The generate_bif.py script was intended to bootstrap a project from scratch using a definition.json file describing the network hierarchy. This generates:
a bbn.bif
a questions.json
But they are generated in a vacuum; the values are simply reasonable defaults and were meant to be manually edited from that point on. Hence, the "generate" terminology.
smarter generate script; use existing work
Instead of generating based on reasonable defaults, the script should first check
the existing bbn.bif
the existing questions table in the database (or existing questions fixture)
And incorporate as much as possible where it is safe/appropriate to do so. In this way, we could avoid losing all of our work every time the BBN changed and merely lose portions of it.
perrygeo
commented
9 years ago 
The generate_bif.py script was intended to bootstrap a project from scratch using a
definition.jsonfile describing the network hierarchy. This generates:But they are generated in a vacuum; the values are simply reasonable defaults and were meant to be manually edited from that point on. Hence, the "generate" terminology.
smarter generate script; use existing work
Instead of generating based on reasonable defaults, the script should first check
And incorporate as much as possible where it is safe/appropriate to do so. In this way, we could avoid losing all of our work every time the BBN changed and merely lose portions of it.