Proper code verification requires comparing the output of a simulation code to known exact solutions. These may be closed-form analytical solutions, or more often, results obtained from the numerical quadrature of simplified equations for special cases. Many exact solution codes are available from various sources, including download from the web or passed around between colleagues. Others are sketched out in various publications, and need to be re-implemented when needed.
ExactPack is a new Python library which integrates many well-vetted exact solutions codes into a common API (application program interface), making it easy to compare a new code to a large suite of test problems. It also provides common tools for plotting and numerical analysis, particularly convergence testing. Each exact solution code is checked using built-in unit tests and carefully documented for provenance, problem descriptions, equations solved, and key references for both the physical problem and the solver implementation. The library can be used as a stand-alone tool via a graphical user interface, driven by simple python scripts, or incorporated into other Python projects. It is also easily extensible and we encourage other members of the community to contribute new solutions to be added to ExactPack.
