Can the set of input variables of a BMI-compliant model be defined only at the initialization?

[adlzanchetta]

Scenario:

Lets say I have a hydrological model that, depending on its config file, may require one of the following sets of inputs:

1. precipitation;
2. mean hourly temperature.

or

1. precipitation;
2. minimum daily temperature;
3. maximum daily temperature.

or

1. accumulated rainfall;
2. accumulated snowfall;
3. mean daily temperature;
4. mean daily wind speed.

So that I can only determine the return of get_input_item_count() and get_input_var_names() AFTER initialize() is called.

Question:

Does the BMI standard requires functions like get_input_item_count() and get_input_var_names() to be able to return a valid value even BEFORE initialize() is called? Or can I assume that a whatever uses my model via its BMI interface will ALWAYS call initialize() before trying to call get_input_item_count() or get_input_var_names() ?

PS:

I apologize if this is not the correct place for this sort of discussion and kindly request for suggestions where I can ask it.

[mdpiper]

Hi @adlzanchetta -- There's currently no rule to call initialize first.

It might be good to bring this up to the BMI community, either through an issue or a discussion post in the BMI repo. At the very least, the current behavior should be clarified and documented.

[adlzanchetta]

Thanks for pointing out the right place to go, @mdpiper .