Data migration causes problem with Highest Daily Rain

[ronholmj]

I recently moved my data history to a new computer (one I don't share with other users and can stay turned on). I found a good explanation of how to do it here on the Cumulus wiki ( http://wiki.sandaysoft.com/a/Moving_cumulus ).

There was one hiccup. When I started everything up on the new computer I was surprised to notice the "New Record" blinking. For some reason it has taken the historical total rain value, and used that as "Highest Daily Rainfall" as of startup today. I still have the original installation of Cumulus. I checked a number of other data items and all the other records except "Yesterday's" rainfall seem to have loaded successfully. (Yesterday's rainfall shows as the -'ve total historical.)

There could be a windows setting for date/time, separator, etc. that is different between the two computers - but since everything else looks good I'm not worried about that.

My question is whether there is a specific file I can edit to change the record. For example - alltime.ini

I'm comfortable editing text, XML, and other data types if necessary.

Thanks,
Jim

[ronholmj]

I may have found a solution - I am looking at the Records Editor right now.

Nope/yes.

The records editor did not fix it, but I went ahead and checked the date formats - and of course they were different. I changed them to match, re-copied the .ini files from the data directory, and everything seems tigidou now.

Everything working.

Jim

[gemini06720]

Jim, when Steve originally designed Cumulus, it was for his own use on his own computer setup with the UK date/time format. When Steve made Cumulus available to other users, I presume at first they were also from the UK. When users from other countries (with different date/time format) started using Cumulus, the date/time format remained the same.

I am not writing that Steve was at fault, no, the software was designed for his own use in his own country with his country's computer default settings.

Unfortunately, too few software designers (including Brian Hamilton, Ken True, just to name a couple) have been able to think 'outside the proverbial box' and use (international) standards that cannot and will not be broken when their software are used on computers in other countries (outside of their own country).

While living in the U.S.A., some 8+ years ago, I started running Weather Display on its own computer - under Windows XP Pro and using the 'standard' US date/time format - a lot of historical data has been accumulated during all those years!

I eventually moved back to Canada, some 5+ years ago, where purchased new computers running under Windows 7 and using the canadian date/time format.

Without thinking of the consequences, some 3+ years ago, I installed Cumulus on one of the new computers (using the canadian date/time format).

My problem: The old computer (using the US date/time format) that has been reliably running Weather Display for all those years is getting old (and slow) and needs to be replaced. I would like to use only one computer to run both Cumulus and Weather Display.

Unfortunately, I am not ready to loose any historical data, neither the 8+ years of historical data produced by Weather Display nor the 3+ years of historical data produced by Cumulus.

I need to decide on one date/time format and to convert (edit) all the historical data files from the software that does not meet/recognise that date/time format.

Had an (international) date/time standard format (such as the ISO 8601 standard which was first published in 1988) been used by both software, I would not have any such problem - it would not matter to either software which date/time format my computer was using as the software would have been using the ISO 8601 date/time standard.

[steve]

This issue is nothing to do with me designing the software for my own use in my own country. Cumulus works perfectly well in any country, on a computer using any (valid) date format setting in Windows.

The issue here is when the date format setting in Windows changes, because Cumulus uses Windows to interpret the dates which are stored in the 'ini' files, using standard Windows routines. When the system date format changes, Windows is unable to recognise the formats of the dates that it wrote itself.

If someone wants to change their date format for whatever reason, they can change the date formats in the ini files to match the new setting; the data logs themselves are not affected.

[ronholmj]

Yes - it is a Windows issue (regional settings).

Anyway, I didn't need to change the data at all because in my case the computer I was moving the data to wasn't using the settings I like (but the computer I was moving the data from was). Fixing the regional settings on the new computer made all the problems go away.

(not important - but interesting)
Q: what would happen if these settings were changed while Cumulus was open - would it write the current .ini files under the settings it was started under, or the ones it was closing under? My guess - the ones it was closing under.

Jim

[steve]

Q: what would happen if these settings were changed while Cumulus was open - would it write the current .ini files under the settings it was started under, or the ones it was closing under? My guess - the ones it was closing under.

That would be my guess too. But it's possible that the current settings are cached in the runtime when Cumulus starts.