FAQ

A page for frequently asked questions.

Q: Why do I need additional libraries to run PyWeather?

A: I use additional libraries to easily add functions that would otherwise take longer to implement. The libraries PyWeather uses (as of 0.6.4 beta indev) are listed below, along with the reasoning:

• Geopy - Used for making geocoder requests
• Colorama - Used for making PyWeather colorful
• Requests - Used as a substitute to urllib3 after encountering issues, and it's also just easier to use
• Halo - Used for the progress spinners
• Click - Used for progress bars when downloading PyWeather in the new PyWeather Universal Updater

Q: Why won't you make PyWeather for Python 2?

A: I learned Python 3, and Python 2 is going to be depreciated in the future.

Q: Why won't PyWeather work on my platform?

A: PyWeather can't run on every platform, because unexpected stuff happens. On some platforms, some stuff works great, but on others, some stuff doesn't. On most normal platforms, PyWeather will run flawlessly. On other specialized, or unusual platforms, PyWeather might not run at all, or somewhat work.

Q: Will you release a fix for X platform?

A: Probably not, but it all depends on what platforms are affected, and how they're affected. For example, I'm fixing the rounding issues with Termux on mobile as it's an important platform for PyWeather to run on, and the rounding issues degrade the experience on Termux.

However, take an issue with degree symbols on Pi-Top OS Polaris. I'm not about to release a fix, or create an entirely new branch just to have PyWeather work on the platform, because it's a relatively easy to fix issue.

Q: Why do I need to get an API key from Wunderground?

A: Q: Why are you so lazy?

Q: When will the next version of PyWeather release?

A: If you're actually wondering, PyWeather 1.0.0 (formerly 0.6.4 beta) will come out in late 2018.

Q: How can I contribute to PyWeather?

A: It's easy to help me with PyWeather. Even if you can't code Python, you can report bugs which tremendously help PyWeather. If you can code PyWeather, you can code in new features, or make minor changes that you feel is necessary.

More info is in the CONTRIBUTING.md file in the .github folder.

Q: Should I use PyWeather during a severe storm?

A: No, but let me explain.

Using PyWeather during normal weather is completely safe, so if you're checking the weather a few days out, it's fine.

During severe thunderstorms, PyWeather is pretty safe to use. However, if you're using PyWeather during a weather event that could cause damage to life and limb (tornado outbreaks, tsunamis, tropical storms, you get the idea), DO NOT USE PYWEATHER.

Even though PyWeather has an alert and radar system, I can't guarantee that you'll get this data in a timely fashion compared to emergency alerts pushed to your phone, or listening to local authorities that have the latest weather information.

It's also important to mention that PyWeather cannot get radar data or alert data for every location on Earth. PyWeather is meant to check the weather for fun. In a severe weather scenario, don't use PyWeather.

Q: Why do you slack off so much?

A: It's not really slacking off, it's just that I have a lot of other things to do in my life, plus some time to relax and game.

Oh, and school. That's also a thing.

Q: Why do you use appJar instead of native tkinter?

A: From my observations, tkinter is A LOT harder to work with than appJar. appJar is still something to wrangle with, but it's a lot easier than tkinter, and I have experience with it.

In future projects I'll likely use tkinter instead of appJar, but for this project it's a watered down version of tkinter for now.

Q: When will PyWeather be done?

A: See the timeline page.

Q: Will PyWeather support Python 4 when it comes out?

A: It honestly depends. It's fun to look at Python 2 and 3, and how people who learned to use Python 2 still do, and people who learned to use Python 3 use Python 3. Since I'll want to keep working with Python for a long time, PyWeather will most likely get ported to Python 4.