T3PS

Description

T3PS (Tool for Parallel Processing in Parameter Scans) is a program for quickly designing and performing parameter scans while taking advantage of multi-core processors. It takes a scan definition in a `.ini'-like file format as input and – based and the parameter ranges and other options contained therein – distributes the calculation of the parameter space over multiple processes and possibly computers. The derived data is saved in tabulator separated values format, readable by most plotting software. The supported scanning strategies include: grid scan, random scan, Markov Chain Monte Carlo, numerical optimization.

For performing the actual calculation, it can interface with

• programs that print out their results to the console,
• programs that read and write output in the SLHA format as described in JHEP 0407 (2004) 036,
• any combinations of the above.

For more details and examples, see the manual available on the downloads page and as arXiv:1503.01073.

Change Log

• v1.0.2 (26.3.2016):
  • Fixed bug in finding binaries
  • Improved error handling of SimpleProcessor
• v1.0.1 (13.3.2015):
  • Fixed condition where 'optimize' algorithm would not stop
  • Initial data set building in 'explorer' and 'optimize' mode now has better progress information
  • Improved warnings in case of missing or empty 'template' and 'point_processor' directives
  • Debug messages during data import in explorer mode now work properly
• v1.0 (27.2.2015):
  • Initial version

Requirements

Usage of T3PS requires a Python interpreter compatible with version 2.7, e.g. CPython 2.7 or higher or PyPy version 1.5 or higher. Currently, it only runs on Unix-like operating systems, specifically ones that expose a fork() system call. However, Cygwin support is very much experimental.

Installation and Usage

T3PS already works out of box after simply extracting the .tar.gz file

It can be started using Python

or directly

if the current user has rights to execute it (execute chmod u+x src/t3ps.py if not). This will show a list of scan definition files in the current working directory. The list will only consist of the file QuickStart.scan if executed in the package folder after extraction.

Parameter scan definitions can also be launched directly using:

This will show a review of the scan definition and will start the scan after confirmation by the user. You may wish to compare the output data stored in the file QuickStart.scan.data after completion with the sample output file QuickStart.scan.data.sample provided with the T3PS package.

For more details, see the manual and command line help available through

If you want to properly install T3PS, you can also use

in the T3PS folder, which will ask you for an installation folder and whether you want to make a link to T3PS in /usr/local/bin or ~/bin. It can then be started using

from anywhere in the file-system.

Once installed this way, it can be uninstalled using:

from the T3PS folder (the extracted one or the installation target).

Contact

If you happen to encounter a problem, feel free to send an email to t3ps(at)projects.hepforge.org explaining the situation in which it occurred. We will then try to fix it as soon as possible.

License

T3PS Copyright 2014-2016 Vinzenz Maurer

T3PS is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
(at your option) any later version.

T3PS is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
GNU General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
along with T3PS.  If not, see http://www.gnu.org/licenses.