[ET Trac] [Einstein Toolkit] #1284: Want stand-alone parameter parser

[Einstein Toolkit]

#1284: Want stand-alone parameter parser
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  Reporter:  eschnett     |       Owner:     
      Type:  enhancement  |      Status:  new
  Priority:  major        |   Milestone:     
 Component:  Cactus       |     Version:     
Resolution:               |    Keywords:     
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Comment (by eschnett):

 Regarding MPI_Init: It is not possible to circumvent calling MPI_Init, as
 this is the first thing that needs to be done in an executable. There is
 no way to make a decision before this point, since e.g. command line
 arguments and environment variables are not yet available.

 Regarding outputting parameters: You can set IO::parfile_write="generate",
 which outputs the current values instead of copying the parameter file.
 Thorn Formaline also outputs all parameter values in a format that is
 easier to parse, but people haven't really been interested.

 A while ago, some people mentioned they would parse parameter files
 themselves and thus didn't like a complex parameter file syntax. Instead
 of parsing parameter files, there could be a generic parameter file parser
 that is easy to use and gets the syntax correct. Now I see there is much
 opposition to such an idea -- we should remember this next time we discuss
 parameter file syntax, as people apparently aren't supposed to parse
 parameter files by themselves anyway.

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Ticket URL: <https://trac.einsteintoolkit.org/ticket/1284#comment:8>
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