GAIN Format error

[petzolino]

Hello

I wonder if anyone has seen this or can point me to the right direction - These errors are showing up in the WebUI every day.

Gain is simply set at 1. Somehow it looks like it's a formatting error. I seem to recall an issue when I change the Locale to de_DE.UTF-8, as I have it now - That's what's set on the PI5. Is it in anyway related?

best regards
Mark

support-none-20250324091124.zip

ERROR: Cannot use format ':.1f' on Number variables
like ${GAIN} (value=1,046325).   (März 22, 07:33:50 )

[EricClaeys]

The :.1f format is for numbers that use a period for the decimal point.
There's a different format for numbers with commas. I don't remember what it is, but if you click on the ? when editing a field, it will be in the list.

Allsky needs better international support...

[petzolino]

Hello Eric
Thankyou for your time and input. Do I understand correctly that you are assuming the wrong separator is being used? That's what I thought too, but the fact that the error comes up quite randomly rules this out in my mind. I'm seeing maybe 10 errors out for 50+ captures during the night.
I've reset the Pi and software to the default en_GB.UTF-8 again an see if it sticks.
Thanks again

[petzolino]

I reset the Pi and software to the default en_GB.UTF-8 again and I don't see any more errors. It seems that changing the Locale may break a few other things. Will be keeping it as default in the future.

[EricClaeys]

@petzolino, Mark,

If there weren't any problems, what would you like to be able to do and see?

Would you like the locale to be de_DE.UTF-8 and have commas as the decimal point with a period as the thousands separator? So the gain, for example, would look like 1,046325 instead of the english style of 1.046325.

Allsky needs to be international friendly.

@Alex-developer, thoughts?

[petzolino]

Hello Eric

As you said, I would have liked the separators as we use them here in Germany. I haven't checked if locale.conf also changes other variables like Language (error and logs). It's not that important really, just a cosmetic issue. Maybe we could have a choice of GUI Language and Land settings in the Settings Page in the future? That way the program could accommodate Language idiosyncrasies as well as Separator choices.
While I'm here: Is there a way to impliment an NTP Service (OpenNTPD?) - That way the timestamps are accurate across the board, important for flagging events from different locations.

The Pi5 has an RTC of sorts, as long as it is powered. I just added the battery cell to keep time accurate during reboots or tweaks. I'll be adding a DS3221 when I have some time, unless you impliment NTP in a future release..?

Thanks and best regards
Mark

[EricClaeys]

Mark,
Using the German locale will cause Linux to produce some (or all?) messages in German, like when it can't find a file.
Allsky will use a comma for the decimal point in the log file, but I don't think anywhere else.
The Allsky Website can display the constellation overlay in about 10 languages via the lang setting in configuration.json.

I think it would be a HUGE effort for Allsky to speak in different languages, BUT, I hope we can get it to work with different separators and date formats (e.g., mm/dd/yyyy versus dd/mm/yyyy) and 12 versus 24-hours.
We could really use a non-English speaking person on the Allsky team to help ...

What is a Land setting?

I thought the Pi / Linux already supported NTP servers? I can't remember the last time I reset the clock on any of my Pi's and they all have the correct time.

[petzolino]

Eric,
Duh, of course the Pi's have NTP built in. I don't know what I was thinking there.

Maybe we could have a choice of GUI Language and Land settings in the Settings Page in the future?

I ment Language and Country - as in having an English interface but German separator convention.

I agree that it would be a huge effort to make Allsky international - I presume most people using this software have a good command of English anyway. Still, if you need any help with German translations count me in, I'll be happy to help out.

[EricClaeys]

@petzolino,
Danke!

I meant Language and Country - as in having an English interface but German separator convention.

I agree that it would be a huge effort to make Allsky international - I presume most people using this software have a good command of English anyway.

We are in total agreement on both points.

Recently a user submitted a problem report for something with his remote Website, so I looked at it and noticed the < Back button and other words were in his language, so I asked him about it. He edited the Allsky files, which I hate to see because he'll need to edit them again the next time he upgrades.
He showed me his changes - which included a few name changes, displaying the time in 24-hour format, redoing some of the notification images, like "Allsky restarting (Allsky now allows custom notification images that are carried forward during upgrades, so the user will never need to make those changes again).

He did NOT translate any messages people don't normally see (like error messages). His Website is for a public observatory (I think) and he wanted the public, many of whom aren't good with English, to see their language.
I think he already set the constellation overlay to be in his language, and that's implemented by having a table for every language that contains the constellation and star names in each language. Very simple, and it doesn't need to know about word order or meanings or anything complicated.

I plan to create a similar table for the Website with the entries that user changed ("Back", etc."). It would use the same lang setting that's already there, so should be pretty easy to implement. Meine Deutsch ist nicht so gut, so your help would be appreciated.

Not a big deal, but it's a step in the right direction. If it works well, we might want to do the same thing for the rest of Allsky - just translate the easy, user-viewable words.