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Overview
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DynaMind is a light weight open source GIS workflow/simulation engine for developers and researchers to make development and sharing of models that work with rich interlinked GIS data sets easier.

Key features of DynaMind are:

- Interactive workflow engine that allows GIS models to be combined to describe complex processes
- Standardised and easy to use interfaces building on the GDAL library for C++ and Python to develop GIS models as DynaMind Modules that can be shared with others
- Support for working with interlinked GIS and non-GIS data.


DynaMind follows a modular design concepts with `DynaMind <https://github.com/iut-ibk/DynaMind>`_ being the heart and sole of the workflow/simulation engine. `DynaMind <https://github.com/iut-ibk/DynaMind>`_  provides the workflow logic and module handling, which can be accessed through following C++ or Python interfaces:

 1. :doc:`Simulation interface </DynaMind/simulations_python>` to create, modify and execute simulations
 2. :doc:`Module interface </DynaMind/module>` that enables users to developed their own modules through an easy to use database interface building on in the `GDAL <http://www.gdal.org>`_ library.

To provide a ready to use environment the DynaMind-Toolbox combines several tools building on `DynaMind <https://github.com/iut-ibk/DynaMind>`_ including:

-  Standard modules to import and export data from GIS databases and Shapefiles and do simple manipulations :doc:`module interface </DynaMind-GDALModules/overview>`
-  Graphical user interface to build simulations :doc:`quick-intro-gui`
-   :doc:`Command line </DynaMind-Executable/index>`
-  :doc:`Python interface </DynaMind/simulations_python>` for setting up workflows

.. image::  _static/overview.png


Simulations
-----------

The  figure below gives an overview of the supported features and describes a typical use case.

.. image::  _static/workflow.png

In a typical simulation a series of modules are combined to define a workflow.

- *Data Import:*  Firstly, a simulation requires data, often from multiple sources. The standard modules provide therefore a set of modules building on the GDAL library supporting a variety of standard GIS exchange formats (:doc:`see here </DynaMind-GDALModules/gdalimportdata>`) as well as non GIS data.
- *Interlinked Data Set:* An interlinked data set provides the foundation for complex simulations. The Standard Modules provide several modules to :doc:`spatially </DynaMind-GDALModules/gdalspatiallinking>` or :doc:`non-spatially </DynaMind-GDALModules/nonspatiallinking>` link different data sets to an interlinked data model that reflects this interrelationships.
- *Manipulate Data:* To manipulate the interlinked data set DynaMind provides a number of generic modules that allow to derive attributes from the interlinked data (:doc:`see here </DynaMind-GDALModules/gdalattributecalculator>`). Combining several of this modules allows complex processes to be described.
- *Grouping of Modules:* Models can be combined to a module Group. Such a group can be executed repeatedly. Similar to a for loop, groups can be used to iteratively manipulate data to describe dynamic processes.
-  *Export and Publish Results* To publish the resulting data sets the Standard Modules provide modules to export data into common GIS exchange formats or GIS databases.