Change to default record types in output files #1414
Description
We define record types for the various output files. Currently only the detailed output and pulsar evolution files have multiple record types defined, so this issue pertains to those files, but the solution implemented should allow for record types to be added to the other files.
Record types are described in the online documentation at:
Currently, the default is that all record types are enabled for all files. This can lead to a substantial increase in size, particularly for the detailed output files. Not all users always want all record types. The initial impetus for including intra-timestep record types in the detailed output files was two-fold:
(a) some users expressed a desire to see the values of some stellar/binary attributes at various times during a timestep, and
(b) they can be a good debugging resource
Users can turn record types that they don't want off - see the explanation at the bottom of the page linked above. For example, for the detailed output files, if a user just wants record type 4 (TIMESTEP_COMPLETED), they would use --logfile-detailed-output-record-types 8 (2^(4-1)). The other record types they might want are INITIAL_STATE (type 1) - this is the state before the first timestep (which won't be included when just type 4 is specified), and FINAL_STATE (type 5). FINAL_STATE will be the same as the last TIMESTEP_COMPLETED record, but it's there for completeness (and in case someone turns type 4 off. No good reason to turn 4 off, but it can be...). To include INITIAL_STATE, TIMESTEP_COMPLETED, and FINAL_STATE the user would use --logfile-detailed-output-record-types 25 (2^(1-1) + 2^(4-1) + 2^(5-1)).
I think it would be better to set the default record types to the ones we think will commonly be used (e.g., for detailed output files, types 1, 4, and 5, as above), and let users add record types (via the mechanism described above and on the page linked above) whever they need/want them.
My proposal would be to change the default record types for:
(a) the detailed output files to types 1, 4, and 5
(b) the pulsar evolution files to type 3 (and maybe make the record type names consistent between SSE and BSE)
Thoughts?