Various updates related to defining embedded boundaries in Python (#2280)

* Various updated related to defining embedded boundaries in Python

* Fix typo in comment

Co-authored-by: Roelof Groenewald <40245517+roelof-groenewald@users.noreply.github.com>

1 files changed, 11 insertions, 12 deletions

diff --git a/Python/pywarpx/Constants.py b/Python/pywarpx/Constants.py
index 1ae1dda0d..abc0c3e87 100644
--- a/Python/pywarpx/Constants.py
+++ b/Python/pywarpx/Constants.py
@@ -24,20 +24,19 @@ class Constants(Bucket):
     def add_keywords(self, kwdict):
         mangle_dict = {}
         for k,v in kwdict.items():
-            # Check if keyword has already been defined
-            # WarpX has a single global dictionary of expression variables so each
-            # variable must be unique
-            if k in self.argvattrs:
-                # if so, mangle the name by appending a numerical suffix
-                mangle_number = 1
+            # WarpX has a single global dictionary of expression variables, my_constants,
+            # so each variable must be unique.
+            # Check if keyword has already been defined. If so and it has a different
+            # value than the already defined value, then mangle the name.
+            mangle_number = 0
+            k_mangled = k
+            while k_mangled in self.argvattrs and self.argvattrs[k_mangled] != v:
+                mangle_number += 1
                 k_mangled = f'{k}{mangle_number}'
-                while k_mangled in self.argvattrs:
-                    # make sure that the mangled name has also not already been defined
-                    mangle_number += 1
-                    k_mangled = f'{k}{mangle_number}'
+            if mangle_number > 0:
+                # The mangle_dict contains only mangled names
                 mangle_dict[k] = k_mangled
-                k = k_mangled
-            setattr(self, k, v)
+            setattr(self, k_mangled, v)
         return mangle_dict
 
     def mangle_expression(self, expression, mangle_dict):