Python Weather Microservice

Description

This Python microservice provides real-time weather information based on city names. It utilizes the Tomorrow.io Weather API to fetch weather data, returning details such as temperature, weather conditions, and a symbolic ASCII art representation of the current weather.

Installation

Prerequisites

• Python 3.x
• requests library (for making HTTP requests)
• An API key from Tomorrow.io

Setup

1. Clone the Repository

   git clone [Your Repository URL]
   cd [Your Repository Directory]

2. Install Dependencies

   Use virtual env, create one

   python3 -m venv weather_env

   Then activate by executing

   source weather_env/bin/activate

   Deactivate:

   deactivate

   Use pip to install the required Python packages:

   pip3 install requests art json

3. API Key Configuration

   • Obtain an API key from Tomorrow.io.

   • Create a config.json file in the same directory as your Python script with the following content:

     {
       "TOMORROW_IO_API_KEY": "your_api_key_here"
     }

   • Replace your_api_key_here with your actual API key.

   • Ensure config.json is added to your .gitignore file to prevent it from being pushed to public repositories.

Usage

1. Run the Server

   Start the microservice by running:

   python3 weather.py

   This will start the HTTP server on port 8000.

2. Accessing the Service

   To fetch weather information, access the service via a web browser or a tool like curl using:

   http://localhost:8000/?city=CityName
   

   Replace CityName with the desired city's name.

   Example:

   http://localhost:8000/?city=Toronto
   

3. Response Format

   The service returns a JSON object containing weather data, including temperature, weather conditions, and an ASCII representation of the current weather.