update version numbers to 0.4.0 and fix run_hydrochrono.exe app in package

Author: dav-og

CMakeLists.txt

@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ endif()
 # ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
 
 project(HydroChrono 
-    VERSION 0.3.2
+    VERSION 0.4.0
     DESCRIPTION "Hydrodynamics for Project Chrono."
     LANGUAGES CXX
 )
@@ -788,15 +788,15 @@ endif()
 
 
 
-# Optionally include Python runtime DLL if Chrono::Parsers depends on it
-find_package(Python3 QUIET COMPONENTS Interpreter)
-if(Python3_Interpreter_FOUND OR Python3_FOUND)
-    get_filename_component(_PY_DIR "${Python3_EXECUTABLE}" DIRECTORY)
-    if(DEFINED Python3_VERSION_MAJOR AND DEFINED Python3_VERSION_MINOR)
-        set(_PY_DLL_NAME "python${Python3_VERSION_MAJOR}${Python3_VERSION_MINOR}.dll")
-        set(_PY_DLL_PATH "${_PY_DIR}/${_PY_DLL_NAME}")
-        if(EXISTS "${_PY_DLL_PATH}")
-            install(FILES "${_PY_DLL_PATH}" DESTINATION bin COMPONENT runtime)
-        endif()
-    endif()
-endif()
+# NOTE: Do NOT include Python runtime DLL (python3XX.dll) in the package.
+# While Chrono::Parsers may link against Python, including the standalone DLL
+# causes STATUS_DLL_NOT_FOUND (0xC0000135) failures because python3XX.dll
+# has dependencies (python3.dll, _pth files, etc.) that aren't bundled.
+# The exe works without it because Python DLLs are found via PATH at runtime.
+# If Python embedding is truly required, the entire Python runtime would need
+# to be bundled, which is beyond the scope of this minimal package.
+#
+# find_package(Python3 QUIET COMPONENTS Interpreter)
+# if(Python3_Interpreter_FOUND OR Python3_FOUND)
+#     ... (removed - see note above)
+# endif()

README.md

@@ -2,11 +2,11 @@
 <p align="center">
   <img src="docs/assets/img/hydrochrono_banner.png" />
   <br/>
-  <a href="https://github.com/NREL/HydroChrono/releases"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/version-v0.3-blue.svg" /></a>
+  <a href="https://github.com/NREL/HydroChrono/releases"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/version-v0.4-blue.svg" /></a>
   <a href="#"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/status-Prototype-orange.svg" /></a>
 </p>
 
-> ⚠️ HydroChrono is under active development (`v0.3` prototype). This early release focuses on a YAML‑driven CLI and portable HDF5 outputs so you can try the code and share feedback. Expect rapid iteration over the coming year (inc. more advanced PTO, control, mooring & hydrodynamics) — please get in touch if you have any issues or feature requests.
+> ⚠️ HydroChrono is under active development (`v0.4` prototype). This early release focuses on a YAML‑driven CLI and portable HDF5 outputs so you can try the code and share feedback. Expect rapid iteration over the coming year (inc. more advanced PTO, control, mooring & hydrodynamics) — please get in touch if you have any issues or feature requests.
 
 
 HydroChrono (Hydrodynamics for Project Chrono) is a hydrodynamics simulation toolkit built on [Project Chrono](https://projectchrono.org/). It is designed for simulating wave energy converters (WECs) and other complex ocean systems, and is **100% free and open‑source** end‑to‑end — no proprietary dependencies required. This repo ships a prototype, YAML‑driven CLI app for running simulations and exporting portable results.

app/run_hydrochrono.cpp

@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 #include <hydroc/logging.h>
 #include <string>
 #include <filesystem>
+#include <iostream>
 
 #ifdef _WIN32
 #include <windows.h>
@@ -164,7 +165,6 @@ int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
     // Configure UTF-8 console output on Windows (must be first!)
     // ---------------------------------------------------------------------
 #ifdef _WIN32
-    // Enable UTF-8 console output on Windows
     SetConsoleOutputCP(CP_UTF8);
 #endif
 
@@ -175,13 +175,22 @@ int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
 
     // -------------------------------------------------------------------------
     // Initialize logging early so all CLI output uses the nice formatting
+    // Wrapped in try/catch to report initialization failures clearly
     // -------------------------------------------------------------------------
-    hydroc::LoggingConfig cfg;
-    cfg.enable_cli_output = true;
-    cfg.enable_file_output = false;
-    cfg.console_level = hydroc::LogLevel::Info;
-    cfg.file_level = hydroc::LogLevel::Info;
-    hydroc::Initialize(cfg);
+    try {
+        hydroc::LoggingConfig cfg;
+        cfg.enable_cli_output = true;
+        cfg.enable_file_output = false;
+        cfg.console_level = hydroc::LogLevel::Info;
+        cfg.file_level = hydroc::LogLevel::Info;
+        (void)hydroc::Initialize(cfg);  // Ignore return value; failures throw
+    } catch (const std::exception& e) {
+        std::cerr << "FATAL: Exception during logging initialization: " << e.what() << std::endl;
+        return 1;
+    } catch (...) {
+        std::cerr << "FATAL: Unknown exception during logging initialization" << std::endl;
+        return 1;
+    }
 
     // Check for help/version/info flags first (before requiring input directory)
     for (int i = 1; i < argc; i++) {

src/hydro/logging/logging.cpp

@@ -297,7 +297,7 @@ void CLILogger::ShowBanner() {
     Log(LogLevel::Success, "│                                                                                                     │", LogColor::BrightCyan);
     Log(LogLevel::Success, "│                                   Hydrodynamics for Project Chrono                                  │", LogColor::White);
     Log(LogLevel::Success, "│                                                                                                     │", LogColor::BrightCyan);
-    Log(LogLevel::Success, "│  Version        : 0.3.2                                                                             │", LogColor::Gray);
+    Log(LogLevel::Success, "│  Version        : 0.4.0                                                                             │", LogColor::Gray);
     Log(LogLevel::Success, "│  Status         : Prototype                                                                         │", LogColor::Gray);
     Log(LogLevel::Success, "│  Author         : SEA-Stack Development Team                                                        │", LogColor::Gray);
     Log(LogLevel::Success, "│  Lead Developer : David Ogden                                                                       │", LogColor::Gray);