NAME

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

VERSION

Version 0.03

INSTALLATION

To install this module, run the following commands:

perl Makefile.PL
make
make test
make install

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

"Ham::Reference::Solar" is Copyright (C) 2008-2010 Brad McConahay N8QQ.

This module is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the Artistic License 2.0. For details, see the full text of the license in the file LICENSE.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but it is provided "as is" and without any express or implied warranties. For details, see the full text of the license in the file LICENSE.