| Append Conflicts | |
Several types of conflicts can arise when appending data into an existing dataset:
| Conflict Type | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Dataset property conflict | The latitude, longitude, elevation, or some other property of the appended dataset differs from that of the master dataset. |
| Data column property conflict | The type, subtype, units, measurement height, or some other property of an appended data column differs from that of the master data column to which it is mapped. |
| Data column roster conflict | Windographer doesn't how to map an appended column to a master column, or the settings tell it to map to a nonexistent master column. |
| Time series data conflict | An appended data column is about to overwrite some of the master data column to which it maps. |
| Flag property conflict | A flag in the appended dataset matches the name of a flag in the master dataset, but its other properties differ. |
The sections below explain each of these conflict types.
Imagine that you have carefully configured your master dataset, having specified properties like latitude, longitude, and elevation, but the raw data files specify none of those properties. In that case, the appended datasets will always indicate zero latitude, zero longitude, and zero elevation, in disagreement with the master dataset. That’s an example of a dataset property conflict. In this case, you want to preserve the master dataset properties and ignore the appended dataset properties, so you could set the conflict settings like so:
If instead you want the appended dataset properties to overwrite those in the master dataset, choose 'use appended properties'.
If you map AppendedColumnX to MasterColumnY, the properties of those two columns might match perfectly, or they might not. For example, AppendedColumnX might contain relative humidity data while MasterColumnY contains solar radiation data. Or they might have the same column type but different units or measurement heights or calibration constants. If you choose to resolve such conflicts by using master properties, then the append process will not change those properties of MasterColumnY. If you choose to use appended properties, it will change those properties to match those of AppendedColumnX.
Column roster conflicts relate to the list of data columns. Such a conflict arises when Windographer lacks instructions for how to map one or more of the appended data columns, or when the mapping instructions refer to appended or master columns that don't exist.
When Windographer applies stored append settings, the question of whether those stored settings contain complete instructions becomes an important consideration. The stored settings contain 'perfect links' if those links:
Requiring perfect data column links is very restrictive; you can choose whether you want to require that level of restriction or not. If you do not require perfect data column links, then Windographer will ignore any extraneous links (ones that referring to nonexistent appended data columns) and it will automatically generate any missing links.
A separate option in the data column roster settings lets you choose whether to allow autogenerated links to add data columns to the master dataset. If you set that option to false, then each autogenerated link will either map an appended data column to an existing master data column that matches its properties, or it will ignore the appended data column if no match exists.
Time series data conflicts occur when the an appended data column is about to overwrite some or all of the master data column to which it maps. This situation can only happen when the appended dataset overlaps the master dataset in time at least partially, and you have mapped at least one appended data column to a master data column.
The default option is to preserve the master data except in any time steps that are missing (or gaps) in the master dataset, but contain valid data in the appended dataset. Other options are to use master data, use appended data, use appended data unless the appended data is missing, or stop and report an error.
A related setting specifies what to do with the flag status of any overlapping time steps. The default setting is to move the flags with the time series data. But in rare instances you may wish to use one of the other options, which are 'use master' and 'use appended'.
See also