Case study

metars_cgi: reconstructing the NCAR Java METAR viewer server

metars_cgi reconstructs the data server used by NCAR's Java METAR viewer. Its PHP scripts answer the viewer applet's requests from a MySQL or MariaDB METAR database, while a Python script fetches updates from NOAA. The author uses decompiled applet binaries to guide the reconstruction and notes unresolved handling of cloud-layer chunks.

Targets: App
Category: Independent reconstruction cases
Relationship: Independent reconstruction project
Sources reviewed: 2026-11-09

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Requirements & limits

Prerequisites: A MySQL or MariaDB database with the documented metars table is required for metars_cgi.php.
Scope: metartest.php uses fixed data and needs no database.
Limits: Ceiling altitudes do not work; the author has not resolved the viewer's handling of cloud-layer chunks.
License: No licence stated on the project page.

Cite

BibTeX

@misc{metars-cgi-case,
  title = {{metars\_cgi: reconstructing the NCAR Java METAR viewer server}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://codeberg.org/PurpleJillybeans/metars_cgi}},
  url = {https://codeberg.org/PurpleJillybeans/metars_cgi},
  urldate = {2026-11-09},
  note = {Awesome REA entry: \url{https://awesomerea.org/resources/metars-cgi-case/}}
}

Plain text

metars_cgi: reconstructing the NCAR Java METAR viewer server. https://codeberg.org/PurpleJillybeans/metars_cgi (accessed 2026-11-09). Awesome REA entry: https://awesomerea.org/resources/metars-cgi-case/

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Primary sources

https://codeberg.org/PurpleJillybeans/metars_cgi/src/commit/2595939b7d6c83a79f87c950e6748c97af664d7a/README.md