add variables to docs

docs/sphinx/source/_static/variables_style-rules.csv

@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+variable;description;comment
+tz;timezone;
+latitude;latitude;
+longitude;longitude;
+dni;direct normal irradiance;
+dni_extra;direct normal irradiance at top of atmosphere (extraterrestrial);
+dhi;diffuse horizontal irradiance;
+ghi;global horizontal irradiance;
+aoi;angle of incidence;
+aoi_projection;cos(aoi);
+airmass;airmass;
+airmass_relative;relative airmass;
+airmass_absolute;absolute airmass;
+poa_ground_diffuse;in plane ground reflected irradiation;
+poa_direct;direct/beam irradiation in plane;
+poa_diffuse;total diffuse irradiation in plane. sum of ground and sky diffuse.;
+poa_global;global irradiation in plane. sum of diffuse and beam projection.;
+poa_sky_diffuse;diffuse irradiation in plane from scattered light in the atmosphere (without ground reflected irradiation);
+surface_tilt;tilt angle of the surface;
+surface_azimuth;azimuth angle of the surface;
+solar_zenith;zenith angle of the sun in degrees;
+apparent_zenith;refraction-corrected solar zenith angle in degrees;
+solar_azimuth;azimuth angle of the sun in degrees East of North;
+temp_cell;temperature of the cell;
+temp_module;temperature of the module;
+temp_air;temperature of the air;
+temp_dew;dewpoint temperature;
+relative_humidity;relative humidity;
+v_mp, i_mp, p_mp;module voltage, current, power at the maximum power point;
+v_oc;open circuit module voltage;
+i_sc;short circuit module current;
+i_x, i_xx;Sandia Array Performance Model IV curve parameters;
+effective_irradiance;effective irradiance;
+photocurrent;photocurrent;
+saturation_current;diode saturation current;
+resistance_series;series resistance;
+resistance_shunt;shunt resistance;

docs/sphinx/source/index.rst

@@ -42,6 +42,8 @@ and
 
 The GitHub wiki also has a page on `Projects and publications that use pvlib python <https://github.com/pvlib/pvlib-python/wiki/Projects-and-publications-that-use-pvlib-python>`_ for inspiration and listing of your application.
 
+There is a :ref:`convention of variable naming <variables_style_rules>` to ensure consistency throughout the library.
+
 Installation
 ============
 
@@ -60,6 +62,7 @@ Contents
    self
    whatsnew
    comparison_pvlib_matlab
+   variables_style_rules
    pvlib
 
 

docs/sphinx/source/variables_style_rules.rst

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+.. _variables_style_rules:
+
+*************************
+Variables and style rules
+*************************
+
+There is a convention on consistent variable names throughout the library:
+
+.. csv-table:: List of Variables
+   :file: ./_static/variables_style-rules.csv
+   :delim: ;
+   :header-rows: 1
+   :widths: 5, 20, 10
+