Setting up the METAR weather block
The documentation on the METAR weather block as well as the PEAR Services_Weather module is not too extensive and user-friendly.
Here is how it works:
Prerequisites: install Services_Weather
You install the PEAR Services_Weather module as root from the command line:
<pre><code>
pear install Services_Weather
</code></pre>
then you change to your pear directory (usually /usr/share/php) and look for the data/Services_Weather directory<br />
It contains a file buildMetarDB.php.
I assume you have the command line PHP interpreter installed and it's called "php" (some distributions call it "php5").
<pre><code>
php buildMetarDB.php -a -u horde_db_user -p horde_db_pass -d horde_db
php buildMetarDB.php -l -u horde_db_user -p horde_db_pass -d horde_db
</code></pre>
If database is not on localhost, you might add options -h <hostname> and -r tcp.
Note: I haven't yet found a way to use the METAR block if you use another database than the horde database.<br />
The horde_db_user is often called "horde" and the horde_db is also often called "horde". If I knew all your passwords, I wouldn't tell you ;)
Now login to horde, go to the portal, choose METAR block and click the edit button in the upper right of the block.<br />
The rest is self-explanatory click-and-play.
--Ralf Lang
+++Error message: Services_Weather: Sourcefile nsd_cccc not found!
While executing the above commands:
<pre><code>
php buildMetarDB.php -a -u horde_db_user -p horde_db_pass -d horde_db
php buildMetarDB.php -l -u horde_db_user -p horde_db_pass -d horde_db
</code></pre>
You may receive the error message:
<pre><code>
Services_Weather: Sourcefile nsd_cccc not found!
</code></pre>
The reason is that the file downloaded by buildMetarDB.php script is empty (0 byte file size) as of August,2 2010.<br />
Fortunately, there are alternate working links to this file on this page as TXT or ZIP format instead of the 0 file size GZIP one: <a href="http://weather.noaa.gov/tg/site.shtml">http://weather.noaa.gov/tg/site.shtml</a>
So, you should modify line 273 in buildMetarDB.php file from:
<pre><code>
if (extension_loaded("zlib")) { 
</code></pre>
to:
<pre><code>
if (extension_loaded("zlibXXXX")) { 
</code></pre>
This way the file will be downloaded as TXT format which is not empty, and you metar tables will be filled with appropriate data.
-- Mathieu RV
I found that the script appeared to just silently fail downloading the files. Creates the db structures fine, but doesn't populate them, even with the change noted by Mathieu. I then went to the NOAA site mentioned above, wget the files, and once they are in the directory where buildMetarDB.php is, the script then works fine.
-- Simon W.
Rather than editting the php file, you can specify the NOAA file to use directly. So,
php buildMetarDB.php -a -u horde_db_user -p horde_db_pass -d horde_db -f "<a href="http://weather.noaa.gov/data/nsd\_cccc.txt">http://weather.noaa.gov/data/nsd\_cccc.txt</a>"<br />
php buildMetarDB.php -l -u horde_db_user -p horde_db_pass -d horde_db -f "<a href="http://weather.noaa.gov/data/nsd\_bbsss.txt">http://weather.noaa.gov/data/nsd\_bbsss.txt</a>"
--- Mike H.