Hi guys,
another set of common questions/answers and tips.
- In the top header I can set either the flag image or custom, is there a way to just delete that image completely?
Theoretically no, but there is a workaround, simply create a small 100% transparent image and use it for the custom URL and it will appear as if there is nothing. - Have you thought about using Postgres database instead of MySQL? It seems to be able to handle more data?
Yes I know about Postgres, it is indeed a better written database system, but it has several drawbacks, one of which makes it unusable for our purposes. First, if you have a smaller database, then MySQL will be faster – and at this point you have to understand that a database with several million rows is still very small J Second, and most importantly, over 80% of Meteotemplate users, including me, use external webhosting and only very few providers offer Postgres, the rest just MySQL, it is therefore not possible to use because most people, and in fact me as well, cannot use this. - Any news about version 15?
Version 15 is pretty much ready, there will be several minor improvements and fixes and most importantly one major new thing, which as you know me, I will keep to myself until it is released. However, I might need to take an additional part-time job over the summer, which would mean I would have less time to support this and for that reason I will probably release this version later this year because a major release always means a bit more time and work. - It says that Cumulus supports the API only partially, what does it mean?
Originally this meant that not all features the API provided were available. However in version 14 I managed to find a way of adding those as well so at this point, all this means is that the support is “partial” because Cumulus itself does not support it. You still have to use a CRON job and you still have to upload realtime.txt – unlike the other “fully supporting” software like Weather Display, Meteobridge, WeeWx or WeatherCat, which have Meteotemplate update feature built into them and all the CRON jobs, formats etc are handled by these programs automatically making it easier to set up, more reliable and faster. However this does not mean you cannot use Cumulus. In the meantime it also means that full support is not something I can do myself, that would require direct changes in the actual software, in this particular case, changes made by Steve. I have discussed it with him, but at this point Steve said no, so we have to use what is available.
Good. Take care of yourself 😉
There is no need to hurry. It’s already quite hard to keep up with the current update rate, especially when one tweaks the blocks a bit. I would rather have a decent way to update the database when my station goes offline for some time than any new feature. This last point is, to me, an annoying drawback compared to the way my site used to work. I understand it’s not an easy problem to address though.
Thanks for your work.
Best,
Hey take your time 14 is doing good so far this way the bugs get worked out. Personally, I would release a new version each year, that would give you enough time to add requests, suggestions and so on. Heck you can do the versions by year number say release in Jan 2018 then v18. Just a thought and would take some of the weight off of you to churn something out each month. You have gone along way since Jan of this year from 11, 12, 13, and now 14.
Looking forward to the next “BIG” thing!!!
Hi,
currently Im thinking most likely end of Sep or Oct, it will depend if I take the job or not, but I dont want to get to a situation where I dont have time to help people.
So I guess you didn’t take the job? ^^
Hi,
no I didnt partly because some health problems and partly because it would mean absolutely no free time