compute_obj_checksum: Compute a checksum for the object

In langfob/bdpg: Package For Building and Testing Biodiversity Problem Generators

Compute a checksum for the object

Description

The point of this function is to give a quick way to compare two complex objects to see whether they are really the same object excluding their UUID and checksum fields. This is useful when running lots of experiments over and over during development where the same random seed may end up accidentally being re-used and generating identical experiments. When lots experiments are archived, it may be necessary to quickly cross-compare many archived experiments against each other and having a stored checksum will make it easier to do this and therfore, easier to spot accidental duplicates.

Usage

compute_obj_checksum(
  obj_with_UUID_and_checksum,
  base_outdir_for_checksum = "."
)

Arguments

obj_with_UUID_and_checksum	object whose checksum is to be computed
base_outdir_for_checksum	directory where temporary file for use in checksum computation will be written and then deleted

Details

This function works by replacing the UUID and checksum fields of the local copy of the object with empty strings and then writing the object copy to a temporary file. Then, a checksum is computed for that temporary file and file. The modified original object is not returned from the function.

Value

character string checksum of the object when object has been written out as a file

langfob/bdpg documentation built on Dec. 8, 2022, 5:33 a.m.