TauDEM

TauDEM (Terrain Analysis Using Digital Elevation Models) is a suite of Digital Elevation Model (DEM) tools for the extraction and analysis of hydrologic information from topography as represented by a DEM.

📋 Table of Contents

• What's TauDEM
• Setup Visual Studio Code for TauDEM Development
• Building/Compiling TauDEM
  • Using Command Line
  • Using VS Code Tasks
• Dependencies
• Project Structure
• Testing
• Contributing
• Resources
• Support
• License

🌍 What's TauDEM

TauDEM is a comprehensive suite of tools designed for terrain analysis using Digital Elevation Models. It provides algorithms for:

• Flow Direction Analysis: D8 and D-Infinity flow direction algorithms
• Contributing Area Calculation: Watershed delineation and catchment area computation
• Stream Network Extraction: Automatic identification and characterization of stream networks
• Topographic Analysis: Slope, aspect, curvature, and wetness index calculations
• Hydrologic Modeling: Tools for runoff analysis and watershed characterization

Key Features

• Parallel Processing: Built with MPI support for high-performance computing
• Multiple Algorithms: Supports both D8 and D-Infinity flow routing methods
• ArcGIS Integration: Python toolbox for seamless integration with ArcGIS
• Cross-Platform: Runs on Windows, Linux, and macOS
• Open Source: Licensed under GPL v3

For more information, visit the official website and the project wiki.

Setup VS Code for TauDEM Development

Clone the TauDEM Github Repository

Installing Git

Before cloning the repository, you'll need to install Git if you don't have it already:

macOS:

# Using Homebrew
brew install git

# Or download the installer from
# https://git-scm.com/download/mac

Windows:

# Download and run the installer from
# https://git-scm.com/download/win

Linux (Debian/Ubuntu):

sudo apt update
sudo apt install git

Verify your installation:

git --version

Cloning the Repository

After installing Git, clone the TauDEM repository at a location of your choice:

git clone https://github.com/dtarb/TauDEM.git
cd TauDEM
git status
# Should show 'On branch Develop'
# You can then checkout the branch you want to work on or create a new branch

Install Visual Studio Code (VS Code)

Download and install Visual Studio Code for your operating system using this link: https://code.visualstudio.com/download

Prerequisites

Before setting up VS Code, ensure you have the required dependencies installed (see Dependencies section).

VS Code Extensions

Install the following essential extensions for TauDEM development:

# Core C++ development
code --install-extension ms-vscode.cpptools
code --install-extension ms-vscode.cpptools-extension-pack

# CMake integration
code --install-extension ms-vscode.cmake-tools

# Git integration
code --install-extension eamodio.gitlens

# Additional helpful extensions (better C++ syntax highlighting)
code --install-extension jeff-hykin.better-cpp-syntax

# Optional extensions for specialized tasks
code --install-extension ms-vscode.hexeditor  # For examining binary DEM files (optional)

Platform-Specific Setup

macOS Setup

1. Copy VS Code settings template:

   cp .vscode/settings-macos.json.template .vscode/settings.json

2. Install dependencies via Homebrew:

   # Core dependencies
   brew install gdal
   brew install open-mpi
   brew install cmake

3. Configure IntelliSense: The .vscode/c_cpp_properties.json is already configured for macOS with proper include paths.

Windows Setup

1. Copy VS Code settings template:

   copy .vscode\settings-windows.json.template .vscode\settings.json

2. Install vcpkg dependencies: See section for detailed instructions.

3. Configure paths: Update the include paths in .vscode/c_cpp_properties.json if your vcpkg installation is in a different location.

4. Install CMake: Download and install CMake for Windows (look for the binary distribution for platform 'Windows x64 Installer') from the following link:

   https://cmake.org/download/

Linux Setup

1. Install dependencies:

   sudo apt update
   sudo apt install -y build-essential cmake openmpi-bin libopenmpi-dev \
                        gdal-bin libgdal-dev libproj-dev libtiff-dev libgeotiff-dev

2. Configure VS Code: Create .vscode/settings.json with appropriate Linux-specific settings.

VS Code Configuration

The project includes pre-configured settings for:

• IntelliSense: Proper C++ standard (C++17) and include paths
• CMake Integration: Source directory set to src/
• Code Formatting: C++ formatting with ms-vscode.cpptools
• Compiler Configuration: Platform-specific compiler settings

Debugging Setup

Configure Launch Configuration (for debugging TauDEM tools)

NOTE: Here is an example of a launch.json configuration for debugging shown to explain the configuration. You do not need to create this file. The launch-*.json.template files are already configured for each platform.

Example .vscode/launch.json:

{
    "version": "0.2.0",
    "configurations": [
        {
            "name": "Debug TauDEM Tool",
            "type": "cppdbg",
            "request": "launch",
            "program": "${workspaceFolder}/bin/pitremove",
            "args": ["-z", "input.tif", "-fel", "output.tif"],
            "stopAtEntry": false,
            "cwd": "${workspaceFolder}",
            "environment": [],
            "externalConsole": false,
            "MIMode": "gdb",
            "setupCommands": [
                {
                    "description": "Enable pretty-printing for gdb",
                    "text": "-enable-pretty-printing",
                    "ignoreFailures": true
                }
            ]
        }
    ]
}

Understanding launch.json Configuration

The launch.json file configures VS Code's debugging system for TauDEM development. Here's what each setting does:

🔧 Core Configuration

• "version": "0.2.0" - VS Code debugging configuration format version
• "configurations": [] - Array containing different debug configurations (you can have multiple)

🎯 Debug Target Settings

• "name": "Debug TauDEM Tool" - Display name in VS Code's debug dropdown menu
• "type": "cppdbg" - Specifies C++ debugger type
• "request": "launch" - Launch a new process (alternative: "attach" to running process)

📂 Program and Arguments

• "program": "${workspaceFolder}/bin/pitremove" - Path to executable to debug
  • ${workspaceFolder} = path/to/TauDEM local repository
  • Targets the pitremove tool (pit removal algorithm)
• "args": ["-z", "input.tif", "-fel", "output.tif"] - Command line arguments
  • Simulates running: ./bin/pitremove -z input.tif -fel output.tif
  • -z input.tif: Input DEM file with pits
  • -fel output.tif: Output filled DEM file

🔍 Execution Environment

• "stopAtEntry": false - Don't automatically break at main() function
• "cwd": "${workspaceFolder}" - Working directory for the debugged program
• "environment": [] - Environment variables (empty array = inherit from VS Code)
• "externalConsole": false - Use VS Code's integrated terminal instead of external console

🛠️ Debugger Configuration

• "MIMode": "gdb" - Use GDB debugger (GNU Debugger for macOS/Linux)
  • On Windows, this would be "vsdbg" for Visual Studio debugger
• "setupCommands" - GDB initialization commands
  • "-enable-pretty-printing" makes variable display more readable during debugging

🚀 How to Use the Above Example Configuration

1. Place test files: Ensure input.tif exists in your workspace root

2. Set breakpoints: Click in the margin next to line numbers in C++ source files

3. Start debugging: Press F5 or Run → Start Debugging to debug the first configuration. To debug a different target, first press cmd+shift+d (macos) or ctrl+shift+d (Windows/Linux) to open the Debug panel, or click on the Run and Debug icon (icon with a bug symbol) in VS Code's activity bar (vertical toolbar on the left side of vscode). Then select a configuration from the debug dropdown and press F5 to start debugging.

4. Debug controls available:

   • Step Over (F10): Execute current line, don't enter function calls
   • Step Into (F11): Enter function calls to debug inside them
   • Step Out (Shift+F11): Exit current function
   • Continue (F5): Run until next breakpoint
   • Variables panel: Inspect variable values and memory
   • Call stack: See function call hierarchy
   • Watch expressions: Monitor specific variables/expressions

🔄 Customizing for Other Tools

To debug different TauDEM tools, create additional configurations:

{
    "version": "0.2.0",
    "configurations": [
        {
            "name": "Debug PitRemove",
            "program": "${workspaceFolder}/bin/pitremove",
            "args": ["-z", "dem.tif", "-fel", "filled.tif"]
        },
        {
            "name": "Debug AreaD8",
            "program": "${workspaceFolder}/bin/aread8",
            "args": ["-p", "flowdir.tif", "-ad8", "area.tif"]
        },
        {
            "name": "Debug D8FlowDir",
            "program": "${workspaceFolder}/bin/d8flowdir",
            "args": ["-fel", "filled.tif", "-p", "flowdir.tif", "-sd8", "slope.tif"]
        }
    ]
}

This debugging setup is helpful for understanding TauDEM's flow direction algorithms, watershed delineation logic, and spatial data processing workflows!

Configure Tasks for Building/Compiling

Tasks configurations make it possible to run build scripts, compile code, and perform other project-related tasks directly from VS Code.

For macOS development, copy the macOS-specific tasks template:

cp .vscode/tasks-macos.json.template .vscode/tasks.json

The macOS tasks configuration includes:

• Build tasks with multiple compiler options (Clang, Apple GCC, Homebrew GCC)
• Debug and Release builds for each compiler
• Install/uninstall tasks with custom path support
• Interactive tool runner with user input prompts

For Windows development, copy the Windows-specific tasks template:

copy .vscode\tasks-windows.json.template .vscode\tasks.json

The Windows tasks configuration includes:

• Build tasks using build-windows.bat script
• CMake tasks with vcpkg integration
• Clean Delete all build directories and binaries
• Interactive tool runner with user input prompts

Note: The tasks defined in the tasks.json can be executed from the Command Palette (cmd+shift+p or ctrl+shift+p) and then typing Tasks: Run Task and selecting the task to run.

Configure Launch Configuration for Debugging

For macOS development, copy the macOS-specific launch template:

cp .vscode/launch-macos.json.template .vscode/launch.json

The macOS launch configuration includes:

• Debug configurations for all TauDEM tools (PitRemove, D8FlowDir, StreamNet, etc.)
• LLDB debugger integration optimized for macOS
• Pre-launch build tasks that automatically compile before debugging
• Interactive debugging with user input prompts for file paths and parameters
• MPI debugging support for parallel processing development
• Process attachment capabilities for debugging running instances

For Windows development, copy the Windows-specific launch template:

copy .vscode\launch-windows.json.template .vscode\launch.json

Key debugging configurations available:

• Pre-configured debugging setups for some TauDEM tools. For the remaining TauDEM tools, there is a generic debugging setup (Build Generic Target (Debug) - Windows/Build Generic Target (Debug, Clang) - macOS) that would prompt the user to provide the name of the TauDEM tool.

NOTE: Input data files needs to be placed in the test_data/input folder and output data files will be placed in the test_data/output folder. The test_data folder needs to be created manually at the root of the project. The subfolders input and output also need to be created manually. Name the input files as named in the launch.json or adjust the input file names in launch.json.

Usage: First press cmd+shift+d (macOS) or ctrl+shift+d (Windows/Linux) to open the Debug panel, or click on the Run and Debug icon (icon with a bug symbol) in VS Code's activity bar (vertical toolbar on the left side of vscode). Then select a configuration from the debug dropdown and press F5 to start debugging..

Building TauDEM from VS Code Command Palette

VS Code provides a convenient Command Palette interface to execute build tasks without using the command line. This section shows how to use the pre-configured tasks for building TauDEM.

Windows

1. Open Command Palette:

   • Press Ctrl+Shift+P to open the Command Palette
   • Or use the menu: View → Command Palette...

2. Access Build Tasks:

   • Type Tasks: Run Task and press Enter
   • Or type task and select Tasks: Run Task from the dropdown

3. Select a Build Task: Choose from available Windows tasks:

   • Create Build Directories - Windows: Create necessary build directories if they don't exist
   • Build TauDEM (Debug) - Windows: Build all TauDEM tools in Debug mode
   • Build TauDEM (Release) - Windows: Build all TauDEM tools in Release mode
   • Build pitremove (Debug) - Windows: Build only the pitremove tool
   • Build d8flowdir (Debug) - Windows: Build only the d8flowdir tool
   • Build Generic Target (Debug) - Windows: Build any specific target (prompts for target name)
   • Clean Build - Windows: Remove all build artifacts

4. Example Workflow:

   Ctrl+Shift+P → type "Tasks: Run Task" → select "Build TauDEM (Debug) - Windows"

macOS

1. Open Command Palette:

   • Press Cmd+Shift+P to open the Command Palette
   • Or use the menu: View → Command Palette...

2. Access Build Tasks:

   • Type Tasks: Run Task and press Enter
   • Or type task and select Tasks: Run Task from the dropdown

3. Select a Build Task: Choose from available macOS tasks:

   • Build TauDEM (Debug, Clang) - macOS: Build all TauDEM tools using Clang (default) in Debug mode
   • Build TauDEM (Release, Clang) - macOS: Build all TauDEM tools in Release mode
   • Build pitremove (Debug, Clang) - macOS: Build only the pitremove tool in Debug mode
   • Build d8flowdir (Debug, Clang) - macOS: Build only the d8flowdir tool in Debug mode
   • Build Generic Target (Debug, Clang) - macOS: Build any specific target (prompts for target name)
   • Install TauDEM - macOS: Install TauDEM to $HOME/local/taudem
   • Clean Build - macOS: Remove all build artifacts

4. Example Workflow:

   Cmd+Shift+P → type "Tasks: Run Task" → select "Build TauDEM (Debug, Clang) - macOS"

💡 Tips for VS Code Command Palette:

• Tasks are executed in VS Code's integrated terminal
• Build progress and errors are displayed in real-time
• Use Ctrl+`` (Windows) or Cmd+`` (macOS) to show/hide the terminal panel
• Failed builds will show error messages with clickable file locations
• The default build task can be run quickly with Ctrl+Shift+B (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+B (macOS)

🔨 Building TauDEM from Command Line

TauDEM supports multiple build methods and platforms.

Quick Start

Build Directories

TauDEM uses separate build directories for Debug and Release builds. The build directories are: build/debug and build/release.

Note: Run the make command from the root of the project.

macOS

# Release build (optimized)
make release COMPILER=clang

# Debug build (with debugging symbols)
make debug COMPILER=clang

Linux

# Release build (optimized)
make release COMPILER=linux

# Debug build (with debugging symbols)
make debug COMPILER=linux

Windows

# Release build (optimized) all targets
build-windows.bat release

# Debug build (with debugging symbols) all targets
build-windows.bat

# Release build (optimized) specific target
build-windows.bat release pitremove

# Debug build (with debugging symbols) specific target
build-windows.bat debug pitremove

Build Options

Using Make (Linux/macOS)

# Debug build - all targets
make debug COMPILER=clang    # macOS with Clang
make debug COMPILER=linux    # Linux with GCC

# Release build - all targets
make release COMPILER=clang  # macOS with Clang
make release COMPILER=linux  # Linux with GCC

# Alternative compilers (macOS) - all targets
make release COMPILER=macos      # Homebrew GCC
make release COMPILER=gcc-apple  # Apple GCC

# Debug build - specific target
make debug COMPILER=clang TARGET=pitremove

# Release build - specific target
make release COMPILER=clang TARGET=pitremove

# Delete build directories
make clean

Using CMake Directly

From project root:

# Create build directory and configure for release build
mkdir -p build/release
cd build/release

# macOS with Clang (default)
cmake ../.. -C ../../config.cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
  -DCMAKE_C_COMPILER=/usr/bin/clang \
  -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER=/usr/bin/clang++

# macOS with Homebrew GCC
cmake ../.. -C ../../config.cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
  -DCMAKE_C_COMPILER=/opt/homebrew/bin/gcc-15 \
  -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER=/opt/homebrew/bin/g++-15 \
  -DMPI_C_COMPILER=/opt/homebrew/opt/open-mpi/bin/mpicc \
  -DMPI_CXX_COMPILER=/opt/homebrew/opt/open-mpi/bin/mpicxx

# Linux with GCC
cmake ../.. -C ../../config.cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
  -DCMAKE_C_COMPILER=/usr/bin/gcc \
  -DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER=/usr/bin/g++ \
  -DMPI_C_COMPILER=/usr/bin/mpicc \
  -DMPI_CXX_COMPILER=/usr/bin/mpicxx

make -j$(nproc)

For debug builds:

# Create build directory and configure for debug build
mkdir -p build/debug
cd build/debug
cmake ../.. -C ../../config.cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug [compiler options...]
make -j$(nproc)

Docker Build (Building/Testing TauDEM for Linux)

# Build the Docker image for testing (from the root of the project)
docker build -f Dockerfile-run.tests -t taudem-linux-run-tests .

# Run the Docker container with volume mounting from the root of the project
# for macOS/Linux
docker run --rm -it -v $(pwd):/app taudem-linux-run-tests
# for Windows
docker run --rm -it -v %cd%:/app taudem-linux-run-tests

# Inside the container - clean, build, and install TauDEM
make clean
make release COMPILER=linux
# Install to /usr/local/taudem by default
make install

# Run tests in Docker (as user taudem-docker)
su - taudem-docker
cd /app
make dk-run-tests
exit

# Exit the container
exit

Building TauDEM for Conda Environment

TauDEM can be packaged as a portable conda bundle for Linux x86_64 systems, making it easy to deploy on cloud-based platforms like JupyterHub without requiring system-wide installation or admin privileges. The bundle includes all runtime dependencies (OpenMPI, GDAL, PROJ, etc.) and can be installed into any conda environment.

For detailed instructions on building and using the portable conda bundle, see conda-bundle/README.md (user documentation) and conda-bundle/BUILD.md (builder documentation).

Legacy Build System (makefile.legacy)(macOS/Linux Only)

TauDEM also provides a legacy build system using makefile.legacy. This system is still supported but is not actively maintained. It does not support working with VS Code tasks.

# Create bin directory at root of project
# The executables are written to bin directory
mkdir bin   
cd src

# Debug build - all targets
make -f makefile.legacy debug

# Release build - all targets
make -f makefile.legacy release

# Clean build artifacts
make -f makefile.legacy clean

Installation (macOS/Linux)

# Install to default location (/usr/local/taudem)
make install

# Install to custom location (/custom/path/taudem)
make install PREFIX=/custom/path

# Uninstall
make uninstall

Installation (Windows)

Download the latest TauDEM Windows installer from the TauDEM Downloads page and run it.

Installation using Docker

TauDEM can be built and run inside a Docker container for a consistent, cross-platform environment.

Requirements

• Docker (Docker Desktop for Windows/macOS, or Docker Engine for Linux)
• Sufficient disk space for DEM data and TauDEM build artifacts

Build the Docker Image

Download the Dockerfile from the TauDEM repository and build the image if you haven't previously done so:

curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/dtarb/TauDEM/Develop/Dockerfile
docker build -t taudem-docker .

This creates a Docker image named taudem-docker with all dependencies and TauDEM build tools installed. You need to build the Docker image only once unlless the TauDEM source code changes.

Running TauDEM in a Docker Container

Once you have built the Docker image, you can run TauDEM tools inside a container anytime. To run TauDEM tools on your local data, use Docker's volume mounting to access files from your host system inside the container.

General Command Pattern:

docker run --rm -it -v /path/to/your/data:/data --user taudem taudem-docker <taudem-command>

This command runs a TauDEM tool inside a Docker container:

• --rm automatically removes the container after it exits.
• -it runs the container interactively (so you can see output/errors).
• -v /path/to/your/data:/data mounts your local data directory (containing input files) into the container at /data.
• --user taudem runs the command as the non-root taudem user inside the container for safer file permissions.
• taudem-docker is the name of the Docker image you built.
• <taudem-command> is the TauDEM tool and its arguments (e.g., pitremove -z /data/input.tif -fel /data/output.tif).

Example: Running pitremove

# cd to the directory containing your input data files and run:
# for linux/macOS
docker run --rm -it -v $(pwd):/data --user taudem taudem-docker pitremove -z /data/input.tif -fel /data/output.tif
# for Windows
docker run --rm -it -v %cd%:/data --user taudem taudem-docker pitremove -z /data/input.tif -fel /data/output.tif
# or with mpi
# for linux/macOS
docker run --rm -it -v $(pwd):/data --user taudem taudem-docker mpiexec -n 2 pitremove -z /data/input.tif -fel /data/output.tif
# for Windows
docker run --rm -it -v %cd%:/data --user taudem taudem-docker mpiexec -n 2 pitremove -z /data/input.tif -fel /data/output.tif

• This runs the pitremove tool on input.tif in your current directory and writes output.tif to the same directory.

📦 Dependencies

TauDEM requires the following dependencies:

Core Dependencies

• C++17 Compiler: GCC 7+, Clang 5+, or Visual Studio 2022
• MPI: Message Passing Interface for parallel processing
• GDAL: Geospatial Data Abstraction Library for raster/vector I/O
• CMake: Build system (version 3.10+)

Platform-Specific Installation

macOS (Homebrew)

brew install gdal open-mpi cmake

Linux (Ubuntu/Debian)

sudo apt install -y build-essential cmake openmpi-bin libopenmpi-dev \
                    gdal-bin libgdal-dev libproj-dev libtiff-dev libgeotiff-dev

Windows (vcpkg)

# 1. Install vcpkg (C++ package manager)
mkdir C:\dev
cd C:\dev
git clone https://github.com/Microsoft/vcpkg.git
cd vcpkg
.\bootstrap-vcpkg.bat

# 2. Integrate vcpkg with Visual Studio (optional but recommended)
.\vcpkg integrate install

# 3. Add vcpkg to PATH (optional - allows running vcpkg from anywhere)
# Add the vcpkg directory to your system PATH environment variable
# Or run vcpkg commands from the vcpkg directory

# 4. Install TauDEM dependencies - for x64 builds (recommended), specify the triplet
vcpkg install gdal[core,tools,sqlite3,libkml]:x64-windows mpi:x64-windows

Optional Dependencies (Windows)

• Python 3.10+: For ArcGIS integration and Python tools
• ArcGIS: For using TauDEM toolbox in ArcGIS

Creating TauDEM Windows Installer

TauDEM provides a Windows installer for easy installation on Windows. The installer is built using Inno Setup and includes all dependencies and TauDEM executables.

Note: This installer can be created only on Windows.

Requirements

• Inno Setup (for compiling the installer script). Download from https://jrsoftware.org/isdl.php
• Release build of compiled TauDEM executables
• Microsoft MPI Runtime. Download from https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=57467
• Visual C++ 2022 Redistributable. Download from https://aka.ms/vs/17/release/vc_redist.x64.exe

Note: The above requirements are in addition to the dependencies listed for Paltform-Specific Installation.

Steps

1. Create the directory TauDEM_Installation_Source at the root of the TauDEM repository and copy the following files to it:
   • msmpisetup.exe - Microsoft MPI Runtime
   • VC_redist.x64.exe - Visual C++ 2022 redistributable
   • Copy the taudem.bmp file from the root of the TauDEM repository to TauDEM_Installation_Source
   • Create TauDEMArcGIS inside TauDEM_Installation_Source and copy all files from pyfiles to it - Python toolbox files for ArcGIS integration
2. Build TauDEM in release mode: build-windows.bat release. This will create the TauDEM_Exe/win_64 inside TauDEM_Installation_Source directory with the compiled executables.
3. Open setup.iss in Inno Setup on Windows machine
4. Verify source paths and version numbers in script
5. Compile to generate TauDEM_setup_x64.exe. This installer will be created in the TauDEM_Installation_Source/Output directory.

📁 Project Structure

TauDEM/
├── src/                    # Source code
│   ├── *.cpp, *.h          # TauDEM algorithms implementation
│   ├── CMakeLists.txt      # CMake build configuration
├── build/                  # Build outputs (generated)(gitignored)
│   ├── debug/              # Debug build directory
│   └── release/            # Release build directory
├── pyfiles/                # Python tools and ArcGIS integration
│   ├── *.py                # Python wrappers for TauDEM tools
│   └── *.tbx               # ArcGIS toolbox files
├── conda-bundle/           # Portable conda bundle builder
│   ├── Dockerfile          # Docker build for Linux x86_64 bundle
│   ├── build-conda-bundle.sh  # Build script for creating bundle
│   ├── patch-makefile.sh   # Patches Makefile for conda paths
│   ├── install.sh          # User-facing installation script
│   ├── BUILD.md            # Builder documentation
│   └── README.md           # User documentation for bundle
├── .vscode/                # VS Code configuration
│   ├── c_cpp_properties.json       # IntelliSense configuration
│   ├── settings-*.json.template    # Platform-specific VS Code settings
│   |── launch-*.json.template      # Platform-specific debugging configurations
│   └── tasks-*.json.template       # Platform-specific build and utility tasks
├── CMakeLists.txt          # Root CMake configuration
├── config.cmake            # CMake configuration for different platforms
├── Makefile                # Main build system
├── build-windows.bat       # TauDEM build script for Windows
├── Dockerfile              # Docker configuration (running TauDEM in docker container)
├── Dockerfile-run.tests    # Docker configuration (building TauDEM for testing on Ubuntu)
├── README.md               # This file

Key Components

• src/: Contains all C++ source code for TauDEM algorithms
• pyfiles/: Python wrappers and ArcGIS toolbox integration
• config.cmake: Platform-specific CMake configurations
• .vscode/: VS Code development environment setup

🧪 Testing

TauDEM includes comprehensive testing capabilities:

Running Tests

For running tests for TauDEM Linux build, see section Docker Build for Docker build instructions.

# Manual testing with sample data (assumes TauDEM installed path is in PATH)
cd /path/to/test/data
pitremove -z input.tif -fel output.tif
# Testing in parallel
mpiexec -n 2 pitremove -z input.tif -fel output.tif

Test Data and Test Scripts for Running TauDEM Tests

Download test data from the TauDEM-Test-Data repository:

git clone https://github.com/dtarb/TauDEM-Test-Data.git

Refer to the TauDEM-Test-Data repository for details on how to run tests.

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions to TauDEM!

Development Workflow

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch: git checkout -b feature/new-algorithm
3. Setup development environment: Follow the VS Code setup instructions
4. Make changes: Follow coding standards
5. Test thoroughly: Ensure all tests pass
6. Submit a pull request

Coding Standards

• C++17: Use modern C++ features appropriately
• Code Style: Follow existing conventions
• Documentation: Document all public functions
• Testing: Include tests for new functionality

📚 Resources

• Website: http://hydrology.usu.edu/taudem
• Wiki: https://github.com/dtarb/TauDEM/wiki
• Documentation: http://hydrology.usu.edu/taudem/taudem5/documentation.html
• Issues: https://github.com/dtarb/TauDEM/issues
• Test Data: https://github.com/dtarb/TauDEM-Test-Data

Academic References

• Tarboton, D. G. (1997). "A new method for the determination of flow directions and upslope areas in grid digital elevation models." Water Resources Research, 33(2), 309-319.
• Tarboton, D. G. (2003). "Terrain Analysis Using Digital Elevation Models in Hydrology." 23rd ESRI International Users Conference, San Diego, California.

Support

• Community Forum: Use GitHub Discussions for questions
• Bug Reports: Submit issues on GitHub
• Feature Requests: Open enhancement issues on GitHub

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📄 License

TauDEM is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0. See GPLv3license.txt for details.

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Developed by: Utah State University Maintainer: David Tarboton