Introduces the new policy `round_robin_halt`. This enables to halt at the current item until the policy `round_robin` is called again.

Related to issue #1749.

New structs and types:
* `cell_tag_type` (std::string): for labelling placeable items on a cell. The label refers to a number of items placed on a locset, equal to the number of locations in a locset. The number of locations in not always known to the user, so the previous way of using indices for items was no longer sufficient. 
* `lid_selection_policy`: for allowing a user to select a single item from a group of items sharing a label. Currently only `round_robin` and `assert_univalent` are supported. 
* `cell_local_label_type` and `cell_global_label_type`: for identifying the target and source of a connection or gap_junction connection. 
* `cell_label_ranges`, and `cell_labels_and_gids`: for propagating information about the labelled items on the cell from the cell groups back to the simulation and communicator. 
* `label_resolution_map` and `resolver`: for selecting an item (and retaining state) from a labelled group of items on a cell according to a user-selected policy.

Changes to the model-initialization: 
* The `communicator` now needs `label_resolution_maps` constructed from the cell group data in order to build the `connections` vectors. 
* The `simulation_state` object handles the transfer of the information when it is constructed. 
* Spike exchange at runtime remains unchanged, because `communicator::connections` remains unchanged. 

Changes to cells, cell_groups and recipe:
* `decor::place` expects a third label parameter, no longer returns an `lid_range`.
* `lif`, `source`, and `benchmark` cells need source/target labels in their constructors. 
* A `cell_group` needs to save data about the gid/labels/lid_ranges of each cell, to propagate back to the `communicator` constructor. 
* Connections/gap junction connections are formed between {label, policy} pairs on cells instead of indices. 
* `num_sources`, `num_targets`, `num_gap_junction_sites` deleted from `recipe`.

Additional changes:
* Add MPI wrapper for exchanging vectors of strings. 
* Corresponding updates to unit tests, Python wrapper, C++ and Python examples, documentation.

Fixes #1394

Major changes in Python library and documentation:

* Add global state (immutable after initialization) for the Python module that
  manages the mapping between probe metadata types and the method by which the
  corresponding [sample data can be collected and presented as Python objects.
  This is necessary for decoupling the implementation of the simulation wrapper
  from that of the various cable cell probe types.

* Wrap each of the C++ cable cell probe types with a Python function that
  returns a `probe_info` object.

* Add code for converting and accumulating C++ probe metadata and sample
  data, registered in the module global state against the metadata type info.

* Make the `arbor.simulator` object responsible for recording all spike and
  sample data, with corresponding new methods.

* Use NumPy arrays and structured datatypes for returning spike and
  sample data.

* Place Python schedule proxies under an abstract interface so that consumers
  of the proxies can be made generic over schedule types.

* Add unit tests for the `arbor.simulator` class and its new functionality,
  including distributed spike collection.

* Rework all Python API documentation concerning probes, sampling, and spike
  recording; add information on newly exposed cable cell probe addresses.

* Add new python example `single_cell_recipe.py` which is a generic recipe
  version of `single_cell_model.py`.

* Adjust other code in the wrapper and examples to accommodate these changes.

Minor changes in Python library:

* Add equality tests for `arbor.location` and `arbor.cable` Python classes.

* Use the `py::` namespace shorthand more often in the Python wrapping sources.

* Add an implicit conversion for a pair of numbers to `arbor.cell_member`, so
  that e.g. probe ids can be specified simply as `(gid, index)`.

* Add an implicit conversion from a tuple to `arbor.mpoint` so that a
  morphological point can be specified simply as `(x, y, z, radius)`.

* Modify the interface to `arbor.regular_schedule` so that the overloads
  correspond more closely to the C++ API. In particular,
  `arbor.regular_schedule(dt)` now describes a schedule with times 0, dt, 2*dt,
  etc.

Minor changes in C++ library:

* Change test in FVM lowered cell implementation and exception message for
  `bad_source_description`: assert number of detectors is exactly the number
  of sources promised by the recipe.

* Add comment describing `probe_metadata` object in `sampling.hpp` which
  asserts that the type and value of probe-specific metadata completely
  determines the correct interpretation of sampled data provided to a callback.

Support for recording spikes generated by a simulation in the Python wrapper
* Implement a `spike_recorder` that holds a shared pointer to a `std::vector` of spikes, and a callback for the `arb::simulation` spike recording API.
* Add `python/example/ring.py` that creates a ring network, then records and prints spikes.
* Some fixes to get the full `recipe` -> `domain_decomposition` -> `simulation` -> `spikes` workflow to work
  * always use default `global_parameters`: user customization of global parameters for cable cells can wait until the ion species interface is finished.
  * change the Python recipe interface for `recipe::connections_on` to use `pybind11::objects` because of shim.
* Some small improvements to error and help messages.

Fixes #764 

Fixes #782 
* consistent formatting of strings returned by `__repr__` and `__str__` for wrapped types
* rename enum wrappers to be less verbose, where it makes sense.

akuesters authored 5 years ago and Benjamin Cumming committed 5 years ago

Wrap `arb::simulation` type and interface for running `run()`, resetting `reset()`, and `set_binning_policy(policy, bin_interval)`. 

Wrap `enum binning_kind`, used to set event binning on `simulation` API.

Fixes #763 

akuesters authored 5 years ago and Benjamin Cumming committed 5 years ago

Domain decomposition in python wrapper
* functions: `partition_load_balance`
*  types: `group_description` and `domain_decomposition`

Also includes
* remove comment that `gid` in a `group_description` must be sorted.
* a host of small clean ups of python wrapper

Fixes #761

akuesters authored 5 years ago and Benjamin Cumming committed 5 years ago

Fixes #760

Wraps arbor recipe (without probes, i.e. num_probes, probe_info, get_probe) including 

- cell_connection, 
- gap_junction_connection, 
- recipe with
  - num_cells
  - cell_description
  - cell_kind
  - num_sources
  - num_targets
  - num_gap_junctions_sites
  - event_generators
  - connections_on
  - gap_junctions_on
  - global_properties
- enum cell_kind in `identifiers.cpp`

akuesters authored 6 years ago and Benjamin Cumming committed 6 years ago

Wrapped the following C++ features in Python: 
- Identifiers (`cell_member`) + according tests
- `event_generator` and schedules (`regular_schedule`, `explicit_schedule`, `poisson_schedule`) + according tests