vB Weather Mk. 2
 

This is a post of a much-revised hack originally posted (by myself) here. I am posting this as a new hack because MSNBC, who the raw weather data is provided through, has changed their source provider (from AccuWeather to The Weather Channel), which required a retooling of the data parsing code, as well as completely new databases. I have also made obsolete the weather_functions.php file, moving the functions to admin/functions.php, simplifying the ability to show current weather data on any page (if desired). Finally, in what I'm sure will be welcome news to many people who have installed the original, I've completely rewritten the instructions, making them, as far as I can tell, much simpler. :)

If you are unfamiliar with the original: This hack provides current weather conditions and a five-day forecast to your members. Each member can select from over 34,000 cities, by narrowing down from region (like continents), country, and subdivision (like states). Each member can also select to see temperatures in Fahrenheit or Celsius, as well as metric or standard measurements for the other data.

A demo is available on my test board: http://www.jjr512.com/testboard/. I have set up an account for anyone to use to test it out (username: test; pw: test). If you are not logged in, you will see default weather on the home page (default is set to New York City), and cannot change settings (I forget if you can view a detailed forecast, though; you may be able to). If you do log in, you can change the settings for the test account, to see how it works.

***
If you have installed any previous version, you should completely uninstall it. Read the instructions and work backwards from there: Delete all templates added, remove changes to any existing templates (I forget if there were any or not), delete all new tables from the database, delete all new files added by the old hack. All have been changed to some extent, some more than others, and it would be easier to work from a clean slate. Especially since some of the template names have changes, so if you don't delete the old ones, they'll just be sitting there doing nothing at all. It is also vitally important to delete (or "drop") the tables--I believe there were six--you added for the original version. The new ones have different data and, for some, a different structure, so do not just empty them. Remove them totally.

Good luck! :)

Change Log
v1.1a: Current Version: Corrects a small error where an incorrect variable was used in the code to show the local time of the last update. If you already have v1.1, you only need to do the fix described in Post #82 below.
v1.1: Changes display of last update time to be the correct time in the user's own local time zone; previously, it was always Eastern Time (GMT-5) (Upgrade instructions are in Post #79 below). Also breaks the weather_city.sql into six smaller pieces (useful only to new installations; existing installations need not worry about this).
v1.0a: Adds instructions on how to add location to current weather on forums home page (changes to code added to index.php and forumhome_weather template).
v1.0: Original Release

Thank you, sir. I will get it up and test it. There is no Des Moines, Iowa listed now. Did you forget the capital of Iowa? :)

And is there any easy way to drop the tables with just a query or two?

Des Moines is there. It's between Derby and Dewar. :)

You can drop a table with a query. I believe the syntax is: DROP TABLE tablename;.

Hi, jj, your instructions state in the beginning:

I cannot find weather.php in your zipped file anywhere.

dood, this has gotta be one of the SICKEST hacks in recent days!!
ooooooooooh, I cannot WAIT to install it!
YOU EVEN HAVE New Westminster as a location in Canada!!

JJR512 sick man, SICK! :)

Is it me, or is weather.php in the zip, but I cannot see it? :) I assume we can't use the old weather.php from version 3b.

thats what im going to try :D

JJR512 would it be too much trouble to make say.. 3 preset weather locals (ie. Vancouver, Seattle, Toronto) and even if the user hasnt selected any of them for their own use, they could click a link to take them to that places weather?

JJ stated that he has changed all the variables, so I doubt that the old weather.php file works, since it's used for the 5-day forecast. But let me know if it does work. :)

This hack is useless until he adds the new weather.php file to the zip file

nope, guess we have to wait..
grrrr all that work and now its just sitting there. :(

He's busy this weekend, but will be back. :)

It's a great hack, and is well worth the wait.

I think the hack is great and I can wait a few days for it.

heh, I dont plan to be around the computer much this weekend at all... PARTY-sat >> aftersketch-sun :D

*cry* has somebody tests the installation with the weather.php from the 3b - version? :confused:

The old weather.php is not going to work, as JJ had to change most of the variables with the new weather server.

This is awsome! I will install it as soon as I can tonight. :)

@ Bluecat, you can?t install because the weather.php is missing!! ;)

Looks very good, will install it on my test board for sure (once said weather.php is included:D)and if I like it will suggest it to my members on my main board.

w00t h0t hack man!
thx, i'll install it in a bit...
can i see a list of all the weather locations (the city's...)?

I can't wait for the weather.php file i want it and need it so badly.

Yeah... its tragic that JJ forgot to include the weather.php. :) Easy mistake to make...

gahhhhhh I need this hack :D But no weather.php :(

chill boys :)

How many times can I put :o in one message? :D

So sorry! :o

I've uploaded a new .ZIP with the weather.php file.

=D Alright, I m goin to download it and save it until I m at home, I cant wait to try it out!

It is no problem as Erwin stated, "Easy mistake to make" so no harm ;) /me exciting

aw, I m stuck with cache, I wonder if can you post new attachment? I download and get old zip

I did post a new attachment. It even has a different name!

No, I m still stuck with cache but I use Net Vampire to download it for me so I get it =)

Many thanks

Finally!!! :D

Will install it now, and let you know how it goes...

I'm having trouble putting weather_city.sql in the database... Looks like it's timeing out, how do I split the file?

Thanks in advanced! :banana:

Ian, open the file up...you can use Notepad (or any plain-text editor)...Just copy a bunch of lines, paste into a new file, name it 1.sql (or whatever). I'd try splitting it into thirds at first. Each line starts with INSERT INTO and ends in );

For the record, anyone installing it now and not getting current weather info...this is a problem from the source, not the hack (just saw my own city was like this, checked a few random other US cities and saw the same thing).

Is there a quicker way? It takes forever to highlight all those lines(there must be a shortcut)

Put the cursor at the beginning of the file. Scroll down (with the scroll bar) about a third of the way down. Hold down the Shift key, then click at the beginning of a line there. That will highlight everything between where the cursor was and where you put it.

Hi all,

I hope JJR512 doesn't mine. I added this to his hack. This will tell you what city,state, and country right after Your Current Weather. This will show on your forum home page. Your Current Weather For (City),(state),(country).

Find in forumhome_weather template
Then Add this right after Weather

Thanks for a wonderful hack JJR512

Ok, I got everything installed and it works good except that I only have the 5-day forecast now and no current weather. There is no icon and all there are zeros for the current weather but the 5-day forecast works great! :) Also, the force update still doesn't work for me. Could it be that my ISP is using PHP version 4.2.2 on the server, as to why the force update doesn't work? (JJR512, I notice your server uses version 4.1.2.)

Works great, JJ. The only problem is that the default NY, USA weather for guests doesn't work - there is the "Offline" icon, and no numbers. Any ideas?

I see... the NY, NY, USA weather results are not showing for CURRENT weather, but the 5-day forecast is showing... weird.

Other cities seem okay.

Erwin,

Can you check Des Moines, Iowa, USA and see if it shows the current weather for you, please? :)

Other cities are working, though. For example, Melbourne Australia works great... it's unfortunate that the default city is not working... Any ideas?