Translate Matlab pre-processing code into python

[gsclara]

Within the running of uDALES (CFD code) we are currently using quite a few scripts that are written in matlab.
We would like to port them to python, so we can use it more efficiently in HPC environments.
The idea is just to translate the code and we can do all the testing once the code is ready.
Assigned person Clara García-Sánchez and Akshay Patil.

[cmoon329]

Hi @gsclara @AkshayPatil1994, thanks for the description.
could you please share the matlab scripts that need to be converted into python?
Thank you in advance.

[AkshayPatil1994]

Hi @cmoon329 ,

Thanks for helping with this. The code is hosted here on a public repository. Perhaps you could fork the repo - https://github.com/uDALES/u-dales and take a look at the tools directory in the repository, where you have write_inputs.sh that calls a series of MATLAB scripts. This is primarily what we use to do the "pre-processing". Happy to provide more information if you need it.

[cmoon329]

WIP

[cmoon329]

Hi @AkshayPatil1994 , thank you for the detailed explanation.

I went through write_inputs.sh and the codes in the u-dales/tools directory. I noticed that quite a few matlab scripts are used during preprocessing.

Before I start converting the code, I just wanted to check if I'm understanding things correctly. From what I see, write_inputs.sh calls write_inputs.m, and inside write_inputs.m it uses functions from preprocessing.m as well as the functions in the IBM and SEB directories under u-dales/tools. So, the functions referenced within write_inputs.m need to be converted. Is that right?

If so, it may take some time to complete the full conversion. Would that be okay for you? If you have an expected deadline in mind for this, please let me know.

*Links

• write_inputs.sh
• write_inputs.m
• preprocessing.m
• u-dales/tools
• IBM
• SEB

[AkshayPatil1994]

Hi @cmoon329

That is correct, the write_inputs.sh calls a series on MATLAB and Fortran executables (IBM and SEB). The final solution methodology is up to you as long as it's a single script that can take in input arguments for the various possible calculations. When I say "up to you" I mean whatever is easy at first attempt, so you have a working prototype. Ideally, if the write_inputs.sh can be fully translated to a python script and all the various functions included in a single file called functions.py that would be super simple to continue development further.

Any system/os calls made in the write_inputs.m script can be made in python using os.system() like function calls. This however, needs to be fail safe by checking the right compilers exist before making a system call.

Hope this helps, and please let me know if you need further help/insights on this. Thanks and no worries about the deadline, this can continue slowly as there are no deadlines I personally know that would affect this porting.