examples

layout	default
title	Examples
parent	Documentation
nav_order	7

Examples

This directory contains focused example programs for the major n-body workflows.

Available Programs

Program	Purpose
example_basic.cpp	Minimal end-to-end simulation
example_force_methods.cpp	Compare force algorithms
example_custom_distribution.cpp	Build custom particle layouts
example_energy_conservation.cpp	Inspect integrator stability

Build

Examples are built by default through the canonical CMake path:

./scripts/build.sh

Or manually:

mkdir -p build
cd build
cmake .. -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DNBODY_BUILD_EXAMPLES=ON
cmake --build . -j"$(nproc)"

Generated executables live in build/:

./build/example_basic
./build/example_force_methods
./build/example_custom_distribution
./build/example_energy_conservation

What Each Example Covers

example_basic.cpp

• initialize a ParticleSystem
• run a basic simulation loop
• save and load state
• inspect total energy

example_force_methods.cpp

• compare Direct N², Barnes-Hut, and Spatial Hash
• switch algorithms at runtime
• inspect performance trade-offs

example_custom_distribution.cpp

• create custom initial particle distributions
• write particle data directly
• experiment with non-default setups

example_energy_conservation.cpp

• track energy drift over time
• inspect timestep sensitivity
• evaluate integrator stability

Related Docs

• Getting Started
• Architecture
• Algorithms
• Performance