A Controlled Development Cycle to Ensure the Quality of Code_Aster

Code_Aster is developed within a structured two-year maintenance and innovation cycle, designed to balance user stability with the regular integration of new features.

At any given time, two major versions coexist:

• a stable version, recommended for production studies and receiving only bug fixes;
• a development version, which incorporates new features, enhancements to physical models, numerical improvements, and performance optimizations.

Currently, Version 17 is the stable release, while Version 18 serves as the development branch. At the end of the two-year cycle, the development version undergoes qualification and becomes the new stable release. A new development cycle then begins for the next major version.

Every enhancement follows a rigorous quality assurance process that includes specification, development, review, validation, and integration. Changes are verified against an extensive test repository covering all functional areas of Code_Aster. The systematic execution of these test cases ensures result consistency, prevents regressions, and guarantees the reliability of newly introduced features.

All corrections and enhancements are fully traceable. Feature requests, bug fixes, and development activities are recorded in the HISTOR files, which are available in the Code_Aster GitLab repository

New features introduced in the development version are also continuously described and documented in the associated documentation: U4.01.14

This organization provides users with software whose evolution is controlled, documented, and validated, while ensuring the regular availability of new simulation capabilities that meet the needs of both industry and research.

The Salome-Meca distribution is built annually from the stable version of Code_Aster and a frozen release of the Salomé platform.