print species definitions in INFO.OUT

[marcindulak]

It's difficult to compare the results from old/new releases of elk if species change,
or if one uses his own modified species. Is printing this information (the contents of used [H-Rf].in files) in INFO.OUT already possible, of could it be implemented?

[Markus]

Hi Marcin!

I think to have all information in place you would have to copy the full species definition file. Of course, the code could copy the species files into the directory of your run, but I don't see the point of doing this.

Here's what I do:
- The INFO.OUT contains the version number of the code. Just use the species supplied with the release.
- If I modify the species, I keep the input files in the same place as the run, just to be on the safe side.

Markus

P.S.: I would generally not mix results from different releases. In doubt, I reconverge all calculations I need with one version of the code.

[marcindulak]

The point is that humans make mistakes, and the task of computers is to help to prevent this from happening. It's very easy to set sppath incorrectly, modify species in sppath after the calculation is run, or simply remove the sppath, leaving the elk directory run without the crucial information.

Copying the species definition could be an option of course. I would have the option always on: the full sppath is ~500kB, and one normally does not use all elements in one run; this is anyway still negligible compared to the size of files STATE.OUT or EVEC*V.OUT.