Questions communicated to me via the contact page far exceed the number of comments in the blog. In the hope of clarifying the most common questions related to the Zmanim API and to a lesser degree other parts of this site, I plan on a series of FAQ posts that will hopefully cut down on the number of questions. The list of FAQs may eventually be consolidated into a FAQ page.
Author: Eliyahu
Zmanim Calendar Generator Can Now Output Fewer Zmanim
>After numerous requests, the Zmanim Calendar Generator can now output a less extensive list of zmanim. While the “full” calendar option (the default) generates an Excel spreadsheet with 108 columns of zmanim, the “standard” output generates a spreadsheet with 15 columns containing the most commonly used zmanim. The exact list of what constitutes commonly used zmanim is likely to be tweaked over time. The spreadsheet was initially designed for developers as a sample of the various zmanim available in the API. Developers can compare the output of their zmanim using the API, or a ported version of the API to the spreadsheet for accuracy. Based on feedback, many people use it to generate shul calendars and wanted a less daunting list of zmanim.
Zmanim API 1.1 Released
The Zmanim API 1.1 was released early this morning. Information about what changed in this release can be seen in previous posts about various beta and patch releases. A last-minute change involved the removal of the misheyakir calculations commonly used by the Syrian community. The removal was due to the various different minhagim used, and Chacham Yosef Harari-Raful not endorsing any specific one, nor does he include any in his calendar. The API is flexible enough to be used for any calculation wanted by the various Syrian shuls even without “native” support for a built in “Ateret Torah” misheyakir. Some missing JavaDocs were also added.
I would like to again thank Rabbi Rachamim Ashkenazi the publisher of a zmanim calendar for the Syrian Community, and Victor Grazi for his input, testing and technical expertise used for adding the new “Ateret Torah” zmanim.
The main download is the Zmanim 1.1 release zip file that includes source files and JavaDoc documentation. Also available for download (included in the above zip file) is the main zmanim-1.1.jar and the new zmanimAstronomical-1.1.jar that only includes the AstronomicalCalendar and supporting classes. Additional detail on the downloads can be seen on the Zmanim Download page.
Zmanim GUI Released
I was recently contacted by Moshe Wagner who wanted to know if there was a graphical front end to the Zmanim API. While there are various programs that do use the API, there is no standalone Java GUI that uses the API (the zmanim clock applet is not easily useful for looking up zmanim for various locations). As first announced in Hebrew (ZmanimGUI – ממשק להצגת זמני היום ההלכתיים), Moshe took the API and wrote a Java Swing GUI for the API. The Zmanim GUI (called זמני היום in Hebrew) can switch between Hebrew and English display and shows the most common list of zmanim typically used. The program requires Java 6 and can be launched by double clicking on the ZmaniGui jar file (or execute the command ‘java -jar ZmaninGui.jar’ from a command prompt). As with the Zmanim API, the GUI was released under the GPL2 and is available (including source) on our download page (direct link to version 0.0.87 updated on י״ח אייר תשס״ט May 12, 2009). Questions and comments can be posted here or sent directly to Moshe at moshe.wagner -AT- gmail.com.
Zmanim API 1.1 Beta 3 Released
The third beta release of the Zmanim API 1.1 is now available on the download page. The main change in this release is the addition of zmanim based on the psak of Chacham Yosef Harari-Raful of Yeshivat Ateret Torah. These zmanim were requested by members of the Syrian Community. Other changes in this release include various additions and fixes to the API JavaDocs. I hope to post some detailed information about the new “Ateret Torah” zmanim in the near future. I would like to thank Rabbi Rachamim Ashkenazi the publisher of a zmanim calendar for the Syrian Community for his help with the “Ateret Torah” zmanim.
The main download is the Zmanim 1.1 beta 3 release zip file including source files and documentation. Also available for download (included in the above zip file) is the main zmanim-1.1_beta_3.jar and the new zmanimAstronomical-1.1_beta_3.jar that only includes the AstronomicalCalendar and supporting classes.