8.1.5. Library interface to LAMMPS — LAMMPS documentation

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# 8.1.5. Library interface to LAMMPS

As described on the Build basics doc page, LAMMPS can be built as a static or shared library, so that it can be called by another code, used in a coupled manner with other codes, or driven through a Python interface.

At the core of LAMMPS is the `LAMMPS` class, which encapsulates the state of the simulation program through the state of the various class instances that it is composed of. So a calculation using LAMMPS requires creating an instance of the `LAMMPS` class and then send it (text) commands, either individually or from a file, or perform other operations that modify the state stored inside that instance or drive simulations. This is essentially what the `src/main.cpp` file does as well for the standalone LAMMPS executable, reading commands either from an input file or the standard input.

Creating a LAMMPS instance can be done by using C++ code directly or through a C-style interface library to LAMMPS that is provided in the files `src/library.cpp` and `src/library.h`. This C language API, can be used from C and C++, and is also the basis for the Python and Fortran interfaces or the SWIG based wrappers included in the LAMMPS source code.

The `examples/COUPLE` and `python/examples` directories contain some example programs written in C++, C, Fortran, and Python, which show how a driver code can link to LAMMPS as a library, run LAMMPS on a subset of processors (so the others are available to run some other code concurrently), grab data from LAMMPS, change it, and send it back into LAMMPS.

A detailed documentation of the available APIs and examples of how to use them can be found in the Programmer Guide section of this manual.