[MITgcm-support] doc/tag-index

[Martin Losch]

Holly,

you don't seem to get an answer from those whom I consider more on top  
of this issue than I am. I hope that I am not giving away any secrets  
about the MITgcm ...

doc/tag-index is a reference file where the developers briefly  
document their changes in the code; so you are right that it is  
actually quite useful for finding out about the status of the MITgcm.

There is no "stable" version (there was a Release1 years ago, but  
never a second one).
The latest code is tested every day and there are a few (unnamed)  
bloodhounds who will immediately notice any problems with these tests,  
so that the latest code is almost always OK for the parts that are  
used in the verification experiments (the developers have the strict  
rule to only check in modifications after running these tests).
The normal user should be fine with the latest code. In fact if you  
use it you make sure that you have the latest bug-fixes etc include  
(but it also means that you get new code which might contain new  
bugs). However, before you update a running project to latest code I  
advise you to check in tag-index that this update will not change your  
results (e.g. there have been major changes in the seaice package  
around checkpoint61o/p/q/r, which do change the results if you use pkg/ 
seaice, but these events are rare).

I guess it is usually safe to use "checkpoints", such as checkpoint61.  
Again: we do our best (see above) to have properly working code at all  
times and particularly at the time of "tags" (e.g. currently the  
latest tag is checkpoint61t).

Martin

On Aug 3, 2009, at 11:25 PM, Holly Dail wrote:

> Hello all -
>
> When I do a fresh checkout from the CVS, I'm never sure I'm getting  
> a reasonable version.  After recent mentions of doc/tag-index I  
> looked at it for the first time -- it looks like a useful way to  
> find reasonably stable versions to focus on.  Is checking out the  
> most recent checkpoint mentioned in that file my best bet?  Do all  
> developers update it or is it sporadic?
>
> Thanks -
> Holly
>
> PS I was going to ask how to search the archives, because its been  
> plaguing me.  And then I thought of trying Google:
> site:http://forge.csail.mit.edu/pipermail/mitgcm-support my question
> Thought I'd mention it in case anyone else misses the obvious too.
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