Modifying Log Timestamp using Example.conf

The METplus configuration variable named LOG_TIMESTAMP_TEMPLATE controls to timestamp that is included in the log file names. The default value of LOG_TIMESTAMP_TEMPLATE is %Y%m%d%H%M%S, which will include the year, month, day, hour, minute, and second when the run_metplus.py command was executed. This will create a new log file each time run_metplus.py is called from the command line.

Starting in METplus v5.0.0, the log timestamp is also included by default in the final configuration file that is generated by the METplus wrappers. This helps with debugging because the final config file and its corresponding log file(s) are more easily identified. The path to the final config file is set by METPLUS_CONF.

The values of these settings can be changed by including them in a METplus configuration file that is passed into run_metplus.py. They can also be set directly in the run_metplus.py command using the syntax config.VARIABLE_NAME=VALUE. The following examples will use the latter.

Changing the Log Timestamp Template

In this example we will change the log timestamp template to only include the year, month, and day of the run. This will create a single log file each day. Each call to run_metplus.py will add its log output to the daily file.

1. Run the Example_timing use case from the previous exercise and override the log timestamp template to only include year, month, and day.

2. List the contents of the log directory and notice that there is now a log file that matches the format metplus.log.YYYYMMDD

3. Run the Example_filename use case from the previous exercise and again override the log timestamp template to only include YYYYMMDD.

4. Review the log file and notice that it contains the log output from both runs.

5. Search for the word "Running" to see each command.

Adding Run ID in Log Timestamp Template

The METplus configuration variable RUN_ID was added in METplus v5.0.0. This variable contains an 8 character string that is automatically generated by and is unique to each call to run_metplus.py. This variable can be referenced in other METplus configuration variables. This can be useful in a variety of ways. For example, it can be used to distinguish log files for METplus runs that may have started within the same second.

1. Run the Example_timing use case and override the log timestamp template to include the RUN_ID.

2. List the contents of the log directory and notice that there is now a log file that matches the format metplus.log.YYYYMMDDHHMMSS.XXXXXXXX where XXXXXXXX is a random set of characters.