Configure the adapter with a YAML or JSON configuration file

[IshaanDesai]

The adapter would benefit from a configuration file as right now quantities like the coupling mesh name, coupling data names, participant name, etc. For example, a configuration file like

{
  "participant_name": "Neumann",
  "config_file_name": "../precice-config.xml",
  "interface": {
      "coupling_mesh_name": "Neumann-Mesh",
      "write_data_name": "Temperature",
      "read_data_name": "Heat-Flux"
    }
}

can be added. The format can either be JSON or YAML (more about format choices in precice/preeco-orga#32). Currently the data and mesh names are hard-coded in the DuMuX simulation code, and passed to the adapter functions in each call. This is inefficient and error prone. With a configuration file the names will be defined at one single place. If data is read or written from the adapter, it would need an identifier to associate it to a particular name inside the adapter.

[uekerman]

If you start from scratch, please directly try to follow the current state of the adapter configuration schema. Will likely still change, but the closer you are, the less inertia later.

Current state of the schema: https://github.com/precice/preeco-orga/blob/main/adapter-config-schema/preatcs.json

For the example above this would mean:

{
  "participant_name": "Neumann",
  "precice_config_file_name": "../precice-config.xml",
  "interfaces": [
    {
      "mesh_name": "Neumann-Mesh",
      "write_data_names": [
        "Temperature"
      ],
      "read_data_names": [
        "Heat-Flux"
      ]
    }
  ]
}

[mathiskelm]

Yes, I think the adapter should adopt the configuration schema of the preCICE ecosystem. Seems like you've made good progress with the schema.

Something I'm not clear on is how it would look to use this on the participant/user side and how you mean "it would need an identifier to associate it to a particular name inside the adapter." Currently one uses the data name defined in the precice config to write/read data, this would instead need to be read from the adapter config? Does one use (agreed upon) identifiers? Does this config specify names to use when communicating to preCICE or the names of data communicated by the DuMux simulation participant? Where do I have to set/change names and how do I interact with the data fields?