Per #2690, add initial description of temp file usage to the contribu…

…tor's guide.
dtcenter · Sep 25, 2023 · 336c118 · 336c118
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diff --git a/docs/Contributors_Guide/code_structure/index.rst b/docs/Contributors_Guide/code_structure/index.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+**************
+Code Structure
+**************
+
+This chapter provides specific details about select topics within the
+MET code base. The list of topics is certainly not comprehensive.
+
+.. toctree::
+   :titlesonly:
+
+   tmp_files_in_met
diff --git a/docs/Contributors_Guide/code_structure/tmp_files_in_met.rst b/docs/Contributors_Guide/code_structure/tmp_files_in_met.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+Temporary Files in MET
+======================
+
+The MET application and library code uses temporary files in several
+places. Each specific use of temporary files is described below. The
+directory in which temporary files are stored is configurable as
+described in the User's Guide section :numref:`config_tmp_dir`.
+
+Note that creating, reading, and deleting temporary files from the
+local filesystem is much more efficient than performing these
+operations across a network filesystem. Using the default
+:code:`/tmp` directory is recommended, unless prohibited by High
+Performance Computing policies.
+
+In general, MET applications delete any temporary files they create
+when they are no longer needed. However, if the application exits
+abnormally, the temporary files may remain.
+
+PB2NC Tool
+^^^^^^^^^^
+
+Point2Grid Tool
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+TC-Diag Tool
+^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+Bootstrap Confidence Intervals
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+Stat-Analysis Tool
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+Python Embedding
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
diff --git a/docs/Contributors_Guide/index.rst b/docs/Contributors_Guide/index.rst
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ Welcome to the Model Evaluation Tools (MET) Contributor's Guide.
 
    coding_standards
    dev_env
+   code_structure/index 
    github_workflow
    testing
    continuous_integration

diff --git a/docs/Users_Guide/config_options.rst b/docs/Users_Guide/config_options.rst
@@ -533,6 +533,8 @@ override the default value set in ConfigConstants.
 		
   output_precision = 5;
 
+.. _config_tmp_dir:
+
 tmp_dir
 ^^^^^^^
 
@@ -546,6 +548,9 @@ Some tools override the temporary directory by the command line argument
 		
   tmp_dir = "/tmp";
 
+A description of the use of temporary files in MET can be found in the
+Contributor's Guide section :numref:`tmp_files_in_met`.
+
 message_type_group_map
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^