Dump styles
===========

Classes that dump per-atom info to files are derived from the Dump
class.  To dump new quantities or in a new format, a new derived dump
class can be added, but it is typically simpler to modify the
DumpCustom class contained in the dump\_custom.cpp file.

Dump\_atom.cpp is a simple example of a derived dump class.

Here is a brief description of methods you define in your new derived
class.  See dump.h for details.

+---------------+---------------------------------------------------+
| write\_header | write the header section of a snapshot of atoms   |
+---------------+---------------------------------------------------+
| count         | count the number of lines a processor will output |
+---------------+---------------------------------------------------+
| pack          | pack a proc's output data into a buffer           |
+---------------+---------------------------------------------------+
| write\_data   | write a proc's data to a file                     |
+---------------+---------------------------------------------------+

See the :doc:`dump <dump>` command and its *custom* style for a list of
keywords for atom information that can already be dumped by
DumpCustom.  It includes options to dump per-atom info from Compute
classes, so adding a new derived Compute class is one way to calculate
new quantities to dump.

Note that new keywords for atom properties are not typically
added to the :doc:`dump custom <dump>` command.  Instead they are added
to the :doc:`compute property/atom <compute_property_atom>` command.


.. _lws: http://lammps.sandia.gov
.. _ld: Manual.html
.. _lc: Commands_all.html
