ENH: reduce startup time for ensight conversion (issue #240).

- Less looping when detecting lagrangian clouds and their fields.

- Avoid using Time::setTime() and IOobjectList in tight loops.
  They both kill performance immensely.

ENH: provide a -noLagrangian option to foamToEnsight and foamToEnsightParts
for even more control.

applications/utilities/postProcessing/dataConversion/foamToEnsight/checkMeshMoving.H

@@ -12,14 +12,16 @@ if (timeDirs.size() > 1 && Pstream::master())
     Info<< "Search for moving mesh ... " << flush;
     forAll(timeDirs, timeI)
     {
+        const word& timeName = timeDirs[timeI].name();
+
         meshMoving =
         (
-            timeDirs[timeI].name() != mesh.pointsInstance()
+            timeName != mesh.pointsInstance()
-         && isDir(baseDir/timeDirs[timeI].name()/polyMesh::meshSubDir)
+         && isDir(baseDir/timeName/polyMesh::meshSubDir)
          && IOobject
             (
                 "points",
-                timeDirs[timeI].name(),
+                timeName,
                 polyMesh::meshSubDir,
                 mesh,
                 IOobject::NO_READ,

applications/utilities/postProcessing/dataConversion/foamToEnsight/findCloudFields.H

@@ -0,0 +1,93 @@
+// check all time directories for the following:
+
+// The fields for each cloud:
+HashTable<HashTable<word>> cloudFields;
+
+// Identify if lagrangian data exist at any time step.
+if (timeDirs.size() && !noLagrangian)
+{
+    const fileName& baseDir = mesh.time().path();
+    const fileName& cloudPrefix = regionPrefix/cloud::prefix;
+
+    Info<< "Searching for lagrangian ... " << flush;
+
+    forAll(timeDirs, timeI)
+    {
+        const word& timeName = timeDirs[timeI].name();
+
+        // DO NOT USE -->>  runTime.setTime(timeDirs[timeI], timeI);  <<--
+        // It incurs a large overhead when done so frequently.
+
+        fileNameList cloudDirs = readDir
+        (
+            baseDir/timeName/cloudPrefix,
+            fileName::DIRECTORY
+        );
+
+        forAll(cloudDirs, cloudI)
+        {
+            const word& cloudName = cloudDirs[cloudI];
+
+            IOobjectList cloudObjs
+            (
+                mesh,
+                timeName,
+                cloudPrefix/cloudName
+            );
+
+            // clouds always require "positions"
+            if (cloudObjs.found("positions"))
+            {
+                HashTable<HashTable<word>>::iterator cloudIter =
+                    cloudFields.find(cloudName);
+
+                if (cloudIter == cloudFields.end())
+                {
+                    // A newly discovered cloud
+                    cloudFields.insert(cloudName, HashTable<word>());
+                    cloudIter = cloudFields.find(cloudName);
+                }
+
+                forAllConstIter(IOobjectList, cloudObjs, fieldIter)
+                {
+                    const IOobject obj = *fieldIter();
+
+                    // Add field and field type
+                    cloudIter().insert
+                    (
+                        obj.name(),
+                        obj.headerClassName()
+                    );
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    // prune out "positions" again since it gets treated specially
+    forAllIter(HashTable<HashTable<word>>, cloudFields, cloudIter)
+    {
+        cloudIter().erase("positions");
+    }
+
+    if (cloudFields.empty())
+    {
+        Info<< "none detected." << endl;
+    }
+}
+
+
+// sorted list of cloud names
+const wordList cloudNames(cloudFields.sortedToc());
+
+if (cloudNames.size())
+{
+    // complete the echo information
+    Info<< "(";
+    forAll(cloudNames, cloudNo)
+    {
+        Info<< ' ' << cloudNames[cloudNo];
+    }
+    Info<< " ) " << endl;
+}
+
+// ************************************************************************* //

applications/utilities/postProcessing/dataConversion/foamToEnsight/foamToEnsight.C

@@ -42,13 +42,16 @@ Usage
     \param -noZero \n
     Exclude the often incomplete initial conditions.
 
-    \param -patches patchList \n
+    \param -noLagrangian \n
-    Specify particular patches to write.
+    Suppress writing lagrangian positions and fields.
-    Specifying an empty list suppresses writing the internalMesh.
 
     \param -noPatches \n
     Suppress writing any patches.
 
+    \param -patches patchList \n
+    Specify particular patches to write.
+    Specifying an empty list suppresses writing the internalMesh.
+
     \param -faceZones zoneList \n
     Specify faceZones to write, with wildcards
 
@@ -126,6 +129,11 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
         "write values in nodes"
     );
     argList::addBoolOption
+    (
+        "noLagrangian",
+        "suppress writing lagrangian positions and fields"
+    );
+    argList::addBoolOption
     (
         "noPatches",
         "suppress writing any patches"
@@ -298,6 +306,8 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
         fieldPatterns = wordReList(args.optionLookup("fields")());
     }
 
+    const bool noLagrangian = args.optionFound("noLagrangian");
+
     word cellZoneName;
     const bool doCellZone = args.optionReadIfPresent("cellZone", cellZoneName);
 
@@ -334,6 +344,7 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
     IOobjectList objects(mesh, runTime.timeName());
 
     #include "checkMeshMoving.H"
+    #include "findCloudFields.H"
 
     if (Pstream::master())
     {
@@ -356,99 +367,19 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
                 << setw(16) << "model:"
                 << ensightMesh::geometryName << nl;
         }
-    }
 
-    // Identify if lagrangian data exists any time step, and add clouds
-    // to the 'cloudNames' (sorted list)
-    wordList cloudNames;
-    {
-        wordHashSet allCloudNames;
 
-        forAll(timeDirs, timeI)
+        // Add the name of the cloud(s) to the case file header
-        {
-            runTime.setTime(timeDirs[timeI], timeI);
-
-            fileNameList cloudDirs = readDir
-            (
-                runTime.timePath()/regionPrefix/cloud::prefix,
-                fileName::DIRECTORY
-            );
-
-            forAll(cloudDirs, cloudI)
-            {
-                IOobjectList cloudObjs
-                (
-                    mesh,
-                    runTime.timeName(),
-                    cloud::prefix/cloudDirs[cloudI]
-                );
-
-                IOobject* positionsPtr = cloudObjs.lookup(word("positions"));
-
-                if (positionsPtr)
-                {
-                    allCloudNames.insert(cloudDirs[cloudI]);
-                }
-            }
-        }
-
-        // sorted for consistency
-        cloudNames = allCloudNames.sortedToc();
-    }
-
-    // ignore special fields (_0 fields),
-    // ignore fields we don't handle,
-    // ignore fields that are not available for all time-steps
-    HashTable<bool> fieldsToUse;
-
-    HashTable<HashTable<word>> allCloudFields;
         forAll(cloudNames, cloudNo)
         {
             const word& cloudName = cloudNames[cloudNo];
 
-        // Add the name of the cloud(s) to the case file header
-        if (Pstream::master())
-        {
             ensightCaseFile
                 << setw(16) << "measured: 1"
-                << fileName(dataMask/cloud::prefix/cloudName/"positions").c_str()
+                << fileName
-                << nl;
-        }
-
-        // Create a new hash table for each cloud
-        allCloudFields.insert(cloudName, HashTable<word>());
-
-        // Identify the new cloud in the hash table
-        HashTable<HashTable<word>>::iterator newCloudIter =
-            allCloudFields.find(cloudName);
-
-        // Loop over all times to build list of fields and field types
-        // for each cloud
-        forAll(timeDirs, timeI)
-        {
-            runTime.setTime(timeDirs[timeI], timeI);
-
-            IOobjectList cloudObjs
                 (
-                mesh,
+                    dataMask/cloud::prefix/cloudName/"positions"
-                runTime.timeName(),
+                ).c_str() << nl;
-                cloud::prefix/cloudName
-            );
-
-            forAllConstIter(IOobjectList, cloudObjs, fieldIter)
-            {
-                const IOobject obj = *fieldIter();
-
-                if (obj.name() != "positions")
-                {
-                    // Add field and field type
-                    newCloudIter().insert
-                    (
-                        obj.name(),
-                        obj.headerClassName()
-                    );
-                }
-            }
         }
     }
 
@@ -456,6 +387,11 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
         << timer.cpuTimeIncrement() << " s, "
         << mem.update().size() << " kB" << nl << endl;
 
+    // ignore special fields (_0 fields),
+    // ignore fields we don't handle,
+    // ignore fields that are not available for all time-steps
+    HashTable<bool> fieldsToUse;
+
     label nTimeSteps = 0;
     forAll(timeDirs, timeIndex)
     {
@@ -740,13 +676,7 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
         forAll(cloudNames, cloudNo)
         {
             const word& cloudName = cloudNames[cloudNo];
-            if (!allCloudFields.found(cloudName))
+            const HashTable<word>& theseCloudFields = cloudFields[cloudName];
-            {
-                // extra safety
-                continue;
-            }
-
-            const HashTable<word>& cloudFields = allCloudFields[cloudName];
 
             fileNameList currentCloudDirs = readDir
             (
@@ -769,7 +699,7 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
                 format
             );
 
-            forAllConstIter(HashTable<word>, cloudFields, fieldIter)
+            forAllConstIter(HashTable<word>, theseCloudFields, fieldIter)
             {
                 const word& fieldName = fieldIter.key();
                 const word& fieldType = fieldIter();

applications/utilities/postProcessing/dataConversion/foamToEnsightParts/findFields.H

@@ -8,7 +8,10 @@ HashTable<HashTable<word>> cloudFields;
 
 if (timeDirs.size())
 {
-    IOobjectList objs(mesh, timeDirs.last().name());
+    const fileName& cloudPrefix = regionPrefix/cloud::prefix;
+    const word& lastTimeName = timeDirs.last().name();
+
+    IOobjectList objs(mesh, lastTimeName);
 
     forAllConstIter(IOobjectList, objs, fieldIter)
     {
@@ -31,14 +34,17 @@ if (timeDirs.size())
     //
     // now check for lagrangian/<cloudName>
     //
-    fileNameList cloudDirs = readDir
+    fileNameList cloudDirs;
+    if (!noLagrangian)
+    {
+        cloudDirs = readDir
         (
             runTime.path()
-      / timeDirs.last().name()
+          / lastTimeName
-      / regionPrefix
+          / cloudPrefix,
-      / cloud::prefix,
             fileName::DIRECTORY
         );
+    }
 
     forAll(cloudDirs, cloudI)
     {
@@ -54,8 +60,8 @@ if (timeDirs.size())
         IOobjectList objs
         (
             mesh,
-            timeDirs.last().name(),
+            lastTimeName,
-            cloud::prefix/cloudName
+            cloudPrefix/cloudName
         );
 
         bool hasPositions = false;
@@ -89,17 +95,27 @@ if (timeDirs.size())
     //
     for (label i=0; volumeFields.size() && i < timeDirs.size(); ++i)
     {
-        IOobjectList objs(mesh, timeDirs[i].name());
+        const word& timeName = timeDirs[i].name();
 
-        forAllIter(HashTable<word>, volumeFields, fieldIter)
+        // Everything is potentially missing, unless we discover otherwise
+        wordHashSet missing(volumeFields);
+
+        // Avoid  -->>  IOobjectList objs(mesh, timeName);  <<--
+        // Too much overhead when done so frequently.
+
+        fileNameList contents = readDir
+        (
+            runTime.path()
+          / timeName,
+            fileName::FILE
+        );
+
+        forAll(contents, fileI)
         {
-            const word& fieldName = fieldIter.key();
+            missing.erase(contents[fileI].name());
+        }
 
-            if (!objs.found(fieldName))
+        volumeFields.erase(missing);
-            {
-                volumeFields.erase(fieldIter);
-            }
-        }
     }
 }
 

applications/utilities/postProcessing/dataConversion/foamToEnsightParts/foamToEnsightParts.C

@@ -44,6 +44,9 @@ Usage
     \param -noZero \n
     Exclude the often incomplete initial conditions.
 
+    \param -noLagrangian \n
+    Suppress writing lagrangian positions and fields.
+
     \param -index \<start\>\n
     Ignore the time index contained in the time file and use a
     simple indexing when creating the \c Ensight/data/######## files.
@@ -101,6 +104,11 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
         "and use simple indexing when creating the files"
     );
     argList::addBoolOption
+    (
+        "noLagrangian",
+        "suppress writing lagrangian positions and fields"
+    );
+    argList::addBoolOption
     (
         "noMesh",
         "suppress writing the geometry. "
@@ -158,7 +166,8 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
 
     // control for renumbering iterations
     label indexingNumber = 0;
-    bool optIndex = args.optionReadIfPresent("index", indexingNumber);
+    const bool optIndex = args.optionReadIfPresent("index", indexingNumber);
+    const bool noLagrangian = args.optionFound("noLagrangian");
 
     // always write the geometry, unless the -noMesh option is specified
     bool optNoMesh = args.optionFound("noMesh");
@@ -389,15 +398,9 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
         forAllConstIter(HashTable<HashTable<word>>, cloudFields, cloudIter)
         {
             const word& cloudName = cloudIter.key();
+            const fileName& cloudPrefix = regionPrefix/cloud::prefix;
 
-            if
+            if (!isDir(runTime.timePath()/cloudPrefix/cloudName))
-            (
-                !isDir
-                (
-                    runTime.timePath()/regionPrefix/
-                    cloud::prefix/cloudName
-                )
-            )
             {
                 continue;
             }
@@ -406,13 +409,15 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
             (
                 mesh,
                 runTime.timeName(),
-                cloud::prefix/cloudName
+                cloudPrefix/cloudName
             );
 
             // check that the positions field is present for this time
-            IOobject* positionPtr = cloudObjs.lookup(word("positions"));
+            if (!cloudObjs.found("positions"))
-            if (positionPtr != NULL)
             {
+                continue;
+            }
+
             ensightParticlePositions
             (
                 mesh,
@@ -421,11 +426,6 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
                 cloudName,
                 format
             );
-            }
-            else
-            {
-                continue;
-            }
 
             Info<< "write " << cloudName << " (" << flush;
 
@@ -439,7 +439,7 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[])
                 if (!fieldObject)
                 {
                     Info<< "missing "
-                        << runTime.timeName()/cloud::prefix/cloudName
+                        << runTime.timeName()/cloudPrefix/cloudName
                         / fieldName
                         << endl;
                     continue;