Hamweather
This is a Ruby API to an XML webservice providing weather detail for global locations. It can handle diverse locations by Zip Code, Canadian Post code or by any international address.
-
It requires a Google Maps API key: code.google.com/apis/maps/signup.html
-
It requires a Hamweather API key, contact Hamweather to discuss: www.hamweather.com/
Installation
> sudo gem install hamweather
Usage
require ‘rubygems’ require ‘hamweather’
*** Hamweather is a singleton class, it takes the two API keys as such: Hamweather.google_maps_api_key = “ … ” Hamweather.api_key = “ … ”
@location = Hamweather.locate(‘Belfast’) # Assuming your location is unambiguous: @forecast = Hamweather.forecast(@location) # Forecast is returned as a Hamweather::Forecast object
What ‘address’ to use?
Zip Code, Canadian Postcode, International Address - it doesn’t really matter. This API uses the Google Maps API to geolocate any address which doesn’t fit either of the former precisely. Which means the user could input “Lodnon” and get the right location as it’s parsing is intelligent.
Using Hamweather::Location
If the ‘address’ you enter is ambiguous, the API may return a hash of Location objects which you can use to choose. Check this by: @location.kind_of?(Hash) Otherwise @location.zipcode @location.postcode? @location.geocode? will tell you what type of Location you have.
Using Hamweather::Forecast
Assuming @location has been defined, @forecast = Hamweather.forecast(@location) will return a Hamweather::Forecast object. A Forecast object has two available hashes: dailies{} and hourlies{} which give all available Daily forecasts and Hourly forecasts respectively. Each Daily or Hourly forecast is a Hash of Hamweather::Forecast::Daily or Hamweather::Forecast::Hourly objects.
The Daily object has a list of it’s Hourly Forecasts available to you: ‘hours’ Forecast variables available in a Daily forecast are:
:high_farenheit
:high_celsius
:low_farenheit
:low_celsius
:day
:date
:expected_weather
:detail
:probability_of_preciptiation
Forecast variables available in an Hourly forecast are:
:date
:time
:expected_weather
:temp_celsius
:temp_farenheit
:probability_of_precipitation
:precipitation_millimeters
:precipitation_inches
:dew_point_celsius
:dew_point_farenheit
:relative_humidity
:wind_speed_knots
:wind_speed_mph
:wind_direction