Resource File (.wxpdef or wxp.def)

The resource file contains a list of resource defaults used by all WXP programs.

FORMAT

Each line in the resource file contains a resource and its default value:

resource_name: default_value

Resources can be tailored by program, by name or set globally:

• Global - these are used by all programs and are listed at the top of the resource file. A global resource is used unless a named resource is specified to override the global resource.  These are specified by preceding the resource name with an asterisk:

*resource_name: default_value
  
  For example, to set the global data_path resource:
  
  *data_path: /home/wxp/ldm/wxp/ddplus
  
• Named Program - these are used only by a specific program. These are specified by preceding the resource name with the name of the program and a period:
  
  WXP_program.resource_name: default_value
  
  A program specific resource can be set:
  
  grbcalc.data_path: /home/wxp/model
  
  This value will override the global data_path resource.
  
• Named - these are used when special cases need to be defined (e.g. working with synoptic data rather than SAO/METARs). These are specified by preceding the resource name with a specific name chosen by the user:

special_name.resource_name: default_value
  
  For example:
  
  ngm.model: ngm
  
  To enable the name, the user must specify the name on the command line when the program is executed:

grbcalc -name=ngm ...

Complex Resources

Named resources can have complex names in order to organize defaults.  A wildcard character "*" can be used to use complex resource defaults in more than one case.  For example the following resource structure is desired:

grbcalc
   data_path: /home/wxp/model
   plot_domain: ngm

   ngm
      model: ngm
      prec
         color_table: rainbow.clr
         color_fill: prec.cfl
         color_cmap: white
         variable: prec
         plot_type: cf
         level: snd

A full resource name would be grbcalc.ngm.prec.level but we want to carry over all the resources from grbcalc and ngm. These can be specified with a combination of absolute and wildcard resource specifications.

grbcalc*data_path: /home/wxp/model
grbcalc*plot_domain: ngm
*ngm*model: ngm
*ngm.prec.color_table: rainbow.clr
*ngm.prec.color_fill: prec.cfl
*ngm.prec.color_cmap: white
*ngm.prec.variable: prec
*ngm.prec.plot_type: cf
*ngm.prec.level: snd

The named resource will be specified as:

grbcalc -name=grbcalc.ngm.prec

and this will use all the resources listed above. This way resource files can be simplified and changing one resource can propagated quickly to the other complex resources.

There is a shortcut so the program name does not need to be specified every time:

grbcalc -name=+ngm.prec

and the program name is automatically prepended.

Conditional Resources

In some cases, resources may need to be changed in rare occasions.  For example, a data feed is down and an alternate feed needs to be used.  An example of this is:

IF NOAAPORT
grbcalc*data_path: /data/model
ELIF WXP
grbcalc*data_path: /home/wxp/model
ELSE
grbcalc*data_path: /home/wxp/data
END LDM

In this case, the first line is used if NOAAPORT is defined, otherwise the second if WXP is defined or the third otherwise. You can define NAAPORT in two places. You can add a line to the resource file:

DEF NOAAPORT

This carries over to all subsequent resource files. You can undefine a tag with:

UNDEF NOAAPORT

The more common method is to add the definition to the wxpdefault environment variable:

setenv wxpdefault +noaaport:~devo/.wxpdef
or 
grbcalc -default +noaaport:~devo/.wxpdef

EXAMPLES

Here is a sample resource file:

#
#  Global resources
#
*file_path: /home/wxp/etc
DEF GATEWAY
IF GATEWAY
*data_path: /data1/data
*watch_path: /data1/data
*name_conv: name_conv
ELSE
*data_path: /home/wxp/data
*watch_path: /home/wxp/data
*name_conv: name_conv
END
*con_path: /home/wxp/convert
*con_path: /data1/convert
*grid_path: ~/grid
*raw_path: ~/raw
*image_path: ~/image
*background: def
*color_table: rainbow.clr
*color_front: lblue:w4,lred:w4,lblue:w4,lred:w4,lmagenta:w4,brown:w4
#
#  Satellite resources
#
IF GATEWAY
xsat*data_path: /data2/sat
ELSE
xsat*data_path: /home/wxp/sat
END
xsat*input: awip
xsat*map_file: cont.map,wxpstate.map
xsat*color_fill: 0-50
xsat*color_table: sat.clr
# GOES 8 Images
xsat.goes8.input: unisat
xsat.goes8.in_file: wxmax
xsat.goes8.data_path: /wxsvr3/goes_8/dir_105
#xsat.goes8.grid_domain: go8fd
# GOES 9 Images
xsat.goes9.input: unisat
xsat.goes9.in_file: wxmax
xsat.goes9.data_path: /wxsvr3/goes_9/dir_260
xsat.goes9.grid_domain: go8fd

For more information on resource files, check the resource file section of the Users Guide.

SEE ALSO

For further information about WXP, email technical-support@weather.unisys.com
Last updated by Dan Vietor on August 11, 1998