v0.7.0

CTModels v0.7.0

Diff since v0.6.9

CTModels v0.7.0

Highlights

• New typed core for OCP models and solutions
  Split the old monolithic src/types.jl into a structured src/core/types/ hierarchy (ocp_components, ocp_model, ocp_solution, nlp, initial_guess, …). This clarifies the representation of models, solutions, constraints, and related metadata, and adds the alias AbstractOptimalControlProblem = CTModels.AbstractModel for better interop.

• New NLP modelling layer
  Introduced a dedicated src/nlp/ layer (problem_core.jl, discretized_ocp.jl, model_api.jl, options_schema.jl, nlp_backends.jl, …) to build NLP models from optimisation problems and OCP models, and to map NLP solutions back to CTModels.Solution. Adds support for ADNLPModels- and ExaModels-based backends as first-class CTModels components.

• Initial guess utilities
  New, typed initial-guess layer in src/init/initial_guess.jl: pre_initial_guess builds an OptimalControlPreInit container from raw user data (functions, vectors, scalars), and initial_guess builds and validates an OptimalControlInitialGuess against an AbstractOptimalControlProblem. Dedicated tests cover the new types and constructors.

• JSON / JLD I/O improvements
  Reworked JSON export/import in ext/CTModelsJSON.jl to handle infos::Dict{Symbol,Any} more robustly and predictably, with improved tests for JSON and JLD round-trips in test/io/test_export_import.jl.

• Plotting and examples
  Small improvements in the plot extension (ext/plot.jl, plot_default.jl, plot_utils.jl) and additional examples/tests for plotting and printing solutions in test/plot/test_plot.jl.

• Documentation overhaul
  New, more didactic index page in docs/src/index.md explaining CTModels' role in the OptimalControl/control-toolbox ecosystem, a new Interfaces section (docs/src/interfaces/), and reorganised API reference pages with improved automatic API doc generation using docs/docutils/DocumenterReference.jl.

• Extensive test suite
  Many new tests for core types, initial guesses, the NLP layer, I/O, OCP building blocks, and plotting (see the new subdirectories test/core/, test/nlp/, test/io/, test/ocp/, test/plot/, test/problems/). test/runtests.jl was refactored into a more modular structure.

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Breaking Changes / Compatibility Notes

• CTBase compatibility bump
  compat for CTBase was raised from 0.16 to 0.17 in Project.toml. Downstream packages must be able to use CTBase ≥ 0.17 to upgrade to CTModels v0.7.0.

• New hard dependencies
  CTModels now declares additional dependencies in Project.toml:

  • ADNLPModels = "0.8"
  • ExaModels = "0.9"
  • NLPModels = "0.21"
  • SolverCore = "0.3"
  • KernelAbstractions = "0.9"
    Projects with tight compat bounds on these packages may need to update their compat entries.

• Internal file/layout refactor
  The internal layout of the source tree changed significantly:

  • src/types.jl was split into multiple files under src/core/types/,
  • src/init.jl was replaced by src/init/initial_guess.jl,
  • most OCP-related files were moved under src/ocp/,
  • NLP-related code was moved under src/nlp/.
    Publicly exported names have been kept as stable as possible, but code that relied on internal file structure or non-exported implementation details may break.

• JSON export/import behaviour
  JSON I/O has been tightened and made more structured. The intent is to be more robust, but very low-level consumers of the previous JSON format may see behavioural differences and should re-check their pipelines.

New Features

• Added a typed OCP core in src/core/types/, including ocp_components.jl, ocp_model.jl, ocp_solution.jl, and nlp.jl, to model optimal control problems and their solutions more explicitly.
• Added a new NLP layer in src/nlp/ with problem_core.jl, discretized_ocp.jl, model_api.jl, options_schema.jl, and nlp_backends.jl to interface CTModels with ADNLPModels and ExaModels backends.
• Introduced typed initial-guess types and constructors in src/core/types/initial_guess.jl and src/init/initial_guess.jl.
• Added JSON and JLD solution I/O helpers in ext/CTModelsJSON.jl and CTModelsJLD.jl to persist and reload solutions.

Enhancements

• Improved organisation of OCP-related code by moving files under src/ocp/ and sharpening the separation between core types, OCP model components, NLP layer, and I/O.
• Refined plotting support in the CTModelsPlots extension (plot.jl, plot_default.jl, plot_utils.jl) and aligned examples with the new types and solution structures.

Bug Fixes

• No additional user-facing bug fixes are explicitly highlighted in this release beyond those implied by the refactors and new tests. Please refer to the full changelog for low-level details.

Documentation

• Added a new, explanatory index page at docs/src/index.md describing CTModels' role and main concepts.
• Introduced an Interfaces section in docs/src/interfaces/ covering OCP tools, optimisation problems, optimisation modelers, and solution builders.
• Added a custom API reference generator in docs/docutils/DocumenterReference.jl and updated docs/make.jl to improve API documentation structure.

Tests

• Added extensive tests for core types in test/core/,
  including OCP components, models, solutions, NLP types, and utilities.
• Added tests for initial guesses in test/init/test_initial_guess.jl.
• Added tests for the NLP layer in test/nlp/, covering discretised OCPs, model API, backends, options schema, and problem core.
• Added I/O tests in test/io/ for export/import behaviour and extension errors.
• Added OCP-level tests in test/ocp/ and problem examples in test/problems/.

Internal

• Updated CI configuration in .github/workflows/ and added formatter.lock to track formatting state.
• Ignored profiling scripts via .gitignore and removed them from the tracked files.
• Reorganised the test suite to mirror the new core/, ocp/, nlp/, io/, meta/, and problems/ structure.

Merged pull requests:

• CompatHelper: bump compat for NLPModelsIpopt to 0.11 for package test, (drop existing compat) (#200) (@github-actions[bot])
• Update CI.yml (#216) (@ocots)
• CompatHelper: add new compat entry for CTParser at version 0.7 for package docs, (drop existing compat) (#218) (@github-actions[bot])
• Update from CTSolvers (#225) (@ocots)

Closed issues:

• [Dev] Initialisation (#48)
• [Dev] Improve code (#153)
• [Bug] Color (#201)
• [Dev] Update from CTSolvers (#224)