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Monthly log files (view source)

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Please be aware that all of the above links lead to documentation about files that may be described as ''monthly log files'' when reading individual Cumulus forum and wiki references.  
Please be aware that all of the above links lead to documentation about files that may be described as ''monthly log files'' when reading individual Cumulus forum and wiki references.  


For the original Cumulus software (Cumulus 1 and 2), the name "monthly log" was most frequently used as a collective term for the last two files linked above.
==Potential Name Confusion==


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. The terminology is misleading as that database table is not organised by month in any way, a single table contains every logged line that has been inserted into it by '''ExportMySQL.exe''' or '''CumulusMX.exe'''.
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'''.


Anyway, as 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. This MX practice is a misleading naming for novices as a line does not represent a month (in the way each dayfile line represents a day), the name has been adopted because a new log file is started for each month. Further more the practice leaves "month.ini" without a descriptive name.  
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.


As already pointed out, there is possible confusion because the last two links do contain monthly data in each line, just like the daily summary log file contains daily data in each line.
During the development of the original Cumulus software (Cumulus 1 and 2) by Steve Loft, the name "monthly log" was most frequently used as a collective term for the last two (.ini) files linked above because those files tracked the monthly extreme records.  


The original Steve Loft terminology for each of the log files, when they were first introduced in his original Cumulus software has been adopted throughout the documentation, to avoid possible future confusion for those looking at older articles in this wiki or oldest posts on the forum.  It is probable that newcomers to Cumulus will prefer to use the terminology used in this documentation, where '''files are named based on their content'''.
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.
 
The new terminology can be misleading as that database table is not organised by month in any way, a single table contains every logged line that has been inserted into it by '''ExportMySQL.exe''' or '''CumulusMX.exe'''.
 
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, but a line in "Oct16log.txt" does not represent a month, and the 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
 
A future Wiki editor may decide on a different strategy, but at the moment the Cumulus Wiki tries to adopt the original Steve Loft terminology for each of the log files, for consistency with older articles in this Wiki and the oldest posts on the forum.


=Enhancement never implemented=
=Enhancement never implemented=
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