to use the OpenVSP3Plugin is located here: link:presentations/welstead-openvsp3plugin.pdf[OpenVSP Workshop 2017 OpenVSP3Plugin]