The primary Mason file input format is in the XML format (using the TinyXML library). The current version of the XML document is version 1.0, therefore the first line of the Mason file should be:
<?xml version = “1.0”?>
Additionally, the Mason file information should be encapsulated in:
<mason>
*** Simulation Description ***
</mason>
No comments can be between the XML version tag and the Mason tag. Comments may be after the Mason tag.
The validation files, as an example, follow a more stringent format that is good to emulate. The first line is the XML version tag, the second line is the Mason tag, and the third line is a brief description of the run. Additional validation cases can be added without compiling by having the following files:
validation#.txt: XML input file, where # is the validation case number
mason_validation#.stored: Mason output file, the “correct answer”
mason_validation#.out: Mason output file, which validation#.txt should write data
Mason files are made of the following tags:
Copyright 2010, Gregory Kiesel