Simulation projects

The version management is Oracle is based on time ranges. Each DAQ run has a start time and this time stamp (together with the history date and the context) defines the version used for the initialization of this run. Runs are taken in consecutive order and have no overlap.
For simulations on the other hand are done eventually in parallel for different beam times or proposals for future experiment and the start time is not a good ordering parameter.

To use the same tables and interfaces in Oracle is was necessary to give simulation runs artifical timestamps and to group them in projects, sub-projects and generations.

• Table layout:
  

A project is typically a simulation for a beam time for example AUG04SIM and has also the same time range.

Each projects contains sub-projects with fixed

• system for example C+C
• projectile energy
• field setting
• target

Each sub-projects has a time range of one day.

Each sub-project may have different generations. For each generation a reference run is defined with a meaningful name and a easy to remember run id. This run id is used in the analysis as a reference run. (The reference run starts 30 minutes after the last and has a duration of 1 second).

Because these timestamps are such artificial and the rules hard to remember, a WebDB interface was developed to make it more comfortable (Needs login as a special user).
If people validate parameters for simulation they used pop-up menus showing the names and the corresponding time ranges are set automatically.
Also in the public interface typically on the name of the reference runs is visible, not the time stamps.

Each simulation run has in the event headers a unique run id (generated the same way as the DAQ generates the run ids).
Originally we wanted to store in Oracle information for all official simulations runs and event generator files including the configurations. Having such a runs catalog Oracle would have known for each run id automatically, that this run is a simulation run and which reference run belongs to it.
Although an interface in library orautil exists, this was never done (only a few files for nov01sim and only for testing).

The DAQ group has decided that starting in 2009 the run ids will the start time (similar to the filename). This most probably has as consequence, that we have to give up the idea for a catalog of simulation runs anyway and only use reference runs.

-- IlseKoenig - 28 Jun 2007