[Developers] Re: Cactus/1575: cactus::cctk_strong_param_check doesn't stop execution on param errors

[Jonathan Thornburg]

Hi,

On 28.Jul.2003 I filed bug report #1575,
   http://www.cactuscode.org/cactus_cgi-bin/gnatsweb.pl?debug=&database=cactus&cmd=view+audit-trail&cmd=view&pr=1575
basically complaining that setting  cactus::cactus::cctk_strong_param_check
to "strict" isn't enough to catch misspelling a parameter name.
(This was cc-ed to developers at cactuscode.org, but for some reason
the archives on www.cactuscode.org only go back to October 2003. :( :( )

On 10.May.2004 (in a message which went only to cactusmaint and that
bug's audit trail, not to the developers mailing list), Tom replied
> actually, this parameter only checks the warnings/errors generated during
> the CCTK_PARAMCHECK schedule bin (as per the parameter's documentation
> string);  to check the parameter file itself, you need to use
> 
> --parameter-level [strict|normal|relaxed]
> 
> on the command line.
> 
> Since this is confusing, we're going to add a new keyword parameter
> 
> KEYWORD parameter_level "The structness of parameter checking"
> {
>   "strict"
>   "normal"
>   "relaxed"
> } "normal"
> 
> and use the strictest of the command-line and the parameter to control the
> level of errors in both the parameter file checking and the
> CCTK_PARAMCHECK schedule bin.

I propose that instead, we have the parameter set the *default* value
for the command-line option (so the command-line option can override
the parameter).  This way a par file can still set a default strictness,
but the user override this if necessary without having to make a temp
copy and modify it.

comments?

[There is also the minor detail that this parameter isn't implemented
yet.  But once we know what we want, then we can see about getting it
implemented...]

ciao,

-- 
-- Jonathan Thornburg <jthorn at aei.mpg.de>
    Max-Planck-Institut fuer Gravitationsphysik (Albert-Einstein-Institut),
    Golm, Germany, "Old Europe"     http://www.aei.mpg.de/~jthorn/home.html
    "Washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the
     powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral."
                                       -- quote by Freire / poster by Oxfam