raven-hydro 0.5.0
A Python wrapper to set up and build the hydrologic modelling framework Raven.
Requires Python: >=3.9
Keywords: raven, hydrologic, hydrology, model, cmake, scikit-build, pybind11, python, wrapper

Raven-hydro is a Python-based installer for the hydrologic modelling framework [Raven](https://raven.uwaterloo.ca/).

- Free software: Apache Software License v2.0 and Artistic License v2.0

### About

[Raven](https://raven.uwaterloo.ca) is a hydrological modeling framework that lets hydrologists build hydrological models by combining different hydrological processes together. It can also be used to emulate a variety of existing lumped and distributed models. Model structure, parameters, initial conditions and forcing files are configured in text files, which Raven parses to build and run hydrological simulations. A detailed description about modeling capability of Raven can be found in the [docs](https://raven.uwaterloo.ca/files/v4.1/RavenUsersManual_v4.1.pdf).

### Purpose

The goal of this project is to provide a Python-based multiplatform installer for the Raven hydrological model using [scikit-build-core](https://github.com/scikit-build/scikit-build-core) and [pybind11](https://github.com/pybind/pybind11). The compiled binary is built with support for [NetCDF4](https://www.unidata.ucar.edu/software/netcdf/), and uses a custom `CMakeLists.txt`, rather than the one provided with the [Raven source code](https://raven.uwaterloo.ca/Downloads.html), in order to leverage *pip* for handling the installation and management of binaries and libraries.

This project supports [RavenPy](https://github.com/CSHS-CWRA/RavenPy) by providing a dedicated library for downloading, compiling, and installing the Raven binary (with NetCDF4 support by default) on multiple platforms, as well as providing version control and updates via *pip*/PyPI.

The source code for Raven is not included in this repository, but is fetched from the releases of [RavenHydroFramework GitHub repository](https://github.com/CSHS-CWRA/RavenHydroFramework) and compiled during the installation process.

### Features

- Download, compile, version control, and package updating of the Raven Hydrologic model via *pip*/PyPI
- Preserve copyright notices and licensing information
- Multiplatform support (macOS, Linux, Windows, BSD, etc.)

### Licensing

This project is licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0, as well as the Artistic License, Version 2.0.

This project serves as a convenience wrapper for installation in Python environments using `pip`, with some added metadata. Third-party components are licensed under the Artistic License, Version 2.0, located in `RavenHydroFramework`. Those source components are unmodified and remain licensed exclusively under the Artistic License, Version 2.0.

By compiling and using this software, you agree to follow the terms outlined for both licenses.

### Installation

> **Warning**
> By default, this build of Raven requires that NetCDF4 libraries are installed on the system, exposed on the `$PATH`, and discoverable using the `FindNetCDF.cmake` helper script.
>
> On Linux, this can be provided by the `libnetcdf-dev` system library; On macOS by the `netcdf` homebrew package; And on Windows by using UNIDATA's [pre-built binaries](https://docs.unidata.ucar.edu/netcdf-c/current/winbin.html).
>
> This can also be provided by the `libnetcdf` package available at [conda-forge](https://anaconda.org/conda-forge/libnetcdf), though this is not guaranteed to work on macOS at time of writing (further research required).

`raven-hydro` can be installed from PyPI using the following command:

```shell
$ pip install raven-hydro
```

To install `raven-hydro` from PyPI **without NetCDF support**:

```shell
$ pip install raven-hydro -Ccmake.define.USE_NETCDF=false
```

For development purposes, we recommend cloning the repository and performing an `--editable` installation:

```shell
$ git clone git@github.com:Ouranosinc/raven-hydro
$ cd raven-hydro
$ pip install --editable .
```