H. Glossary

This is a brief glossary of terms and their meaning in the context of Meteotemplate.

abbreviations	Here are a few abbreviations which you can encounter in script names, support etc. AU - Australia CA - Canada CU - Cumulus EU - Europe GA - Google Analytics MB - Meteobridge MT - Meteotemplate NWS - National Weather Service US - the United States of America WD - Weather Display WL - Weather Link WU - Weather Underground
alldata	alldata is the name of the main MySQL table, where all data from the station is saved and which is used all over the site to display and analyze this information
blocks	independent widgets that are placed on the homepage. They can be downloaded separately in the Blocks section and then installed as described in the wiki.
blog	the Meteotemplate Blog is where you find information about new features, updates, the newsletter, you can post your own comments there, contact me or search through the posts.
clientraw.txt	a small textfile that is used by users that use the Weather Display software. It contains the current data from your weather station and this where the scripts get the information, which is subsequently saved in the database.
color scheme	the term color scheme is in this case used for the main color you use for your template. Meteotemplate always uses various shades of two main colors that you can freely combine. This is all specified in the setup.php. For example, the Demo you see at meteotemplate.com currently uses a combination of dark red and grey.
config.php	config.php is the main settings file, which contains the core parameters for the template to function. Up until version 6.0 Blueberry, this file was manually edited by the webmaster. This procedure was later transferred completely to a graphical user interface and so the config is now created and edited using the setup.php script.
control panel	section of the page, which can only be accessed by the webmaster, providing a password. In this section you can for example set up the Blocks, empty cache, check your database, setup plugins etc. You can enter this section by clicking the lock icon on the right hand side in the footer.
CRON job	CRON job is a time-based job scheduler. It is used to execute a specific script (in this case the one that updates the database) at regular time intervals or a specific time. You specify the URL of the script, the time details and it will execute this script, thus saving new data into your database.
database units	the units of measurement in which the data is saved in the database
debugging mode	this mode can be temporarly activated in the setup.php. By default you should, under normal circumstances, always leave this disabled. Only activate it if you run into problems - your template is for some reason not working as it should and I ask you to do so. It will then show all the problems on the actual site. Please also note that in addition to actual errors, this activates also the PHP Notices. It is important to distinguish between these, PHP notices are not errors and do not necessarily mean something is wrong.
display units	the units of measurement in which the data is displayed on the actual site. This can also be changed by the users themselves in the settings dialog and saved as a cookie locally on their computer.
index.php	this site is loaded by default when the user types in the URL of your template. It only contains information about the redirection - i.e. whether the user should be redirected to the Mobile version of the template or the Desktop one. Also note, that it is always possible to force one version or the other by clicking the corresponding icon in the footer.
indexDesktop.php	this is the address of your main homepage for PCs, laptops etc. The user is redirected here from the index.php based on the device they use to view your site.
indexMobile.php	this site is the main homepage for smaller screens - i.e. smartphones and also tablets (if you enable this in the index.php). The user is redirected here based on the device and screen resolution they are using and the settings you make in the index.php.
FAQ	Frequently Asked Questions - a section at meteotemplate.com, where you can find answers to common questions regarding the template
fruits	each version number of the template has its own codename, which represents a certain fruit. This is really just to differentiate between them. Don't look for any deeper meaning in this :) Strawberry - version 1.2 Water Melon - version 2.0 Sour Cherry - version 3.0 Black Cherry - version 3.1 Mango - version 4.0 Kiwi - version 5.0 Blueberry - version 6.0 Pomegranate - version 7.0
footer	footer is the bottom part containing a link to meteotemplate.com and also the text you specified in the setup and is loaded on each page of your website.
header	header is the top section of the page above the menu, which is loaded on each site of the template.
Highcharts	Highcharts is a freeware (for non-commercial purposes) Javascript library, that is used in the template to draw all the graphs
interactive banner	the interactive banner is an interactive header, which is created based on current conditions. If you enable this feature in the setup, the script will first connect and download the current METAR and based on this information and in combination with your station data, it will create the interactive banner. This banner consists of a background image and also shows animated rain drops or snow flakes, based on the current conditions. It takes into account for example whether it is day time or night time, cloudiness, Moon phase, wind speed and direction (rain drops angle), weather phenonmena - rain, thunderstorm, snow etc.
jQuery	jQuery is the most widely used JavaScript library in the world, also used by Meteotemplate, which makes it much easier to perform various tasks, such as for example the interactive sliding of sections, date/time pickers etc.
menu.php	menu.php is the script which contains the links that are subsequently displayed in the main menu under the header. Information about how to use it and modify it are included in the wiki.
menu block	menu blocks were first introduced in version 7.0 Pomegranate. You can think of them as dynamic blocks, which means that it is a block, where several blocks can be toggled using a menu icon in the top-left corner. This allows saving space and placing basically infinite number of blocks on the homepage. User can select in the menu, which block they want to load in that slot. More information about how to install these is provided in the wiki, in the section about the Homepage.
meteobridge	Meteobridge is a software/hardware, which is used for getting your station data online. It is connected to your station and also sends the data it retrieves online.
multiple block	multiple block is a special block, which contains more than one block and can be placed into one slot on the homepage. This is further explained in the wiki and should be used for example to save space and offers the possibility to put two or more narrow blocks side by side in a wide column.
newsletter	a PDF document that is published, usually weekly, which contains information about new features and other information about the template in general. If you subscribe to the blog or send me an email asking to be added to the subscription list, you will be emailed a new issue each time a new one is available. You can also read past issues in the Blog.
plugins	add-ons for your page. These can be downloaded separately in the Plugins section and then installed as described in the wiki. Unlike blocks, these are not shown on the homepage, but work as separate page(s) and are accessible via the main menu under the top header.
realtime.txt	a small text file used by users who use the Cumulus software. It contains the current data from your weather station, which is subsequently uploaded and saved in the MySQL database.
setup.php	this script is used to set up the template. It is here where you specify all the details about MySQL, design, units, headings, warnings etc. This file then creates the config.php, where this information is saved.
theme	this word is used for the appearance of your homepage. There are two different themese available: light and dark. You can specify which one you want to use in your homepage setup, as explained in the wiki.
wiki	wiki is the section of meteotemplate.com, where you currently are and which provides a step by step tutorial of how to install and use the template.