feat: Switching SteppingLogger to sterile when no output requested (#746

)

This PR switches the SteppingLogger to sterile when no persistent output is requested in the PropgationExample. This aides the time measurement of the propagation, as otherwise the getSharedPtr(...) within the logger is a signficant factor.

Examples/Algorithms/Propagation/include/ActsExamples/Propagation/PropagationAlgorithm.hpp

@@ -71,6 +71,8 @@ class PropagationAlgorithm : public BareAlgorithm {
 
     /// proapgation mode
     int mode = 0;
+    /// Switch the logger to sterile
+    bool sterileLogger = false;
     /// debug output
     bool debugOutput = false;
     /// Modify the behavior of the material interaction: energy loss

Examples/Algorithms/Propagation/include/ActsExamples/Propagation/PropagationAlgorithm.ipp

@@ -82,6 +82,9 @@ PropagationOutput PropagationAlgorithm<propagator_t>::executeTest(
     mInteractor.energyLoss = m_cfg.energyLoss;
     mInteractor.recordInteractions = m_cfg.recordMaterialInteractions;
 
+    // Switch the logger to sterile, e.g. for timing checks
+    auto& sLogger = options.actionList.get<SteppingLogger>();
+    sLogger.sterile = m_cfg.sterileLogger;
     // Set a maximum step size
     options.maxStepSize = m_cfg.maxStepSize;
 

Examples/Run/Common/src/PropagationExampleBase.cpp

@@ -72,6 +72,11 @@ int propagationExample(int argc, char* argv[],
   ActsExamples::Options::setupMagneticFieldServices(vm, sequencer);
   auto bField = ActsExamples::Options::readMagneticField(vm);
 
+  // Check what output exists, if none exists, the SteppingLogger
+  // will switch to sterile.
+  bool rootOutput = vm["output-root"].template as<bool>();
+  bool objOutput = vm["output-obj"].template as<bool>();
+
   auto setupPropagator = [&](auto&& stepper) {
     using Stepper = std::decay_t<decltype(stepper)>;
     using Propagator = Acts::Propagator<Stepper, Acts::Navigator>;
@@ -82,6 +87,7 @@ int propagationExample(int argc, char* argv[],
     auto pAlgConfig =
         ActsExamples::Options::readPropagationConfig(vm, propagator);
     pAlgConfig.randomNumberSvc = randomNumberSvc;
+    pAlgConfig.sterileLogger = not rootOutput and not objOutput;
     sequencer.addAlgorithm(
         std::make_shared<ActsExamples::PropagationAlgorithm<Propagator>>(
             pAlgConfig, logLevel));
@@ -101,7 +107,7 @@ int propagationExample(int argc, char* argv[],
   std::string outputDir = vm["output-dir"].template as<std::string>();
   auto psCollection = vm["prop-step-collection"].as<std::string>();
 
-  if (vm["output-root"].template as<bool>()) {
+  if (rootOutput) {
     // Write the propagation steps as ROOT TTree
     ActsExamples::RootPropagationStepsWriter::Config pstepWriterRootConfig;
     pstepWriterRootConfig.collection = psCollection;
@@ -112,7 +118,7 @@ int propagationExample(int argc, char* argv[],
             pstepWriterRootConfig));
   }
 
-  if (vm["output-obj"].template as<bool>()) {
+  if (objOutput) {
     using PropagationSteps = Acts::detail::Step;
     using ObjPropagationStepsWriter =
         ActsExamples::ObjPropagationStepsWriter<PropagationSteps>;