Adding a time trigger

This section show an alternative to time-based dependencies, using time triggers. The following suite-based generated variables are available for time-based triggers:

DD: day of the month
DOW: day of the week, 0-6, where 0 is Sunday
DOY: day of the year
ECF_DATE: YYYYMMDD year, month, day format
MM: month 01-12
TIME: HHMM hour, minute format
YYYY: year

Note

Find these variables using the ecflow_ui, by selecting the suite, then opening the Variables tab.

These time-based variables on the suite consider the suite calendar, and can be customised via the suite clock.

The following example maps several time dependencies and the corresponding time triggers:

time 23:00    # trigger :TIME == 2300
date 1.*.*    # trigger :DD == 1
day monday    # trigger :DOW == 1

Note

The : indicates that the variable is found by searching up the node tree.

Triggers can also use AND/OR logic, and the full range of operators: <, >, <=, >=.

task t          # using time attributes
    day monday
    time 13:00


task t          # using time trigger
    trigger :DOW == 1 and :TIME >= 1300


task t         # combination of time attributes and time trigger
    day monday
    trigger :TIME >= 1300

Important

Relative time (e.g. time +00:01) are not possible with time-based triggers. The use of time series with time-based triggers is also problematic.

Update Suite Definition

Update the suite definition file so that family f2 uses several time triggers.

# Definition of the suite test
suite test
    edit ECF_INCLUDE "{{HOME}}/course" # replace '$HOME' appropriately
    edit ECF_HOME    "{{HOME}}/course"

    [... previous family f1 omitted for brevity ..]

    family f2
        edit SLEEP 20
        task t1
            trigger :ECF_DATE == 20200720 and :TIME >= 1000
        task t2
            trigger :DOW == 4 and :TIME >= 1300
        task t3
            trigger :DD == 1 and :TIME >= 1200
        task t4
            trigger (:DOW == 1 and :TIME >= 1300) or (:DOW == 5 and :TIME >= 1000)
        task t5
            trigger :TIME == 0002              # 2 minutes past midnight
    endfamily
endsuite

Listing 42 $HOME/course/test.py

import os
from ecflow import (
    Defs,
    Suite,
    Family,
    Task,
    Edit,
    Trigger,
    Complete,
    Event,
    Meter,
    Time,
    Day,
    Date,
    Edit,
)


def create_family_f2():
    return Family(
        "f2",
        Edit(SLEEP=20),
        Task("t1", Trigger(":ECF_DATE ==20200720 and :TIME >= 1000")),
        Task("t2", Trigger(":DOW == 4 and :TIME >= 1300")),
        Task("t3", Trigger(":DD == 1 and :TIME >= 1200")),
        Task(
            "t4",
            Trigger("(:DOW == 1 and :TIME >= 1300) or (:DOW == 5 and :TIME >= 1000)"),
        ),
        Task("t5", Trigger(":TIME == 0002")),
    )


print("Creating suite definition")
home = os.path.join(os.getenv("HOME"), "course")
defs = Defs(Suite("test", Edit(ECF_INCLUDE=home, ECF_HOME=home), create_family_f2()))
print(defs)

print("Checking job creation: .ecf -> .job0")
print(defs.check_job_creation())

print("Checking trigger expressions")
errors = defs.check()
assert len(errors) == 0, errors

print("Saving definition to file 'test.def'")
defs.save_as_defs("test.def")

What to do

Modify the suite definition to update family f2, as shown above.

Replace the suite, using:

ecflow_client --suspend /test
ecflow_client --replace /test test.def

python3 test.py
python3 client.py

Use ecflow_ui to inspect why a task is queued, by selecting a queued task and clicking on the Why tab.
(Optional) Adjust the time attributes to make all task runs.