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Create simulations and automatically purge old version
When I create a new simulation, I go through a cycle of
1. Edit parameter file 2. create-submit 3. Check output 4. Correct errors 5. Purge simulation 6. Go to 1
This cycle can happen several times for a new parameter file, and there is no value to me in keeping the old broken versions of the simulation around, and I don't want to have to keep choosing a new name for the simulation anyway. I propose adding a --purge option to the create[-submit] command which purges the simulation if it already exists. This would avoid me having to run an additional purge command.
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Replying to [comment:1 eschnett]:
Instead of purging simulations, I suggest to rename the old simulation (after checking that it is inactive etc.) by appending such a numeric index; simulation "bbh" becomes "bbh.0000" etc. Their names should clearly identify them as backups, and one can easily purge them at a later time.
This sounds like a good solution to me. The typical scenario is that I keep iterating until finally settling on a "good" simulation. I'd like for this final iteration to have a "nice" name which I have already chosen in advance, so I think adding a --replace option is a good idea. It would also be nice to have a single command to delete all the old iterations by just giving the name of the final "good" version.
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I've thought about this, and the danger is that one gets use to the "--purge" option, even if one accidentally mistypes the simulation name, and thus irrevocably deletes two months of progress. I also often find it useful to keep these old, wrong results around for a few iterations of this process, so that I can quickly see whether I'm trying something that I already tried before, or at which iteration I began to introduce a new error.
Personally, I'm appending a numerical counter to simulation names. That does the trick for me, but is obviously less convenient than it should be.
Instead of purging simulations, I suggest to rename the old simulation (after checking that it is inactive etc.) by appending such a numeric index; simulation "bbh" becomes "bbh.0000" etc. Their names should clearly identify them as backups, and one can easily purge them at a later time.
What about --rename as an option for this? Or --replace?