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9.1 Overview
FEBio requires a configuration file to run. The purpose of this file is to store platform-specific settings such as the default linear solver. See Section 2.5↑ for more information on how to use this file. This section details the format of this file.
The configuration file uses an xml format. The root element must be febio_config. The required attribute version specifies the version number of the format. Currently this value must be set to “3.0”. The following elements are defined.
| Parameter | Description |
| default_linear_solver | Set the default linear solver for the platform (1) |
| import | Load a plugin file (2) |
| set | define an alias (3) |
| if_debug | Process child tags only for debug versions of FEBio (4) |
| if_release | Process child tags only for release versions of FEBio (4) |
Comments:
- FEBio supports several linear solvers, such as Pardiso and Skyline. Not all solvers are available for all platforms. Only the Skyline solver is available for all platforms. As of version 1.2, the Pardiso solver is available on all platforms for which FEBio is distributed. See section 9.2↓ on how to configure the linear solvers.
- As of FEBio 2.0 the user can create and use plugins designed for FEBio. These plugins extend the standard capabilities without the need to recompile the FEBio code. See Chapter 10↓ for more information on using plugins in FEBio.
- As of FEBio 2.5 the configuration file supports aliases which can be used to define plugin paths. The set tag defines an alias. The name of the alias is specified via the name attribute. Aliases are accessed using the $(name) syntax. See below for an example.
- The if_debug/if_release tags allow users to customize settings based on whether a debug or release version of FEBio is processing the configuration file. (Note that the debug version refers to how FEBio was compiled. It does not refer to the -g command line option.) The versions of FEBio distributed through the website are release versions. A debug version of FEBio can only be obtained by building FEBio with the _DEBUG preprocessor command.
An example configuration file that sets the default linear solver to pardiso, defines an alias, and loads a plugin.
--- <febio_config version="3.0"> <default_linear_solver type="pardiso"/> <set name="PluginsDir">C:\path\to\plugins</set> <import>$(PluginsDir)\myplugin.dll</import> </febio_config>