Table of Contents
Frequently asked questions
General
More details
More information
For more information, refer to the user manual.
Modeling
Random seed
Random seed
- Mersenne Twister from C\+\+ compiler (gcc version > 4.6) or Boost library when available.
Time
→RandomSeed
Reproducibility
- In simulation using multithreading (openMP), each thread gets its own random seed. Therefore, to reproduce exact results, one needs to specify the same random seed as well as the same number of threads.
Spatial scale
Lattice scale
Space → NodeLength
This affects the diffusion coefficient in PDE
models.
Dimensionless space is assumed, unless a unit is specified.
Analysis
Data output and visualization
Logger
Note: this plugin will be restructured in the near future.
The Logger
periodically writes the values of the symbols specified in the Format
to file.
Its Plot
function can generate timeplots, or phase plots, depending on the columns
selected for the axes. Note: these columns correspond to the column number in the generated data file (first column = 1).
HistogramLogger
HistogramLogger
calculates frequency distributions and writes them to file.
Its Plot
function can generate timeplots.
Parameter sweep / Batch processing
To explore the effect of a parameter on model behavior, you can set up a batch process called ParamSweep
.
1. Select parameters
In the Attributes
window, press right-click on a parameter and choose ParamSweep
. A 'fast-forward' symbol appear indicating that this parameter is set for a parameter sweep.
Alternatively, if no Attributes
windows is available (e.g. with Expression
), right-click in the central window to select for ParamSweep
.
Note that model parameters of any type can be explored (double, int, string, enum,
etc.).
2. Set range of values
Once you have chosen a parameter, go to the ParamSweep
view (see Documents
window).
Here, you can specify a range of values for each parameter.
Syntax | Example | Generated sequence | Description |
---|---|---|---|
value1;value2;value3 | 1.0;1.25;4 | 1.0;1.25;4 | Sequence of values |
string1;string2;string3 | “square”;“hexagonal” | “square”;“hexagonal” | Sequence of strings |
min:increment:max | 0:2:10 | 0;2;4;6;8;10 | Range of values with increment |
min:#steps:max | 0:#2:10 | 0;5;10 | Range of values with number of steps |
min:#steps[log]:max | 0.1:#2log:10 | 0.1;1.0;10.0 | Range of values with number of steps in logarithmic scale |
The Number of Jobs
that will be generated is calculated and displayed.
3. Execute ParamSweep
To start a parameter sweep, press Start
in the toolbar while you have the ParamSweep
panel open.
Before it starts the batch process, Morpheus let's you check your jobs and parameters in a pop-up window.
Also note that batch processes can benefit from parallel computing by allowing multiple concurrent jobs, see Settings → Local → Concurrent Jobs
.
Note that the parameter sweep is always run in Local
mode (overrides Interactive
mode).
Multi-dimensional ParamSweeps
Multi-dimensional parameter sweep are generated by selecting multiple parameters for ParamSweep
.
To couple multiple parameters such that they are incremented simultaneously, drag one over the other to 'pair' them.
How to post-process results of a parameter sweep?
Morpheus does not include tools for post-processing of data. Thus, analyzing results should be done using your own favorite tools.
Yet, Morpheus does supply a few features that enable you to analyze results of parameter sweeps:
- Sweep summary: file containing data on parameters and the folder in which the results are saved.
- Python scripts:
- morphMakeTable.py: generate $Latex$ table from images from a parameter sweep (using sweep summary)
- morphSweepData.py: gather data from log files from a parameter sweep (using sweep summary)
ImageTable
This option can be used to create a $Latex$ table of images from a parameter sweep. This is a simplified interface to the python script morphMakeTable.py.
Editing
Add or remove model items
Add/Remove in Document view
To add or remove optional model components such as PDE
, CellTypes
, or CellPopulation
, right-click in the Documents View and choose Add
or Remove
.
Add/Remove in Editor view
To add or remove optional plugins, right-click on the parent node and choose Add
or Remove
. The parent node is the place on which the new plugin should appear.
In case of Remove
, you will be prompted to confirm the removal.
Save to Clipboard
To remove but save a copy on the Clipboard
, choose Cut
. You will not be prompted for confirmation.
Copy/paste items
Copy
To copy an item, right-click in the editor view and choose Copy
. The XML snippet will be shown in the Clipboard
.
Paste
To paste an item that appears on the Clipboard
, right-click in the editor view on the parent item and choose Paste
. Choose an item from the drop-down list.
Note that you can copy/paste between different models.
An extract of the XML will be shown as a tooltip. This enables you to distinguish items with identical names.
Clipboard
Snippets of XML that were copied or cut are shown here. The Clipboard is shared over all models in the Documents view.
Copy/Paste between models
During model construction, it is often useful to copy/paste items between different models that appear in the Documents view. For instance, to integrate single-scale models into a multi-scale model.
This is possible, because the Clipboard is shared over all models in the Documents view.
Disable items
Disable
During the model construction or testing process, it is often desirable to temporarily switch off an item of the model without removing it from the model.
To switch off an item, right-click in the editor view and choose Disable
. A 'pause' symbol appears before the node, and the item as well as its child nodes are grayed out.
Note that the item is still saved to XML, but is commented out.
Re-enable
To re-enable, do the same: right-click in the editor view and choose Disable
.
Edit XML model without GUI
Text editor
The XML files can be opened in any text editor that allow you to manually edit the model.
Command line tools
More advanced editing of the XML files requires command line tools like xmlstarlet.
For example, to remove all Property
items from the CellType
called ct1
, do:
xmlstarlet ed -d "/MorpheusModel/CellTypes/CellType[@name='ct1']/Property" model_old.xml > model_new.xml
GUI
FixBoard
FixBoard
When you open a outdated or broken XML model, Morpheus will try to automagically correct and update the model. For example, Morpheus creates required elements that are missing and removes obsolete elements.
The changes that Morpheus made are shown on the Fixboard
. You are strongly advised to review those changes.
As an example, the following message will appear in the FixBoard
when we invalidate the minimal model by removing the Description
, Space
and Time
elements and replace them with an fictitious FakeNode
node:
<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?> <MorpheusModel version="1"> <FakeNode/> </MorpheusModel>
Note that this is a feature of graphical user interface. The command line interface morpheus
cannot correct outdated or broken models supplied as command line arguments.
JobQueue (job archive)
JobQueue
This panel has multiple functions:
- Overview of pending, running and terminated jobs
- Archive of simulation models
- Sorting simulation jobs and sweeps
- Access to simulation result browser
- Stop and remove jobs and results
Result browser
Morpheus results browser
Simulation results can be shown by clicking the job in the JobQueue
. This opens a file browser within Morpheus showing the Output Folder
and the Output Text
.
File browser and terminal
The buttons above the result browser can be used to open the Output Folder
your system-wide file browser or open in a Terminal
.
Change results folder
To change the folder where results are stored, check the Settings.
Reset JobQueue
archive
The information in the JobQueue
is stored in using a SQLite database. This database is named morpheus.db.sqlite
and stored in the OS-specific folder for Application Data.
Remove or rename the file morpheus.db.sqlite
to reset the job archive. Note that this does not remove the simulation results themselves.