README.TXT

VSF - Version: 1.01 03/07/2006
Three-dimensional variably saturated finite-difference ground-water flow model

NOTE: Any use of trade, product or firm names is for descriptive purposes only 
and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

This version of VSF is packaged for personal computers using Microsoft 
Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, or XP.

See the file doc/vsf.txt for descriptions, references, and additional 
contacts for this software.  Instructions for installation, execution, and 
testing are provided below.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

A. DISTRIBUTION FILE
B. EXTRACTING FILES
C. COMPILING
D. INSTALLING
E. RUNNING THE SOFTWARE
F. TESTING

A. DISTRIBUTION FILE
The following zip file is for use on personal computers:

     vsf_v1_1.zip

The distribution file contains:
     Compiled runfiles and source code for VSF
     VSF user guide in pdf format
     Test data sets

B. EXTRACTING FILES
The distribution file is a zipped file that contains all of the necessary files 
for using the VSF program.  Unzipping the distribution file creates numerous 
individual files.  An extraction program allows you to specify the directory in 
which the files should be restored.  The following subdirectory structure will 
be created under the specified directory:

|
|--vsf_v1_1
|     |doc; documentation files
|     |examples; example files 
|     |     |case_1; 1-D Analytical Solution
|     |     |     |clay; 1-D infiltration in clay
|     |     |     |sand; 1-D infiltration in sand
|     |     |case_2; 1-D field study
|     |     |case_3; 2-D transient infiltration
|     |     |case_4; 2-D transient drainage
|     |     |case_5; 2-D hypothetical Flowpath
|     |     |     |run_1; comparison test of the RZE1 package
|     |     |     |run_2; comparison test of the SEV1 package
|     |     |case_6; 3-D hypothetical agricultural swale
|     |exe; compiled executable
|     |source; source code

It is recommended that no user files are kept in the vsf1 directory structure.  
If you do plan to put files in the vsf_v1_1 directory structure, do so only by 
creating subdirectories. Included in directory vsf_v1_1\doc is Portable Document 
Format (PDF) version of the VSF user's guide (T&M 6-A18). The PDF file is 
readable and printable on various computer platforms using Acrobat Reader from Adobe.  
The Acrobat Reader is freely available from the following World Wide Web sites:
     http://www.adobe.com/
     http://www.shareware.com 

C. COMPILING 
Although executable versions of the programs are provided, the source code of the 
VSF program is provided in the vsf_v1_1\source directory so that the program can 
be recompiled if necessary.  However, no support can be provided for users generating 
their own versions of the software.  In general, VSF should be compiled for serial 
processing (as opposed to parallel processing).  For serial-processing mode, all 
required source files are contained in the source directory.  To test a newly compiled 
version of VSF, the new executable file (mf2k_vsf1.exe) must be moved into the /exe/ 
directory for the batch files in each of the example folders to work properly.  VSF 
is distributed with the GMG solver, which is primarily written in the C programming 
language.  For issues related to compiling and linking with the GMG solver, please 
refer to: http://water.usgs.gov/nrp/gwsoftware/modflow2000/MFDOC/Compiling.html
 
For those using the Compaq Visual Fortran compiler, the workspace files are included 
in the CVF-Compiler folder under the source folder.  The workspace file (vsf_v1_1.dsw) 
can be opened directly from the CVF-Compiler folder and used with CVF for compiling VSF.  
(Note:  to use the example batch files to test new versions of VSF, the new executable 
file mf2k_vsf1.exe should be copied to the \vsf_v1_1\exe directory.) 

D. INSTALLING 
There are no special instructions for installing the VSF program, provided that users 
run the program using the approach outlined in the VSF documentation.   

E. RUNNING THE SOFTWARE 
The data arrays in VSF are dynamically allocated, so models are not limited by hard-coded 
array limits. However, it is best to have enough random-access memory (RAM) available to 
hold all of the required data.  If there is less available RAM than this, the program will 
use virtual memory, but this slows computations significantly. The structure of unformatted 
files used in VSF is specified using the FORM='BINARY' option with the file OPEN statement.  
Therefore it will be easier for others to use different compilers when compiling 
applications that use or generate unformatted files. The mf2k_vsf runfile in the exe 
subdirectory was compiled with the Compaq Visual FORTRAN compiler (Version 6.6B). 

F. TESTING 
The benchmark problems reported in the VSF documentation are included to test the program 
and ensure that the program is installed and running on the system.  The benchmark problems 
also provide examples of how to design datasets for use with the VSF program.  Benchmark 
problems can be run by double clicking on the mf2k_vsf.bat file located within each of the 
benchmark subdirectories.