Version: 4.2
WeeWX Upgrade Guide

This document explains the three methods of upgrading:

The section Instructions for Specific Versions describes changes required from one version to the next. These changes apply to every upgrade method.

Warning!
You must use the same upgrade technique as your initial install! For example, if you used setup.py to install WeeWX, then you should use setup.py to upgrade. If you used a DEB or RPM package to install, then you should upgrade using the same package type.

Upgrading using setup.py

Before upgrading WeeWX, check the section Instructions for Specific Versions to see if any specific actions are required.

If you are an old Python 2 version, and you plan on switching to Python 3, make sure you have installed whatever pre-requisites are required. You can find them in the guide Installation using setup.py.

Then follow the standard installation procedure:

Unpack the archive:

tar xvfz weewx-X.Y.Z.tar.gz

Change directory into it:

cd weewx-X.Y.Z 

Build the distribution, using whatever version of Python you plan to use. For example, for Python 3:

python3 ./setup.py build 

Warning!
Before doing the next step, be sure that home in the file setup.cfg is set to the location of the previous WeeWX installation.

After checking setup.cfg, install your new version of WeeWX, again using the version of Python you plan on using:

sudo python3 ./setup.py install 

The install process will do the following:

Finally, restart WeeWX.

Upgrading using DEB package

If you have specified the WeeWX apt repository in /etc/apt/sources.list.d/weewx.list, then upgrade to the latest version like this:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install weewx

Otherwise, download the latest X.Y.Z DEB package from the Download page on weewx.com, then upgrade like this:

sudo dpkg -i weewx_X.Y.Z-R.deb

The upgrade process will not modify the WeeWX databases.

Unmodified files will be upgraded. If modifications have been made to the WeeWX configuration, you will be prompted as to whether you want to keep the existing configuration or accept the new configuration. Either way, a copy of the option you did not choose will be saved.

For example, if /etc/weewx/weewx.conf was modified, you will see a message something like this:

Configuration file `/etc/weewx/weewx.conf'
  ==> Modified (by you or by a script) since installation.
  ==> Package distributor has shipped an updated version.
  What would you like to do about it ?  Your options are:
            Y or I  : install the package maintainer's version
            N or O  : keep your currently-installed version
              D     : show the differences between the versions
              Z     : start a shell to examine the situation
         The default action is to keep your current version.
  *** weewx.conf (Y/I/N/O/D/Z) [default=N] ?

Choosing I (install the new version) will place the previous configuration in /etc/weewx/weewx.conf.dpkg-old where it can be compared with the new version /etc/weewx/weewx.conf

Choosing O (keep the current version) will place the new configuration in /etc/weewx/weewx.conf.dpkg-new where it can be compared with the old version /etc/weewx/weewx.conf

Upgrading using RPM package

If you have specified the WeeWX yum repository in /etc/yum.repos.d/weewx.repo, then upgrade to the latest version like this:

sudo yum update weewx

Otherwise, download the latest X.Y.Z RPM package from the Download page on weewx.com, then upgrade like this:

sudo rpm -U weewx-X.Y.Z-R.rpm

The upgrade process will not modify the WeeWX databases.

Unmodified files will be upgraded. If modifications have been made to the configuration, rpm will display a message about any differences between the changes and the new configuration. Any new changes from the upgrade will be noted as files with a .rpmnew extension and the modified files will be left untouched.

For example, if /etc/weewx/weewx.conf was modified, rpm will present a message something like this:

warning: /etc/weewx/weewx.conf created as /etc/weewx/weewx.conf.rpmnew

Instructions for specific versions

From 4.1 or earlier

For the most part, V4.2 is backwards compatible with previous versions. There is one small exception.

Type beaufort deprecated

The type beaufort has been deprecated, although there are no immediate plans to remove it — using it will put a warning in the log. Instead, it has become a new unit, which can be used as part of group_speed. Here's an example:

pre 4.1 4.2
<p>
   The current wind speed is $current.windSpeed,
   which is $current.beaufort on the beaufort scale.
</p>
                    
<p>
   The current wind speed is $current.windSpeed,
   which is $current.windSpeed.beaufort on the beaufort scale.
</p>
                    

From V3.9 or earlier

For the most part, V4.0 is backwards compatible with previous versions.

Python 2.5 and 2.6

Support for Python 2.5 and 2.6 has been dropped. It has now been well over 10 years since these versions were introduced, and 6+ years since they were supported by the Python Software Foundation. If you are using Python 2.5 or 2.6, then you should either upgrade your copy of Python, or stay with your old version of WeeWX.

[StdWXCalculate]

In earlier versions of WeeWX, many derived types were calculated by default by the service StdWXCalculate. By contrast, in WeeWX V4, no derived types are calculated by default — all desired types must be explicitly listed in weewx.conf. For most users, this will not cause a problem because most types were already listed in weewx.conf. However if you deleted one of the following types in the clause [StdWXCalculate], and started to depend on the default calculations, then the type will no longer be calculated in V4.

pressure barometer altimeter
windchill heatindex dewpoint
inDewpoint rainRate

In this case, you should add the type to [StdWXCalculate]. For example, if for some reason you deleted dewpoint, then you would need to add the following

[StdWXCalculate]
  [[Calculations]]
    ...
    dewpoint = prefer_hardware
        

From V3.8 or earlier

New skins

Version 3.9 introduces and installs a new skin, Seasons, and promotes two old skins, Mobile and Smartphone, previously part of Standard, to first-class, independent, skins.

If you are upgrading, and you wish to try the new skin Seasons, then activate it, but be sure to deactivate Standard. Otherwise, both will get generated, and they will compete with each other for placement in your HTML directory.

Skin defaults

Version 3.9 introduces a new section, [StdReport]/[[Defaults]] in weewx.conf. Options in this section apply to all reports. For example, if you set a unit group here, it will be applied everywhere. This makes it easy to set the units across all reports, or to ensure that the labels for observations are the same in every report.

It also adds a file defaults.py, in which the fallback values for every report parameter are specified. Although the defaults file is currently useful only to developers, in the future it may be extended to facilitate translations and localization.

Do you need to change anything?

The introduction of the new section, [StdReport]/[[Defaults]] in weewx.conf, can change which units are applied to reports because it has a higher precedence than what is in skin.conf. See the section How options work for details of the ordering in which an option is considered.

Most users will be unaffected by these changes because they depend on specific report overrides. There is, however, one exception:

If your installation does not use overrides, and you changed to metric units in your skin.conf file, you will be affected.

Your reports will start appearing in U.S. Customary units. The reason is that the new section, [StdReport]/[[Defaults]] has higher priority than options in skin.conf, and thus will start asserting themselves.

The fix is simple: modify the [StdReport]/[[Defaults]] to suit your preferences.

However, users who specified what unit system to use as part of the automated install using a package installer or setup.py, will have an override section, and therefore will be unaffected. This is because the override section has the highest priority.

From V3.6 or earlier

Changes to daily summaries

Perhaps the most significant change in V3.7 is a fix for how daily summary values are calculated and stored.

Daily summaries were introduced in V3.0 (December, 2014), to speed up certain kinds of aggregation calculations. They were designed to "weight" values depending on the time length of the archive record that contributed them. For example, shorter intervals contributed less than longer intervals. This was intended to enable changes to the length of the archive interval.

Unfortunately, a bug caused the weightings to all be one (1), regardless of what the actual archive interval length might be. This means all archive records, long and short, contribute the same amount, instead of being weighted by their length. So, if the archive interval were to change, averages would be calculated incorrectly.

This bug will only affect you if you have changed the length of your archive interval, or if you plan to. If you have not changed your archive interval length, and have no plans to do so, then there is nothing you need to do.

Your archive may have interval values of different sizes if...

... you have imported data using wee_import.

... your hardware has a data logger, your configuration uses record_generation=software, and the archive_interval is different from that in the hardware.

... your archive contains data from more than one type of hardware.

The wee_database utility, with option --update, can fix this problem by recalculating the weights in the daily summary, on the basis of the actual archive interval lengths. On a Raspberry Pi 1, model B, it takes about 10 minutes to fix a database with 10 years of data. On faster machines, it takes much less time.

wee_database /etc/weewx/weewx.conf --update

If you have multiple databases, consider recalculating the weights in each database. Interval weighting will only need to be applied to databases that have daily summaries, i.e., the binding uses

manager = weewx.wxmanager.WXDaySummaryManager

To apply interval weighting to a database other than the default wx_binding, use the --binding=BINDING_NAME option in conjunction with the --update action.

wee_database /etc/weewx/weewx.conf --update --binding=cmon_binding

Recalculation of windSpeed maximum values

Version 3.7 changes how maximum windSpeed is calculated for aggregations of a day or more. Previously, if option use_hilo was set to True (the usual case), maximum windSpeed for a day was set to the maximum value seen in the LOOP packets for the day. In practice this is the same value as windGust. That is, these two tags would supply the same value:

$day.windSpeed.max
$day.windGust.max

In Version 3.7, this has been changed so the maximum windSpeed is now set to the maximum archive value seen during the day — usually a slightly smaller number. However, older daily max values will still contain the max LOOP packet values. If you wish to update your older values and have them use the max archive record value, use the utility wee_database, with option --update.

Changes to wee_database

The wee_database utility has been revised. Whilst the v3.6 functionality has been retained, a number of the wee_database actions have been renamed and new options have been added to support the weighting of daily summaries and the recalculation of portions of the windSpeed daily summary table. The rebuilding of the daily summaries (formerly backfilling the daily summaries) now supports selective rebuilding. Full details on the revised wee_database utility can be found in the wee_database section in the Utilities Guide.

Change in the name and locations of examples

In earlier versions, examples were located with the WeeWX code base, and packaged as a Python module. This is categorically and semantically incorrect.

The examples now live in their own directory, whose location is dependent on the installation method. If you use an example, you should copy it to the user subdirectory, modify it if necessary, then use it there. Your copy will be retained across version upgrades.

3.6 3.7
examples.alarm.MyAlarm
examples.lowBattery.MyAlarm
examples.xsearch.MyXSearch
user.alarm.MyAlarm
user.lowBattery.BatteryAlarm
user.stats.MyStats

Finally, note that the name of one example has been changed:

3.6 3.7
xsearch.py
stats.py

Changes to sensor mapping

The mapping of sensors to database fields was formalized in Version 3.7, resulting in changes to the configuration for some of the drivers, including cc3000, te923, wmr100, wmr200, wmr300, and wmr9x8.

For the wmr200 driver, until Version 3.6, the fields extraTemp1 and extraHumid1 were not usable. Version 3.6.1 shifted the extraTemp and extraHumid mappings down one channel, so that extraTemp1 corresponded to channel 2, extraTemp2 corresponded to channel 3, and so on. The mappings can now be modified by a change to the configuration file, and the default mappings are as follows:

3.6 3.7
** hard-coded in the driver **

outTemp = temperature_1
# extraTemp1 is not usable
extraTemp2 = temperature_2
extraTemp3 = temperature_3
extraTemp4 = temperature_4
extraTemp5 = temperature_5
extraTemp6 = temperature_6
extraTemp7 = temperature_7
extraTemp8 = temperature_8
outHumidity = humidity_1
# extraHumid1 is not usable
extraHumid2 = humidity_2
extraHumid3 = humidity_3
extraHumid4 = humidity_4
extraHumid5 = humidity_5
extraHumid6 = humidity_6
extraHumid7 = humidity_7
extraHumid8 = humidity_8
[WMR200]
    [[sensor_map]]
        altimeter = altimeter
        pressure = pressure
        windSpeed = wind_speed
        windDir = wind_dir
        windGust = wind_gust
        windBatteryStatus = battery_status_wind
        inTemp = temperature_0
        outTemp = temperature_1
        extraTemp1 = temperature_2
        extraTemp2 = temperature_3
        extraTemp3 = temperature_4
        extraTemp4 = temperature_5
        extraTemp5 = temperature_6
        extraTemp6 = temperature_7
        extraTemp7 = temperature_8
        inHumidity = humidity_0
        outHumidity = humidity_1
        extraHumid1 = humidity_2
        extraHumid2 = humidity_3
        extraHumid3 = humidity_4
        extraHumid4 = humidity_5
        extraHumid5 = humidity_6
        extraHumid6 = humidity_7
        extraHumid7 = humidity_8
        outTempBatteryStatus = battery_status_out
        rain = rain
        rainTotal = rain_total
        rainRate = rain_rate
        hourRain = rain_hour
        rain24 = rain_24
        rainBatteryStatus = battery_status_rain
        UV = uv
        uvBatteryStatus = battery_status_uv
        windchill = windchill
        heatindex = heatindex
        forecastIcon = forecast_icon
        outTempFault = out_fault
        windFault = wind_fault
        uvFault = uv_fault
        rainFault = rain_fault
        clockUnsynchronized = clock_unsynchronized

For the te923 driver:

3.6 3.7
[TE923]
    [[map]]
        link_wind = windLinkStatus
        bat_wind = windBatteryStatus
        link_rain = rainLinkStatus
        bat_rain = rainBatteryStatus
        link_uv = uvLinkStatus
        bat_uv = uvBatteryStatus
        uv = UV
        t_in = inTemp
        h_in = inHumidity
        t_1 = outTemp
        h_1 = outHumidity
        bat_1 = outBatteryStatus
        link_1 = outLinkStatus
        t_2 = extraTemp1
        h_2 = extraHumid1
        bat_2 = extraBatteryStatus1
        link_2 = extraLinkStatus1
        t_3 = extraTemp2
        h_3 = extraHumid3
        bat_3 = extraBatteryStatus2
        link_3 = extraLinkStatus2
        t_4 = extraTemp3
        h_4 = extraHumid3
        bat_4 = extraBatteryStatus3
        link_4 = extraLinkStatus3
        t_5 = extraTemp4
        h_5 = extraHumid4
        bat_5 = extraBatteryStatus4
        link_5 = extraLinkStatus4
[TE923]
    [[sensor_map]]
        windLinkStatus = link_wind
        windBatteryStatus = bat_wind
        rainLinkStatus = link_rain
        rainBatteryStatus = bat_rain
        uvLinkStatus = link_uv
        uvBatteryStatus = bat_uv
        inTemp = t_in
        inHumidity = h_in
        outTemp = t_1
        outHumidity = h_1
        outTempBatteryStatus = bat_1
        outLinkStatus = link_1
        extraTemp1 = t_2
        extraHumid1 = h_2
        extraBatteryStatus1 = bat_2
        extraLinkStatus1 = link_2
        extraTemp2 = t_3
        extraHumid2 = h_3
        extraBatteryStatus2 = bat_3
        extraLinkStatus2 = link_3
        extraTemp3 = t_4
        extraHumid3 = h_4
        extraBatteryStatus3 = bat_4
        extraLinkStatus3 = link_4
        extraTemp4 = t_5
        extraHumid4 = h_5
        extraBatteryStatus4 = bat_5
        extraLinkStatus4 = link_5

From V3.5 or earlier

Changes to weewx.conf

In Version 3.6, the list of options that describe how derived variables are to be calculated have been moved to a new subsection called [[Calculations]]. The upgrade process will automatically make this change for you.

3.5 3.6
[StdWXCalculate]
    pressure = prefer_hardware
    barometer = prefer_hardware
    altimeter = prefer_hardware
    windchill = prefer_hardware
    heatindex = prefer_hardware
    dewpoint = prefer_hardware
    inDewpoint = prefer_hardware
    rainRate = prefer_hardware

[StdWXCalculate]
    [[Calculations]]
        pressure = prefer_hardware
        barometer = prefer_hardware
        altimeter = prefer_hardware
        windchill = prefer_hardware
        heatindex = prefer_hardware
        dewpoint = prefer_hardware
        inDewpoint = prefer_hardware
        rainRate = prefer_hardware

From V3.1 or earlier

New utilities

Version 3.2 includes new utilities to facilitate configuration.

3.2 3.1 and earlier
wee_config Change driver or other station parameters
wee_extension setup.py or wee_setup Install, list, and remove extensions
wee_database wee_config_database Manipulate the database
wee_device wee_config_device Get and set parameters on the hardware
wee_reports wee_reports Run reports

Changes to weewx.conf

Release 3.2 introduces a new section [DatabaseTypes]. This section defines the default settings for each type of database. For example, the host, user, and password for MySQL databases can be specified once in the DatabaseTypes section instead of repeating in each Database section. The defaults in DatabaseTypes can be overridden in each Database section as needed.

3.1 3.2
[DataBindings]
    [[wx_binding]]
        database = archive_sqlite
        manager = weewx.wxmanager.WXDaySummaryManager
        table_name = archive
        schema = schemas.wview.schema
[Databases]
    [[archive_sqlite]]
        root = %(WEEWX_ROOT)s
        database = archive/weewx.sdb
        driver = weedb.sqlite
    [[archive_mysql]]
        host = localhost
        user = weewx
        password = weewx
        database = weewx
        driver = weedb.mysql









[DataBindings]
    [[wx_binding]]
        database = archive_sqlite
        manager = weewx.wxmanager.WXDaySummaryManager
        table_name = archive
        schema = schemas.wview.schema
[Databases]
    [[archive_sqlite]]
        database_name = weewx.sdb
        database_type = SQLite

    [[archive_mysql]]
        database_name = weewx
        database_type = MySQL



[DatabaseTypes]
    [[SQLite]]
        driver = weedb.sqlite
        SQLITE_ROOT = %(WEEWX_ROOT)s/archive
    [[MySQL]]
        driver = weedb.mysql
        host = localhost
        user = weewx
        password = weewx

From V2.7 or earlier

Overview

While a lot has changed with Version 3, the upgrade process should take care of most changes for most users. However, if you have installed an extension or, especially, if you have written a custom service, search list extension, or uploader, you will have to make some changes.

Database contents

With Version 3, there is no longer a separate "stats" database. Instead, "daily summaries" have been included in the same database as the archive data — everything is under one name. For example, if you are using sqlite, both the archive data and the daily summaries will be inside file weewx.sdb. With MySQL, everything is inside the database weewx. This makes it easier to keep all data together when working with multiple databases.

This change in database structure should be transparent to you. On startup, WeeWX will automatically backfill the new internal daily summaries from the archive data. Your old "stats" database will no longer be used and may safely set aside or even deleted.

Pressure calibration

Since the new StdWXCalculate service is applied after the StdCalibrate services, the pressure_offset parameter is no longer necessary; pressure calibration can be applied just like any other calibration. If your pressure was calibrated using the pressure_offset parameter, move the calibration to the [StdCalibrate] section. This applies only to CC3000, FineOffsetUSB, Ultimeter, WS1, WS23xx, and WS28xx hardware.

weewx.conf

A version 2.X weewx.conf file is not compatible with Version 3.X. However, the upgrade process should automatically update the file. Nevertheless, the changes are documented below:

2.7 3.0
[StdReport]
    data_binding = wx_binding
[StdArchive]
    archive_database = archive_sqlite
    stats_database = stats_sqlite
    archive_schema = user.schemas.defaultArchiveSchema
    stats_schema = user.schemas.defaultStatsSchema
[StdArchive]
    data_binding = wx_binding
[DataBindings]
    [[wx_binding]]
        database = archive_sqlite
        manager = weewx.wxmanager.WXDaySummaryManager
        table_name = archive
        schema = schemas.wview.schema
[Databases]
    [[archive_sqlite]]
        root = %(WEEWX_ROOT)s
        database = archive/weewx.sdb
        driver = weedb.sqlite
    [[stats_sqlite]]
        root = %(WEEWX_ROOT)s
        database = archive/stats.sdb
        driver = weedb.sqlite
    [[archive_mysql]]
        host = localhost
        user = weewx
        password = weewx
        database = weewx
        driver = weedb.mysql
    [[stats_mysql]]
        host = localhost
        user = weewx
        password = weewx
        database = stats
        driver = weedb.mysql
[Databases]
    [[archive_sqlite]]
        root = %(WEEWX_ROOT)s
        database_name = archive/weewx.sdb
        driver = weedb.sqlite

    
    
    
    [[archive_mysql]]
        host = localhost
        user = weewx
        password = weewx
        database_name = weewx
        driver = weedb.mysql
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
[Engines]
    [[WxEngine]]
        prep_services = \
    weewx.wxengine.StdTimeSynch
        process_services = \
    weewx.wxengine.StdConvert, \
    weewx.wxengine.StdCalibrate, \
    weewx.wxengine.StdQC
    
        archive_services = \
    weewx.wxengine.StdArchive
        restful_services = \
    weewx.restx.StdStationRegistry, \
    weewx.restx.StdWunderground, \
    weewx.restx.StdPWSweather, \
    weewx.restx.StdCWOP, \
    weewx.restx.StdWOW, \
    weewx.restx.StdAWEKAS
        report_services = \
    weewx.wxengine.StdPrint, \
    weewx.wxengine.StdReport
[Engine]
    [[Services]]
        prep_services = \
    weewx.engine.StdTimeSynch
        process_services = \
    weewx.engine.StdConvert, \
    weewx.engine.StdCalibrate, \
    weewx.engine.StdQC, \
    weewx.wxservices.StdWXCalculate
        archive_services = \
    weewx.engine.StdArchive
        restful_services = \
    weewx.restx.StdStationRegistry, \
    weewx.restx.StdWunderground, \
    weewx.restx.StdPWSweather, \
    weewx.restx.StdCWOP, \
    weewx.restx.StdWOW, \
    weewx.restx.StdAWEKAS
        report_services = \
    weewx.engine.StdPrint, \
    weewx.engine.StdReport

Custom data sources in skins

The mechanism for specifying non-default data sources in skins has changed. If you modified the Standard skin, or created or used other skins that draw data from a database other than the weather database, you must change how the other sources are specified.

For example, in the cmon extension:

2.7 3.0
[ImageGenerator]
    ...
    [[day_images]]
        ...
        [[[daycpu]]]
            archive_database = cmon_sqlite
            [[[cpu_user]]]
            [[[cpu_idle]]]
            [[[cpu_system]]]
[ImageGenerator]
    ...
    [[day_images]]
        ...
        [[[daycpu]]]
            data_binding = cmon_binding
            [[[cpu_user]]]
            [[[cpu_idle]]]
            [[[cpu_system]]]

Extensions

Many skins will work in v3 with no modification required. However, every search list extension will have to be upgraded, every restful extension must be upgraded, and some other services must be upgraded.

There is no automated upgrade system for extensions; if an extension must be upgraded, you must do it manually. If the extension has any python code, this will mean replacing any v2-compatible code with v3-compatible code. In some cases parts of the configuration file weewx.conf must be modified.

For example, to update the pmon extension, replace bin/user/pmon.py with the v3-compatible pmon.py and modify weewx.conf as shown in this table:

2.7 3.0
[ProcessMonitor]
    database = pmon_sqlite
[ProcessMonitor]
    data_binding = pmon_binding
[DataBindings]
    [[pmon_binding]]
        database = pmon_sqlite
        manager = weewx.manager.DaySummaryManager
        table_name = archive
        schema = user.pmon.schema
[Databases]
    [[pmon_sqlite]]
        root = %(WEEWX_ROOT)s
        database = archive/pmon.sdb
        driver = weedb.sqlite
[Databases]
    [[pmon_sqlite]]
        root = %(WEEWX_ROOT)s
        database_name = archive/pmon.sdb
        driver = weedb.sqlite

For other extensions, see the extension's documentation or contact the author of the extension.

Search list extensions

The introduction of data bindings has meant a change in the calling signature of search list extensions. By way of example, here's the example from the section Extending the list in the Customizing Guide, with the differences highlighted.

2.7 3.0
def get_extension(self, timespan, archivedb, statsdb):

    all_stats = TimeSpanStats(
        timespan,
        statsdb,
        formatter=self.generator.formatter,
        converter=self.generator.converter)
    week_dt = datetime.date.fromtimestamp(timespan.stop) - \
              datetime.timedelta(weeks=1)
    week_ts = time.mktime(week_dt.timetuple())
    seven_day_stats = TimeSpanStats(
        TimeSpan(week_ts, timespan.stop),
        statsdb,
        formatter=self.generator.formatter,
        converter=self.generator.converter)
    
    search_list_extension = {'alltime'   : all_stats,
                             'seven_day' : seven_day_stats}
            
    return search_list_extension
def get_extension_list(self, timespan, db_lookup):
    
    all_stats = TimespanBinder(
        timespan, 
        db_lookup,
        formatter=self.generator.formatter,
        converter=self.generator.converter)
    week_dt = datetime.date.fromtimestamp(timespan.stop) - \
        datetime.timedelta(weeks=1)
    week_ts = time.mktime(week_dt.timetuple())
    seven_day_stats = TimespanBinder(
        TimeSpan(week_ts, timespan.stop),
        db_lookup,
        formatter=self.generator.formatter,
        converter=self.generator.converter)
    
    search_list_extension = {'alltime'   : all_stats,
                             'seven_day' : seven_day_stats}
            
    return [search_list_extension]

A few things to note:

Derived quantities

Some calculations that were done in drivers or in hardware are now done consistently by the new StdWXCalculate service. Drivers should no longer calculate derived quantities such as windchill, heatindex, dewpoint, or rain rate.

Driver APIs

The base class for drivers has been renamed, and new, optional, methods have been defined to provide hooks for configuring hardware and producing default and upgraded configuration stanzas.

These changes affect only those who have written custom drivers.

2.7 3.0
import weewx.abstractstation
    
class ACME960(weewx.abstractstation.AbstractStation):
    ...
import weewx.drivers
    
class ACME960(weewx.drivers.AbstractDevice):
    ...

Service APIs

The base class for services has moved.

This affects only those who have written custom services.

2.7 3.0
import weewx.wxengine
    
class BetterMousetrapService(weewx.wxengine.StdService):
    ...
import weewx.engine
    
class BetterMousetrapService(weewx.engine.StdService):
    ...

RESTful APIs

Some of the methods internal to RESTful services have changed, specifically those that relate to getting configuration options from weewx.conf and configuring databases.

This affects only those who have written custom RESTful services.

Here is an example of obtaining the database dictionary for use in the RESTful service thread.

2.7 3.0
site_dict = weewx.restx.get_dict(config_dict, 'Uploader')
db_name = config_dict['StdArchive']['archive_database']
db_dict = config_dict['Databases'][db_name]
site_dict.setdefault('database_dict', db_dict)
site_dict = config_dict['StdRESTful']['Uploader']
site_dict = accumulateLeaves(site_dict, max_level=1)
manager_dict = weewx.manager.open_manager_with_config(
    config_dict, 'wx_binding')

Database APIs

The methods for obtaining, opening, and querying databases have changed. This affects only those who have written code that accesses databases.

The class Manager and its subclasses have replaced the old Archive class. The table name is no longer hard-coded, so developers should use the table name from the database binding. There is no longer a separate StatsDb class, its functions having been subsumed into the Manager class and its subclasses.

A new class DBBinder is the preferred way of getting a Manager class, as it will automatically take care of instantiating the right class, as well as caching instances of Manager. An instance of DBBinder is held by the engine as attribute db_binder. Here's an example of making a simple query.

2.7 3.0
db = config_dict['StdArchive']['archive_database']
self.database_dict = config_dict['Databases'][db]
with weewx.archive.Archive.open(self.database_dict) as archive:
    val = archive.getSql("SELECT AVG(windSpeed) FROM archive"
                         " WHERE dateTime>? AND dateTime<=?",
                         (start_ts, end_ts))
with self.engine.db_binder.get_manager('wx_binding') as mgr:
    val = mgr.getSql("SELECT AVG(windSpeed) FROM %s"
                     " WHERE dateTime>? AND dateTime<=?" %
                     mgr.table_name, (start_ts, end_ts))

Generator APIs

The base class for report generators has changed. The old class CachedReportGenerator no longer exists; its functionality has been replaced by an instance of DBBinder, held by the generator superclass. This affects only those who have written customer generators.

Here's an example:

2.7 3.0
class GaugeGenerator(weewx.reportengine.CachedReportGenerator)
    def run(self):
        archive_name = self.config_dict['GaugeGenerator']['archive_name']
        archive = self._getArchive(archive_name)
        results = archive.getSql(...)
class GaugeGenerator(weewx.reportengine.ReportGenerator)
    def run(self):
        mgr = self.generator.db_binder.get_manager()
        results = mgr.getSql(...)

Extension installer

The setup.py utility is now included in the installation; it is no longer necessary to keep a copy of the WeeWX source tree just for the setup.py utility.

For .deb and .rpm installations, the command wee_setup is a symlink to setup.py.

The options for installing extensions changed slightly to be more consistent with the rest of the options to setup.py.

2.7 3.0
setup.py --extension --install extensions/basic
setup.py --extension --install basic.tar.gz
setup.py --extension --uninstall basic
setup.py --extension --list
setup.py --extension --install basic.tar.gz --dryrun
setup.py install --extension extensions/basic
setup.py install --extension basic.tar.gz
setup.py uninstall --extension basic
setup.py list-extensions
setup.py install --extension basic.tar.gz --dry-run

From V2.6 or earlier

Version 2.7 is backwards compatible with earlier versions with one minor exception.

It now includes the ability to localize the WeeWX and server uptimes. Previously, the labels days, hours, and minutes were hardcoded in a Python utility. There was no way of changing them. Now, like any other labels, they are taken from the skin configuration file, skin.conf, section [[Labels]]. Older configuration files had a definition for hour, but none for day, and minute. Also, the old definition for hour used an abbreviation hrs instead of hours.

If you do nothing, your WeeWX and station uptimes will look like:

Weewx uptime:  1 day, 1 hrs, 41 minutes
Server uptime: 2 days, 10 hrs, 22 minutes

Note how the label for hours is abbreviated and always uses the plural. If you want the previous behavior, or if you want to localize the labels, you should update your skin configuration file. Remove the old entries for hour and second and replace them with:

day               = " day",    " days"
hour              = " hour",   " hours"
minute            = " minute", " minutes"
second            = " second", " seconds"

The first item is the singular spelling, the second the plural. This will result in the desired

Weewx uptime:  1 day, 1 hour, 41 minutes
Server uptime: 2 days, 10 hours, 22 minutes

From V2.5 or earlier

Version 2.6 is backwards compatible with earlier versions, with a couple of small exceptions.

From V2.3 or earlier

The option time_length will now be the exact length of the resultant plot. Before, a plot with time_length equal to 24 hours would result in a plot of 27 hours, now it's 24 hours. If you want the old behavior, set it equal to 27 hours. To do this, change your section in skin.conf from

[[day_images]]
    x_label_format = %H:%M
    bottom_label_format = %m/%d/%y %H:%M
    time_length = 86400 # == 24 hours

to

[[day_images]]
    x_label_format = %H:%M
    bottom_label_format = %m/%d/%y %H:%M
    time_length = 97200 # == 27 hours

The service StdTimeSync now synchronizes the console's onboard clock on startup. This is nice because if the clock failed, perhaps because the battery was taken out, the time is corrected first before data is downloaded from the logger's memory. To take advantage of this, you can move service StdTimeSync to the front of the list of services to be run. For example:

[[WxEngine]]
    # The list of services the main weewx engine should run:
    service_list = weewx.wxengine.StdTimeSynch, weewx.wxengine.StdConvert,
    weewx.wxengine.StdCalibrate, weewx.wxengine.StdQC, weewx.wxengine.StdArchive, weewx.wxengine.StdPrint,
    weewx.wxengine.StdRESTful, weewx.wxengine.StdReport

From V2.2 or earlier

The signature of the function "loader", used to return an instance of the station device driver, has changed slightly. It has changed from

loader(config_dict)

to

loader(config_dict, engine)

That is, a second parameter, engine, has been added. This is a reference to the WeeWX engine.

This change will affect only those who have written their own device driver.

From V2.1 or earlier

Version 2.2 introduces a schema, found in bin/user/schemas.py, for the stats database. This schema is used only when initially creating the database. If you have a specialized stats database, that is, one that saves types other than the default that comes with WeeWX, you should edit this file to reflect your changes before attempting to rebuild the database.

From V1.14 or earlier

Version 2.0 introduces many new features, including a revamped internal engine. There are two changes that are not backwards compatible:

All skins should be completely backwards compatible, so you should not have to change your templates or skin configuration file, skin.conf.

If you have written a custom report generator it should also be backwards compatible.

From V1.13 or earlier

Version 1.14 introduces some new webpages that have been expressly formatted for the smartphone by using jQuery.

The skins shipped with the distribution take advantage of these features. If you do nothing, your old skins will continue to work, but you will not be taking advantage of these new webpages.

If you want them, then you have two choices:

  1. Rename your old skin directory (call it "skins.old") then do the install. This will install the new skin distribution. You can then modify it to reflect any changes you have made, referring to skins.old for guidance. If you have not changed many things, this approach will be the easiest.
  2. Alternatively, change the contents of your existing skin directory to include the new webpages. If you take this approach, you will need to copy over the contents of the subdirectory skins/Standard/smartphone from the distribution into your skins/Standard directory. You will then need to modify your skin.conf.

    After the section that looks like

    [[[Mobile]]]
        template = mobile.html.tmpl

    add the following directives:

    [[[MobileSmartphone]]]
        template = smartphone/index.html.tmpl
    [[[MobileTempOutside]]]
        template = smartphone/temp_outside.html.tmpl
    [[[MobileRain]]]
        template = smartphone/rain.html.tmpl
    [[[MobileBarometer]]]
        template = smartphone/barometer.html.tmpl
    [[[MobileWind]]]
        template = smartphone/wind.html.tmpl
    [[[MobileRadar]]]
        template = smartphone/radar.html.tmpl

    Then modify section [CopyGenerator] to add the highlighted files:

    [CopyGenerator]
        #
        # This section is used by the generator CopyGenerator
        #
        
        # List of files that are to be copied at the first invocation of the generator only
        copy_once = backgrounds/*, weewx.css, mobile.css, favicon.ico, smartphone/icons/*, smartphone/custom.js

Whichever approach you chose, the generated files will appear in public_html/smartphone. The start of the document root will be at public_html/smartphone/index.html. You may want to add a link to this in the template for your main index page skins/Standard/index.html.tmpl.

From V1.12 or earlier

Version 1.13 changed the way binding happens to the databases used in reports so that it happens much later. The upshot is that the signature of a few functions changed. Most you are unlikely to encounter. The exception is if you have written custom template search lists, as described in the Customizing weewx guide. This section has been updated to reflect the new function signatures. As a side effect, the illustrated example actually has become much simpler!

No changes to skins.

From V1.9 or earlier

Version 1.10 introduced several new features.

New almanac features, icon, and mobile template

Version 1.10 introduces some extra almanac features, such as the azimuth and elevation of the sun and moon, or when the next solstice will be. It also includes a template formatted for smartphones, as well as an icon ("favicon.ico") that displays in your browser toolbar. The skins shipped with the distribution take advantage of these features. If you do nothing, your old skins will continue to work, but you will not take advantage of these new features.

If you want these new features then you have two choices:

  1. Rename your old skin directory (call it "skin.old") then do the install. This will install the new skin distribution. You can modify it to reflect any changes you have made, referring to skin.old for guidance.
  2. Alternatively, change the contents of your existing skin directory to take advantage of the new features. If you take this approach, you will need to copy over files favicon.ico, mobile.css, and mobile.html.tmpl from the distribution into your skin/Standard directory. Modify skins/Standard/index.html.tmpl to take advantage of the new almanac features, using the version shipped with the distribution for guidance. You will then need to modify your skin.conf.

    Add a new [[[Mobile]]] section:

    [FileGenerator]
        ...
        [[ToDate]]
            ...
        [[[Mobile]]]
            template = mobile.html.tmpl

    Then add mobile.css and favicon.ico to the list of files to be copied on report generation:

    [CopyGenerator]
        copy_once = backgrounds/*, weewx.css, mobile.css, favicon.ico

Which approach you should take will depend on how extensively you have modified the stock skin distribution. If the modifications are slight, approach #1 will be easier, otherwise use approach #2.

Backwards compatibility

With the introduction of explicit control of output units in the templates such as

$day.outTemp.max.degree_C

the calling signature of the following two Python classes was changed

The example of writing a custom generator MyFileGenerator (which produced "all time" statistics) has been changed to reflect the new signatures.

This will only affect you if you have written a custom generator.

From V1.7.0 or earlier

With the introduction of a standard archiving service, StdArchive, the names of some events have changed. This will not affect you unless you have written a custom service.

From V.1.5.0 or earlier

V1.7 introduces skins. The skins live in subdirectory skins. They are not compatible with the old template subdirectory --- you can't simply rename templates to skins.

The part of the configuration file dealing with the presentation layer has been split off into a separate file skin.conf. Hence, once again, the installation script setup.py will NOT merge your old weewx.conf configuration file into the new one. You will have to re-edit weewx.conf to put in your customizations. You may also have to edit skin.conf for whatever skin you choose (right now, only one skin, Standard, comes with the distribution).

However, a reinstall of V1.7 will merge your changes for weewx.conf. It will also merge any changes you have made to skin.conf as well.

Please check the following:

The directory 'templates' is no longer used; it has been replaced with directory 'skins'. You may delete it if you wish:

rm -r templates

From V1.4.0 or earlier

Because the configuration file weewx.conf changed significantly going from V1.4 to V1.5, the installation script setup.py will NOT merge your old configuration file into the new one. You will have to re-edit weewx.conf to put in your customizations.

From V1.2.0 or earlier

Option clock_check, previously found in the [VantagePro] section, is now found in the [Station] section. The install program will put a default value in the new place, but it will not delete nor move your old value over. If you have changed this value or if you cannot stand the thought of clock_check appearing in two different places, you should delete the old one found under [VantagePro] and make sure the new value, found under [Station] is correct.

Two Python files are no longer used, so they may be deleted from your installation if you wish:

rm bin/weewx/processdata.py
rm bin/weewx/mainloop.py

In addition, file readme.htm has been moved to subdirectory docs, so the old one can be deleted:

rm readme.htm