[MOAB-dev] Re-arranging MOAB source

[Tim Tautges]

[Rolling up several separate emails with comments...]



Jason Kraftcheck wrote:
>>> Any features that are to be usable by other tools should go into moab/.
>>> Other stuff should be in tools/.
>> Then I think we need something like "core" inside moab, to distinguish
>> the core stuff from the utils.  Or, make a utils directory (which
>> wouldn't be a bad idea either, for trees and other stuff).
>>
> 
> Or just put the utils in subdirectories of MOAB, and leave the core stuff in
> the top-level directory.  Or perhaps create more top-level directories than
> just moab/ if there are other libraries that may be used w/out MOAB.
> 

The distinction I was thinking of here, and that we should have a distinct policy on, is that anything outside the moab/ 
subdir should use only installed include files.  I'm not sure there's an easy way to check that w/o complicating the .am 
files too mcuh, but we should at least try for that policy.

 >>>   #include "moab/exodus_order.h"
 >> I've always found subdirs in #includes annoying.  Why not just put
 >> -Imoab and reference exodus_order.h directly?
 >
 > If I have a class named Vector3D in Mesquite, and MOAB has a class named
 > Vector3D, then I cannot use both tools together unless at least one of those
 > classes is in some namespace other than the top level-one.  Namespaces solve
 > this issue for class names.  However, I also need to include the headers
 > defining each header.  If both Mesquite and MOAB use the conventional name
 > of Vector3D.hpp, how do I include both?  If one is going to use the
 > classname->filename convention for C++ headers, then there must also be a
 > namespace for the headers.

This one I feel strongly about.  Unless we can point to an example that's either already happening or close, I'd like to 
stick with a flat include directory.

 >> Instead of separate m4 and cmake subdirs, what about a config subdir
 >> with m4 and cmake below that?
 >>
 >
 > That contradicts your argument above that we should use 'src' rather than
 > 'moab' because it is more common.  As I said in a previous message, I'm not
 > sure that 'src' actually is more common, but using the default subdirs for
 > these build systems definitely is more common.
 >

Nothing's black and white here.  I like src not only because it seems more common, but because a non-negligible portion 
of our developers will be going there.  I see very few developers going into the config stuff.

In summary, I can live with moab/ being the main moab source dir, would like examples at the top level, and would like 
the config stuff below config.  The resulting layout is:

moab/
   parallel/
   itaps/
   io/
   util/
examples/
doc/
   doxygen/
test/
   parallel/
   itaps/
   io/
tools/
   refiner/
   dagmc/
   mbcoupler/
   ...
contrib/
config/
   cmake/
   m4/


Does anybody have any more comments, besides the ones already raised?

- tim

> 
>>>> How would naming the source directory moab help with namespacing, other
>>>> than perceptually?  If it's just perceptual, then I think we should
>>>> balance that against the familiarity that src has.
>>>>
>>> The directory name could serve as a "namespace" for header files.  For
>>> example:
>>>   #include "moab/exodus_order.h"
>> I've always found subdirs in #includes annoying.  Why not just put
>> -Imoab and reference exodus_order.h directly?  
> 
> If I have a class named Vector3D in Mesquite, and MOAB has a class named
> Vector3D, then I cannot use both tools together unless at least one of those
> classes is in some namespace other than the top level-one.  Namespaces solve
> this issue for class names.  However, I also need to include the headers
> defining each header.  If both Mesquite and MOAB use the conventional name
> of Vector3D.hpp, how do I include both?  If one is going to use the
> classname->filename convention for C++ headers, then there must also be a
> namespace for the headers.
> 
> Also, I don't think we
>> should install into a bunch of subdirs under include, and tools (and
>> examples) should look as much as possible like apps outside moab.
>>
> 
> I don't see a) a problem with subdirs under include or b) the relevance of apps.
> 
> 
>  - jason
> 

-- 
================================================================
"You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is
   steadfast, because he trusts in you."               Isaiah 26:3

              Tim Tautges            Argonne National Laboratory
          (tautges at mcs.anl.gov)      (telecommuting from UW-Madison)
          phone: (608) 263-8485      1500 Engineering Dr.
            fax: (608) 263-4499      Madison, WI 53706