v0.4.0

[MuellerSeb]

FINAM v0.4

FINAM is an open-source component-based model coupling framework for environmental models.
It aims at enabling bi-directional online couplings of models for different compartments like geo-, hydro-, pedo- and biosphere.

The framework is built in Python, with well-defined interfaces for data exchange.
This approach allows for coupling of models irrespective of their internal structure, architecture or programming language.

Resources

• FINAM homepage
• FINAM documentation
• FINAM source code
• FINAM GitLab group, containing further related projects

Changelog

New scheduling algorithm

• FINAM uses a new scheduling algorithm that allows components to use future data instead of only past/current (!157, !159)
• New adapters to resolve circular coupling through the use of delayed data (!187)
• It is now possible to set up static couplings that run only once and have no explicit time or stepping (!166)
• FINAM can handle different starting times of components by pushing initial data twice (!206):
  Once for the common starting time, and once for the actual component time
• Components are no longer required to push all outputs on every step (!208)

Data and metadata rework

• Outputs check compatibility between metadata of inputs if there is more than one target input (!104)
• Add data tools function compatible_units to check for convertibility (!105)
• Components can exchange their starting time through the Info object (!111)
• Info exchange is automated by the ConnectHelper by specifying transfer rules at initialization (!154)
• Info now requires time in constructor (can be None) (!111)
• Scheduler checks for dead links that don't work in terms of push/pull combination (!112)
• IInput, IOutput and IAdapter have new internally used properties needs_push and needs_pull (!112)
• to_xarray now checks the data shape if the data is not flat (!130)
• Outputs can be flagged static for data that is only used during initialization, or that is constant (!166)
• Inputs can be flagged static for constant data (!171)
• Outputs accept and convert compatible units, not only exactly equal units (!215)
• Outputs check that subsequent data pushes don't share memory (!217)
• Exchanged xarray data has no time coordinate anymore, only a dimension without values (for performance and usability) (!223)
• Remove the xarray wrapping completely. Use numpy arrays in pint Quantity (!235)
• Outputs and adapters can have a memory_limit and write data to disk if the limit is exceeded (!238)

Components

• Add modules.WeightedSum for aggregation of multiple inputs (!105)
• Add modules.SimplexNoise for generating spatio-temporal noise (!131)
• Add modules.TimeTrigger to forward data from pull-based to push-based components (!131)
• Add modules.ScheduleLogger to visualize scheduling/module updates through ASCII charts (!160)
• Add modules.DebugPushConsumer as a push-based variant of the debug consumer (!165)
• Add modules.UserControl that lets users control FINAM runs from the terminal (!184)
• modules.DebugConsumer and modules.DebugPushConsumer can use optional callbacks for better debugging (!176)
• Components can be renamed using the method with_name() (!243)

Adapters

• Add adapters.Histogram to extract a histogram from grid values (!182)
• Add adapters.DelayFixed, adapters.DelayToPull and adapters.DelayToPush to resolve circular coupling through the use of delayed data (!187)
• Add adapters.StepTime for step-wise interpolation (!194)
• Restructuring of time integration adapters (!194)
  • adapters.IntegrateTime renamed to adapters.AvgOverTime
  • Add adapters.SumOverTime for sum/Area under Curve integration
• Adapters have a method finalize() for cleanup (!226).
• Adapters can be renamed using the method with_name() (!243)

Other

• Remove module core, subpackages now under finam (!106)
• Rename IOutput.source_changed() to source_updated (!107)
• Rename LogError to ErrorLogger (!107)
• Rename abstract SDK classes: (!107)
  • AAdapter is now Adapter
  • AComponent is now Component
  • ATimeComponent is now TimeComponent
• Changed arguments for create_connector() (!111)
  • Removed required_out_infos
  • Renamed required_in_data to pull_data
  • Added arguments to specify info exchange rules
• All error types are in module errors now, and re-exported at top level (!116)
• Overwriting _validate() and _finalize() in components is now mandatory (!156)
• Input and output slots can be accessed from components directly, e.g. comp["A"] instead of comp.inputs["A"] (!147)
• Inputs and outputs can be marked as static for constant data without time information (!166, !171)
• New helper function tools.inspect() to inspect components, adapters and I/O slots (!197)
• Publish on PyPI, starting with the next release (!198, !200, !201)
• Added benchmarks for the most important FINAM functions
  (see the benchmarks README)
• Added profiling for full runs to the CI (!221)
• Optimization of data tool functions, with approx. 20-fold speedup of basic push+pull
  (!222, !223, !224, !228, !229, !237).
• Add two more log levels: TRACE (most verbose) and PROFILE (between DEBUG and INFO) (!240)

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This discussion was created from the release v0.4.0.