[ET Trac] [Einstein Toolkit] #331: SimFactory does not abort if it has been given a nonexistent optionlist

[Einstein Toolkit]

#331: SimFactory does not abort if it has been given a nonexistent optionlist
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  Reporter:  hinder      |       Owner:  mthomas
      Type:  defect      |      Status:  new    
  Priority:  major       |   Milestone:         
 Component:  SimFactory  |     Version:         
Resolution:              |    Keywords:         
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Comment (by eschnett):

 The problem seems to be in simlib.py, function GetCactusFile, in the last
 if statement

     if not(os.path.exists(ff)):

 This routine obtains a configuration file (e.g. an option list), and takes
 an argument that specifies whether this file is required to be present or
 not. If it is required, it outputs an error message if the file is not
 found, if not, it fails gracefully and returns None. In our case, an
 option list is not required, hence None is returned.

 I believe the logic in this if statement is wrong. If a file name is
 specified, this file name should be returned no matter what. An additional
 test may be performed (to see whether the file exists), or an error
 message may be output, but the specified option should never be ignored
 and None returned.

 Notice that the routine contains some duplication; e.g. the search logic
 to find the file is repeated twice, first for a user option that can
 override the MDB entry, and then for an MDB entry.

 I believe the correction should be to remove the "else: ff=None" in the
 last if statement, and possibly also the "if required:". The latter would
 make both failure paths (for user options and MDB entries) the same.

 A cleanup of this routine may also be helpful.

-- 
Ticket URL: <https://trac.einsteintoolkit.org/ticket/331#comment:2>
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