Usage#

Python#

abacusutils contains a Python namespace package called abacusnbody. This is the name to import (not abacusutils, which is just the name of the PyPI package). For example, to import the compaso_halo_catalog module, use

import abacusnbody.data.compaso_halo_catalog

The CompaSO Halo Catalogs page has the documentation and API for this module.

The full API of the other modules is found here: abacusnbody API.

Specific examples of how to use abacusutils to work with AbacusSummit data will soon be given at the AbacusSummit website: https://abacussummit.readthedocs.io

C/C++#

For simple data access patterns, the Unix Pipes approach may suffice. However, if there is sufficient demand, a native C/C++ interface to Abacus simulation data could be written; please open an issue if you would like to have this functionality.

Aside from the Unix Pipes approach, the next best way to read ASDF and other files in C/C++ is probably to load the file in Python, then write a copy to disk in a simple binary format that your language can easily parse.

Unix Pipes#

The pipe_asdf Python script reads columns from ASDF files and pipes them to stdout. Programs can then read the raw binary from stdin without having to worry about the details of file formats or compression. For example, to pipe two columns from halo_info_000.asdf to the client analysis program, use:

$ pipe_asdf halo_info_000.asdf -f N -f x_com | ./client

The pipe_asdf script is installed when installing abacusutils via pip. Alternatively, it is available directly in the abacusutils/pipe_asdf/ directory. An example client program is available in the same directory.

See the documentation here: Unix Pipes: pipe_asdf.