Fix nightly rename of finial directory path

[TerrenceMcGuinness-NOAA]

PR: Remove Nightly Workspace Directory Rename

Description

The GitLab CI pipeline uses WORKSPACE_ID (containing CI_PIPELINE_ID) as the
workspace directory name throughout all stages — build, setup, run, and finalize.
For nightly scheduled pipelines, the finalize stage renames this directory from
the WORKSPACE_ID format to a WORKSPACE_DATE format using a bash date call:

WORKSPACE_ID:   nightly_0_affeae_12345678    (used during build/test)
WORKSPACE_DATE: nightly_affeae_032626        (renamed at finalize)

This post-hoc rename causes path issues in the true paths that are in the Rocoto XML files.

Resolves #4715

Solution

Remove the WORKSPACE_DATE concept entirely and use WORKSPACE_ID as the
single, stable directory name throughout the pipeline lifecycle. The stable
symlink (already in use) provides the "latest successful nightly" pointer that
downstream consumers need.

Changes

.gitlab-ci.yml (before_script):

• Removed DATE and WORKSPACE_DATE variable computation
• Removed associated comments describing the date-based naming scheme

dev/ci/gitlab-ci-cases.yml (finalize_success_template):

• Replaced the rename logic (mv WORKSPACE_ID → WORKSPACE_DATE) with a direct
  symlink: ln -sf WORKSPACE_ID stable
• Removed the conditional branching for rename vs. already-matching names
• Kept the cleanup of old nightly directories (unchanged)
• Removed stale ${DATE} reference from run_experiments_template echo

Before (finalize for nightly)

mv "${WORKSPACE_ID}" "${WORKSPACE_DATE}"
ln -sf "${WORKSPACE_DATE}" stable

After (finalize for nightly)

ln -sf "${WORKSPACE_ID}" stable

Directory Layout

After a successful nightly run:

CI_BUILDS_DIR/
  ├── nightly_0_affeae_12345678/       # WORKSPACE_ID (unchanged)
  │   ├── global-workflow/             # GIT_CLONE_PATH
  │   └── RUNTESTS/                    # Test output
  └── stable -> nightly_0_affeae_12345678/  # Symlink to latest

Impact

• No path breakage from directory renames mid-pipeline
• stable symlink behavior is preserved for downstream access
• Pipeline names and IDs remain unique per CI_PIPELINE_ID
• Date information is still available via CI_PIPELINE_CREATED_AT if needed
• Simplifies the codebase by removing unnecessary complexity

-->

Type of change

• Bug fix (fixes something broken)
• New feature (adds functionality)
• Maintenance (code refactor, clean-up, new CI test, etc.)

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

Removes the nightly “post-hoc workspace rename” behavior in GitLab CI to keep workspace paths stable across all pipeline stages, preventing Rocoto XML path breakage (issue #4715).

Changes:

• Eliminated DATE / WORKSPACE_DATE computation and logging from .gitlab-ci.yml.
• Simplified nightly finalize logic to update stable to point directly at WORKSPACE_ID (no mv rename).
• Cleaned up a stale ${DATE} reference in the run-experiments logging.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 2 out of 2 changed files in this pull request and generated no comments.

File	Description
.gitlab-ci.yml	Removes date-based workspace naming (WORKSPACE_DATE) so the pipeline uses WORKSPACE_ID consistently.
dev/ci/gitlab-ci-cases.yml	Updates nightly finalize to only refresh the stable symlink and removes outdated ${DATE} logging.