Checking Essential Files Exist Before a Run Starts

When you ask to run some jobs (maybe several simulations or some simulations and spreadsheet jobs), this is the first main check that the software carries out before it starts the job running.

Essential files are files that

•are essential for one of the jobs you are about to run, and

•which will not be created by another of the jobs you are about to run.

If any essential files are missing, you cannot run the jobs you have requested.

Examples will make this clear.

Example 1. Suppose that you have asked to run years 4 to 6 of the Base.

Essential inputs to the simulation for year 4 of the Base are the data files updated after year 3 of the Base. If one of these does not exist, it will not be created by any of the other jobs (these will be run after the simulation for year 4 anyhow), so it is impossible to start with the simulation for year 4 of the Base in these circumstances.

Updated data files from the simulation for year number 4 of the Base are essential files for the simulation for year 5 of the Base. However it does not matter whether or not these files exist before the run starts since these files will be created when you run the simulation for year 4 (which happens before the simulation for year 5 will start).

Example 2. Suppose that you have asked to run the spreadsheet job covering all years of the Base.

Essential inputs to this spreadsheet job are the Solution files from each of the Base simulations. If have asked to do just the spreadsheet job and no simulations, all of these Solution files are essential. If one does not exist, you cannot run the spreadsheet job.

Alternatively, suppose that you have asked to run all Base simulations from year 4 onwards. Then the only essential files for the spreadsheet job are the Solution files from the first 3 Base simulations (since the other Solution files will be created when the other simulations are run). If any of the Solution files for the first 3 years does not exist, the software will tell you that you cannot continue. [But there is no problem if any of the Solution files from years 4 onwards does not exist.]

If RunDynam finds that an essential file does not exist,

•RunDynam will tell you the name of the file in an Error message box.

•RunDynam will ask you if you want to continue checking. You can decide either way.

Once the program has checked all essential files, or you have said that you dont want any more checking done, RunDynam will ask if you want to try to carry out the runs despite what it thinks are errors. You can try to carry on. But, unless there is a bug in this part of the checking, one or more of the runs will fail for the reasons previously given by RunDynam.

If RunDynam finds that all essential files exist, it goes on to the second main check, namely checking if prerequisite files are still ok.

URL of this topic: www.copsmodels.com/webhelp/rundynam/hc_essentialfiles.htm

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