Limitation on meaning periods when using iomput

[charris]

When using iomput only certain meaning periods can be chosen in the xml file because of the hard-coded limitations in set_xmlatt (in iom.F90). For example without hacking the code you can't have 10 day means. Is there a good reason for this?

[smasson]

1) Any period can be chosen in the xml file. I think it must be a multiple of the model time step or nn_fsbc * the model time step for the variables computed in the surface "boundaries conditions" modules (surface fluxes, ice...), but I am not sure... The periods given in the xml file are just examples. You can add other cases.

2) However, the file name is defined automatically if:

• you use one of the predefined periods (1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 12 hours; 1, 3, 5 days; 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 months; 1, 2, 5, 10 years)
• the file id is defined as "XX_YY" with XX the period (1h, 2h, 3h, 4h, 6h, 12h, 1d, 3d, 5d, 1m, 2m, 3m, 4m, 6m, 1y, 2y, 5y, 10y) and YY the type of point ('grid_T', 'grid_U', 'grid_V', 'grid_W', 'icemod', 'ptrc_T', 'diad_T', 'scalar')

In other cases, the file name will be defined through the attribute name in the xml file.
Note that in the examples provided in the xml file, with defined name='auto" to suggest that the file name will be automatically defined. If you keep this definition in cases that do not match automatic definition, you will get output files named auto.nc or auto_0000.nc,...
Note that you cannot create several file with the sam file name. The attribute name_suffix can be used to differentiate 2 files names.

We can decide to review this strategy that is used to define the file names...