How to find the files of an MDSplus Tree

To find an existing model tree, look at the environmental variable on Linux or the logical name on VMS. For example to see where the operations tree resides from Linux: 

     printenv operations_path
On the Linux cluster, this would show you the server name and port, e.g. 
     skylark.pppl.gov:8501::
If the tree was on lark, you could login there and find the files. For the cameras2 tree, for example: 
     lark1% printenv cameras2_path
     /nstxdata/new/~t;/nstxdata/models/~t;/nstxdata/arc07/~t/~f~e/~d~c;/nstxdata/arc06/~t/~f~e/~d~c;/nstxdata/arc05/~t/~f~e/~d~c;/nstxdata/arc04/~t/~f~e/~d~c;/nstxdata/arc03/~t/~f~e/~d~c;/nstxdata/arc02/~t/~f~e/~d~c;/nstxdata/arc01/~t/~f~e/~d~c;/nstxdata/arc101/~t/~f~e/~d~c;/nstxdata/calib/~t
"~t" is an example of something called a "file mask" and indicates the tree name. So "/nstxdata/new/~t" in the above would mean "/nstxdata/new/cameras2".

"~f~e" indicates the 6th and 5th most significant digits in the shot number, so if you are looking for a new cameras2 tree for shot 135099, you would look in directory /nstxdata/new/cameras2/13/50/. If it wasn't there, you would check /nstxdata/models/cameras2 (unlikely), /nstxdata/arc07/cameras2/13/50/, /nstxdata/arc06/cameras2/13/50/, etc. Obviously, you would want to use the Linux "find" command for such searches, but they can be quite slow in our current structure. E.g., 

     lark1% find /nstxdata -name "cameras2_13509*.datafile" -print
For more MDSplus File Masks, see MDSplus_filemasks.txt

So the model tree for cameras2 could be copied from lark to the Linux by doing the following in an area on the Linux cluster you wished the files to be: 

     scp YourUserName@lark.pppl.gov::/nstxdata/models/cameras2/*model* .
(enter your lark password, when prompted)

At PPPL, you can also use the IDL routine mdir.pro from the Linux cluster, for example: 

     IDL> print, print, mdir('13509*', tree='cameras2')

     find: /nstxdata/arc01/lost+found: Permission denied
     find: /nstxdata/arc02/lost+found: Permission denied
     (MANY OF THESE)
     /nstxdata/arc121/cameras2/13/50/cameras2_135090.datafile
     /nstxdata/arc121/cameras2/13/50/cameras2_135091.datafile
     /nstxdata/arc121/cameras2/13/50/cameras2_135092.datafile
     /nstxdata/arc121/cameras2/13/50/cameras2_135093.datafile
     /nstxdata/arc121/cameras2/13/50/cameras2_135094.datafile
     /nstxdata/arc121/cameras2/13/50/cameras2_135095.datafile
     /nstxdata/arc121/cameras2/13/50/cameras2_135096.datafile
     /nstxdata/arc121/cameras2/13/50/cameras2_135097.datafile
     /nstxdata/arc121/cameras2/13/50/cameras2_135098.datafile
     /nstxdata/arc121/cameras2/13/50/cameras2_135099.datafile

Comments can be mailed to nstx_sw_dev.

updated: 03-Mar-2010
by: Bill Davis