NAME

Ham::Reference::Solar - Get basic solar data from the web that's useful for Amateur Radio applications.

VERSION

Version 0.02

SYNOPSIS

  use Ham::Reference::Solar;

  my $solar = new Ham::Reference::Solar;
  die $solar->error_message if $solar->is_error;

  # access data with a hash reference

  foreach (sort keys %{$solar->get_hashref})
  {
     print "$_ = $solar->{$_}\n";
  }

  # or access data with the get method

  foreach (sort @{$solar->all_item_names})
  {
     print "$_ = ".$solar->get($_)."\n";
  }

DESCRIPTION

The Ham::Reference::Solar module makes use of WM7D's Solar Resource Page to "scrape" (parse) data and return it for your use.

Please note that this module depends on the current formatting of the web site, and if it changes, this module will no longer work until I have a chance to update it.

CONSTRUCTOR

new()

 Usage    : my $solar = Ham::Reference::Solar->new();
 Function : creates a new Ham::Reference::Solar object
 Returns  : a Ham::Reference::Solar object
 Args     : a hash:
            key       required?   value
            -------   ---------   -----
            timeout   no          an integer of seconds to wait for
                                  the timeout of the web site
                                  default = 10

METHODS

get()

 Usage    : my $sunspots = $solar->get( $data_item_name );
 Function : gets a single item of solar data
 Returns  : a Ham::Reference::Solar object
 Args     : a single item from the list of data items below

set()

 Usage    : $solar->set( $data_item_name, $new_value );
 Function : gets a single item of solar data
 Returns  : n/a
 Args     : data-item: see the list of data items below
            data-value: any value with which you'd like to override the actual value

get_hashref()

 Usage    : my $hashref = $solar->get_hashref();
 Function : get all current solar data
            (this is probably the easiest way to access data)
 Returns  : a hash reference
 Args     : n/a

all_item_names()

 Usage    : my $arrayref = $solar->all_item_names();
 Function : get an array reference of all solar data items available
            from the object   
 Returns  : an array reference
 Args     : n/a

is_error()

 Usage    : if ( $solar->is_error() )
 Function : test for an error if one was returned from the call to the web site
 Returns  : a string, the error message
 Args     : n/a

error_message()

 Usage    : my $err_msg = $solar->error_message();
 Function : if there was an error message when trying to call the site, this is it
 Returns  : a string, the error message
 Args     : n/a

DATA ITEMS

The following items are available from the object. Use them with the get() method or access them with the get_hashref() method.

sfi

Solar flux index.

a-index

The A-index number.

a-index-text

The text interpretation of the A-index.

k-index

The K-index number.

k-index-text

The text interpretation of the K-index.

forecast

Brief text forecast for the next 24 hours

summary

Bried text summary for the past 24 hours.

sunspots

Current sunspot count.

image

URL for the current solar image from the Solar and Heliosphereic Observatory.

image_thumbnail

URL for the current thumbnail sized solar image from the Solar and Heliosphereic Observatory.

time

Time of the last update.

TODO

• Convert date to something more useful.
• Add more data items.
• Improve documentation and error checking.
• Maybe improve the synopsis.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This module gets its data from WM7D's Solar Resource Page at http://www.wm7d.net/hamradio/solar. Thanks to Mark A. Downing!

AUTHOR

Brad McConahay N8QQ <brad@n8qq.com>

COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE

Copyright 2008 Brad McConahay N8QQ, all rights reserved.

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself.