More pr stuff (NOAA-GFDL#570)

* add property and setter methods to DataModel DmVariable class attributes that are updated in the preprocessor

* update the translation attributes in each varlistentry with setter functions in the precip rate and level
extraction edit_routines and return the original varlistentry
append the 4-D variable as an alternate attribute in the level extraction function

* remove unused imports from preprocessor

src/data_model.py

@@ -608,6 +608,10 @@ def dim_axes(self):
         """
         return self.build_axes(self.dims, verify=False)
 
+    @dim_axes.setter
+    def dim_axes(self, value):
+        self._dim_axes = value
+
     @property
     def X(self):
         """Return X axis dimension coordinate if defined, else None."""
@@ -638,6 +642,10 @@ def dim_axes_set(self):
         """Return frozenset of dimension coordinate axes labels."""
         return frozenset(self.dim_axes.keys())
 
+    @dim_axes_set.setter
+    def dim_axes_set(self, value):
+        self._dim_axes_set = value
+
     @property
     def is_static(self):
         """Whether the variable has time dependence (bool)."""
@@ -773,6 +781,10 @@ def axes(self):
         """
         return self.build_axes(self.dims, self.scalar_coords, verify=False)
 
+    @axes.setter
+    def axes(self, value):
+        self._axes = value
+
     @property
     def axes_set(self):
         """Superset of the :meth:`dim_axes_set` frozenset (which contains axes labels
@@ -781,6 +793,53 @@ def axes_set(self):
         """
         return frozenset(self.axes.keys())
 
+    @axes_set.setter
+    def axes_set(self, value):
+        self._axes_set = value
+
+    @property
+    def name(self):
+        return self._name
+
+    @name.setter
+    def name(self, value: str):
+        self._name = value
+
+    @property
+    def standard_name(self):
+        return self._standard_name
+
+    @standard_name.setter
+    def standard_name(self, value: str):
+        self._standard_name = value.lower()
+
+    @property
+    def units(self):
+        return self._units
+
+    @units.setter
+    def units(self, value):
+        self._units = value
+
+    @property
+    def long_name(self):
+        return self._long_name
+
+    @long_name.setter
+    def long_name(self, value: str):
+        self._long_name = value
+
+    @property
+    def realm(self):
+        return self._realm
+
+    @realm.setter
+    def realm(self, value: str):
+        self._realm = value
+
+
+
+
     def add_scalar(self, ax, ax_value, **kwargs):
         """Metadata operation corresponding to taking a slice of a higher-dimensional
         variable (extracting its values at axis *ax* = *ax_value*). The

src/preprocessor.py

@@ -270,7 +270,7 @@ def edit_request(self, v: varlist_util.VarlistEntry, **kwargs):
         The signature of this method is altered by the :func:`edit_request_wrapper`
         decorator.
         """
-        v_to_translate = None
+
         std_name = getattr(v, 'standard_name', "")
         if std_name not in self._rate_d and std_name not in self._flux_d:
             # logic not applicable to this VE; do nothing and return varlistEntry for
@@ -310,7 +310,10 @@ def edit_request(self, v: varlist_util.VarlistEntry, **kwargs):
             return None
         new_v = copy_as_alternate(v)
         new_v.translation = new_tv
-        return new_v
+        v.translation.standard_name = new_tv.standard_name
+        v.translation.units = new_tv.units
+        v.translation.long_name = new_tv.long_name
+        return v
 
     def execute(self, var, ds, **kwargs):
         """Convert units of dependent variable *ds* between precip rate and
@@ -565,7 +568,14 @@ def edit_request(self, v: varlist_util.VarlistEntry, **kwargs):
         )
         new_v = copy_as_alternate(v)
         new_v.translation = new_tv
-        return new_v
+        v.alternates.append(v.translation)
+        v.translation.name = new_tv.name
+        v.translation.long_name = new_tv.long_name
+        v.translation.units = new_tv.units
+        v.translation.dim_axes = new_tv.dim_axes
+        v.translation.dim_axes_set = new_tv.dim_axes_set
+
+        return v
 
     def execute(self, var, ds, **kwargs):
         """Determine if level extraction is needed (if *var* has a scalar Z