Development management of Meteorological Research Institute Community Ocean Model (MRI.COM) using Git and Redmine

Abstract

Our ocean general circulation model, Meteorological Research Institute Community Ocean Model (MRI.COM), has been developed over almost 20 years; as a result, the source code has become larger and more complicated. Since it is now used for many projects, various departments and people of the Meteorological Research Institute and the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) are involved. To develop the model efficiently and maintain stability through widespread usage, we adopted tools and methods used in modern software development and redesigned our development management system. First, we introduced Git, which controls the development history (version) of the source code. This tool enables multiple developers to work on multiple tasks in parallel. Next, we introduced a project management system, Redmine, for all development members to share the development situation. This system records the development processes in a database one by one, which becomes a useful asset for other developers and next generation developers. By using these tools and clarifying the development procedure, we have achieved a new development system in which we can share information and perform mutual checks daily as a development team. This greatly contributes to improvement of code quality. JMA has built a system that centrally controls almost all models developed by Meteorological Research Institute and JMA based on Git (or SVN) and Redmine, which leads to great progress in development management and sharing of models.