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Re: CumulusUtils

Posted: Tue 12 May 2020 3:00 pm
by HansR
Version 3.5.5 is online

Re: CumulusUtils

Posted: Wed 13 May 2020 6:20 pm
by HansR
version 3.5.6 is online

Outside some language calamities, I don't expect any more functional updates on the language system.
As always: if I forgot any string, let me know.

So, now a break and then back to functional meteo ;)

Re: CumulusUtils

Posted: Sat 16 May 2020 10:52 am
by HansR
Versions 3.5.7 is online

This is a maintenance release concerning languages. Some additional tags and some manual changes.
Language.js has changed for Norwegian Language.

As a preview on current developments: I am working on a windrose which can display all time, per year and per month. However, the data coming from the database - I use the monthly logfiles for the rose - are pretty strange, so development takes much longer and even to the extend that I am not sure it will be released soon. I need to look at the data to confirm that what I see is correct. I'll keep you posted, but don't expect much before I get somewhere with that windrose.

Re: CumulusUtils

Posted: Sun 17 May 2020 12:53 pm
by HansR
Version 3.6.0 is online

Please note that the WindRose graph is in beta and some care should be taken when using it. Not as much when at display in your website but when running CumulusUtils with the WindRose active you should keep in mind ( and check the system after running) that:
  • WindRose works with the Monthly Logfiles. To prevent disturbing the systen, a copy is made of the logfile before reading it. As usual, no modifications to the logfiles are made and I assume no disruption will or even can take place, but keep an eye open on things.
  • Using the WindRose takes an unsual amount of time. Mainly because of the reading of the Monthly Logfiles. See my note below.
  • As this is beta, I did a lot of testing of course but am looking forward to your comment(s)
  • As usual a preview can be seen on my site under the Misc menu.
Fragment from the README:

The Wind Rose
A special graph is the Wind Rose. As such it is shown independently and not combined with other graphs, though it may in future be grouped with possible wind graphs to come.

The Wind Rose shows a polar graph with 16 compass sections within which the classes of wind speed frequencies are stacked for a selected period.

The Wind Rose is governed by the following parameters in the inifile:
WindRose : the general parameter indication true/false to use the graph or not.
WindRoseNrOfWindforceClasses and WindRoseMaxWindSpeed : these parameters together determine how the wind is partitioned. Above the maximum speed for the Wind Rose it is all assumed in one class. Without using many words: just try the default look and feel for the graph and determine for yourself if you would like to change. Advice: do not make too many classes, do not set the wind speed too high.
In addition the colours for the graph are parametrised through the parameter WindRoseColors.

The strings to translate are stored in the section Graph.

NOTE: This graph is special in many ways but most of it because it uses the monthly logfiles. Apart from being unique for this, it also makes it the most time consuming graph. Reading the monthly logs on a PC may take somewhere between 6 to 10 seconds per year (!) but on a RPi (mine is version 3+) it takes 90 seconds to generate the website (so, all modules inclusive uploading). The generation of the WindRose alone takes roughly 60 seconds per year on the Rpi. This of course is highly dependent on the number of records in the logfile and the frequency of data sampling (in my case again we're talking about 1 minute sampling which leads to 43200 records per 30 days).

NOTE2: Because using the monthly logfiles means using also the live logfile of the current month it means we have to take extra care. There for a copy is made of the file being read and the reading is done on the copy. So as usual, the live Cumulus system is not being touched.

Re: CumulusUtils

Posted: Mon 18 May 2020 8:56 am
by HansR
Version 3.6.1 is online

This is basically a maintenance release for the WindRose beta with some additional corrections which came up during the test.

It is important users be aware of what they actually see in the WindRose. Therefore I added some explanation in the README:

Calculation of the Wind Rose
What do we actually see in the wind rose and how are the data assembled and calculated? That seems important because it is done differently when data files are older and from before version 1.9.2 (see the Wiki).

The main calculation is done by counting the Latest Gust and the Current Wind Bearing for each record, the count divided by the number of records gives the percentage for the period. It must be seen as a sampling with equal time distance and with a sufficient small time distance it will represent the wind speeds and bearing frequencies. Zero speed is counted (and reported separately for the whole period) so the wind speed frequencies are reported as fractions of the total counts where wind was greater than 0.

If the datafile is older and does not contain the Current Wind Bearing, than a fall back will be made to the Average Wind Bearing. The resulting report has slightly different meaning, but it's the best that can be done with available data.

Any datafile made by a version before 1.8.5 is not documented and thus the software cannot handle those and CumulusUtils may crash. I assume such very old monthly logs are rare in the wild.

(Footnote with this fragment: The impression exists with me, that Average Wind Bearing (field nr #7) and Gust Speed (field nr #6) do not correspond well with the Average Wind Speed (#), Latest Gust and Current Bearing. I don't have full understanding of what I see in the database. I will do some research on this later.)

Re: CumulusUtils

Posted: Tue 19 May 2020 7:46 am
by HansR
version 3.6.2 is online

This is the third beta of the windrose focussing on the data inconsistencies in the monthly logfiles.
@PaulMy and @sutne please test it (with and without the erroneous files) and send me the logfiles.

Re: CumulusUtils

Posted: Tue 19 May 2020 2:28 pm
by HansR
version 3.6.5 is online

A bigger work than anticipated, but I think it's OK now.
No new developments foreseen on short term, break coming up, so look only at real problems.
Hope everything is OK.

Re: CumulusUtils

Posted: Sun 24 May 2020 7:58 am
by HansR
Version 3.6.7 is online

Re: CumulusUtils

Posted: Mon 25 May 2020 5:20 am
by HansR
Version 3.6.9 is online

Re: CumulusUtils

Posted: Wed 27 May 2020 1:37 pm
by HansR
v3.7.0 is online

Please note that gauges.js has a required update so don't install with thrifty. Also, the appearance of the gauges will now be governed by the inifile. See the README. If you already modified the gauges, save your work and bring it to the inifile after installation. If you require other parameters please notify me and I'll look at the possibilities.

Working with the gauges the way I do, is a bit like using the moonlander as a survival vehicle: don't ask what it was designed to do, ask what it can do and make a square fit into a round hole (hope you saw the movie). Anyway, a lot is possible with the gauges, but not everything.

For the rest, see the release notes.

[Edit:] You can remove already existing steelseries ini-parameters, they were from a previous experiment. If you don't it won't harm, but it may be confusing.

Re: CumulusUtils

Posted: Fri 29 May 2020 6:01 am
by HansR
Version 3.7.1 is now online

This contains both the bugfix for the gauges display features and a change in logging: both directory and naming has changed to facilitate keeping the logs while doing additional runs.

Re: CumulusUtils

Posted: Sat 30 May 2020 7:22 am
by HansR
Version 3.7.3 is online

Re: CumulusUtils

Posted: Mon 01 Jun 2020 6:55 am
by HansR
Version 3.7.5 is online

Mainly a manual and Thrifty system update.
From now on, if you use the website generator, I would advice to use a daily command with the thrifty qualifier:

Code: Select all

cumulusutils.exe Thrifty Website
In case of an update, never use Thrifty!

I noticed that some installations (on 3.7.3) have errors on the website related to the gauges and some have not. Though I don't have a definite explanation, the cause seems to be in the update / wrong file versions of underlying libraries. Please follow the instruction for the update (copy all files in the utils directory, overwriting any existing file, and move the executable from there to the Cumulus directory). Then run the command if you are running the website (this will actually update all required files on your website):

Code: Select all

cumulusutils.exe Website
If you are only using individual modules there is no issue with any version.

Re: CumulusUtils

Posted: Tue 02 Jun 2020 8:59 pm
by HansR
Version 3.8.0 is online

Gauges parameter settings should now be fully protected against user typos and lowercase so as to avoid exceptions deeper in the system.

Re: CumulusUtils

Posted: Thu 04 Jun 2020 7:28 am
by HansR
Version 3.8.1 is online

Please note that the language is now defined by the locale you want your modules/website to work in (even if it's different from the locale of the machine you are running on).

Note from the manual:
NOTE: the notation of the locale in the Language parameter in the inifile is the Windows notation because C# is native to .NET which is native to Windows. To increase confusion, on Linux/Unix the locale is natively written with an underscore (such as en_GB). But as Mono is a .NET emulator, it requires the Windows syntax for the locale: use the dash instead of the underscore: en-GB !!