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Monthly log files: Difference between revisions
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==Potential Name Confusion==
Those who used early versions of Cumulus will remember that the term '''Log File''' was originally used for [[Log.xml]], but Steve Loft later accepted that all the files with a [[:Category:Ini Files|.ini]] file extension could be described as log files, so he introduced the term [[Weather Diary]]. A bit later, [[Standard log files| the detailed data file]], began to be also called '''log files''', and the confusion grew. When [[Extra Sensor Files]] were added, these also became '''log files'''. The Wiki page now called "Standard Log Files" was first called "Log files", then became "Monthly Log Files" because "Log files" became a category. Then "Extra Sensor Files" were added and "standard log files" replaced "Monthly Log Files" to make it clearer which file held the standard values, and which file held values for extra sensors.
Steve Loft wrote the Cumulus software mainly for his own use, although after a while he let others use it and added features that others requested. Cumulus was developed in his spare time outside a full-time employment, and consistency and terminology were not issues he worried about.
When Steve Loft was working on his [[Cumulus_3_(MX)_beta_documentation|MX Beta]], he decided to implement within MX functionality the database schema that Mark Crossley had designed on [[ImportCumulusFile#Monthly_table_.28old.29|this]] page, where Mark selected the name '''Monthly''' for the table. David A Jamieson created versions 1.0 and 1.1 of ImportCumulusFile for creating a single table called '''dayfile''', but Mark extended it to cover ''realtime'' and what he called ''monthly log files''. That means the standard log can in MX optionally feed data into a database table called '''Monthly''' by default in MX.
Mark Crossley has taken over development of MX, the terminology "monthly log" is now being used for the first linked file (standard logs) instead of for '''month.ini''' the file that is truly logging monthly extremes. The name has been adopted simply because a new log file is started for each month.
For novices, there can be a feeling of confusion:
* The new practice leaves "month.ini" without a descriptive name
* Each "dayfile" line represents a new day so the filename matches the content, but a line in "Oct16log.txt" does not represent a month, and the file name does not contain the phrase "month"
* The names "Month.ini" and "Monthlyalltime.ini" do contain the phrase "month", they do contain monthly data in each line, and do log extreme records that clearly identify with a particular month
A future Wiki editor may decide on a different strategy, but at the moment the Cumulus Wiki
=Enhancement never implemented=
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