Forum OpenACS Q&A: Custom sections not working?

I just installed OpenACS 3.2.4, and the custom-sections are not
working correctly. I think the scripts in /admin/custom-sections
are using ns_ora instead of ns_db functions.
example from add-page-2.tcl :

if [catch {
    ns_ora clob_dml $db "
    insert into content_files
    (content_file_id, section_id, file_name, file_type,
page_pretty_name, body, html_p) ......

is this abug or it's just that custom-sections is not ported yet?
I'm new to Tcl, SQL and ACS, so I can't figure out a workaround or
hack to this problem.

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Posted by Dan Wickstrom on
It appears that the data model was ported, but nobody has gotten around to finishing the tcl.  This is a small module and could easily be ported if somebody has the time.  Any takers?
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Posted by Alex Sokoloff on
You might want to look at custom section in ACS classic 3.x if you have access to a running version. I looked at custom sections in ACS classic 3.3, and I couldn't manage to add a custom section. If it doesn't work in ACS classic, then it might not be worth porting. But maybe it does work and I didn't understand the spec.

If anybody knows anything about how custom sections are supposed to work, I'd be keen to hear about it. Others have expressed bafflement/curiosity on the topic.

-Alex

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Posted by john menke on
How can you add a static section without this module?  I have a collection of static pages that I want to add.  (We are talking about Content Sections I assume?)
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Posted by Alex Sokoloff on
It's something different but related. It "allows the group administrator to create and manage different custom sections of the site. Custom sections serve like url directories. so if group administrator of group travel at photo.net defines custom section sweden (e.g. photo.net/travel/sweden), he will be able to upload files for this section (see content_files table) in order to display the file photo.net/groups/travel/sweeden/stockholm.html"

You can check out the documentation at /doc/custom-sections.html if you'd like. Again, I couldn't figure out how to add a custom section for a group under ACS classic.

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Posted by john menke on
I want to create a new directory of static pages.  How can this be done?  I have tried adding a folder under the www folder but when I try to browse to a file in it, I get "file not found".
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Posted by Robin Felix on
John, site-wide static content sections work fine.  Administration is via http://<yoursite>/admin/content-sections/; you add the URL of your folder or subdirectory using the form, and it becomes available.

Now...  I'm still having great difficulty making content sections, either static or custom, work at the group level.  The documentation is sparse (as mentioned above), and not at all intuitive.  Even such things as the "Sort Key" cause difficulty until you figure out that it's a required field.  Every day is an adventure in tracking down why certain items break, and it's never clear whether it's an operator error or a system problem.

I for one would be _most_ grateful to read a "SysAdmin Guide," something more than a tutorial but less than the documentation for each individual module.  Something that would give me more feeling for how the modules work together.

After trial and error, I can now understand the relationship between groups and bboard administration, but it took much longer than it should.  These things are not at all obvious unless one has been using ACS or OpenACS for quite a while.

I guess what I'm looking for is a guide that would take me through the process of creating a user group, adding modules to the group, and setting the flags and options on the modules, preferably by example.  That's the biggest hole I've seen in making ACS accessible.

Meanwhile, I'll just keep on plugging away, digging into the code where necessary, and learning piecewise.  I'd love to stand on the shoulders of giants, though...

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Posted by David Eison on
John, most of the time I've seen this happen it has been due to:
1) The directory doesn't have an index file (something matching the "DirectoryFile" config entry in AOLServer 3.x, I don't know 2.x)

2) AOLServer is not configured to allow browsing of a directory without an index file (I'm sorry, I don't remember the name of this parameter now, but I don't think it's a figment of my imagination)

3) *Maybe* the file permissions on the directory are not set right (chmod a+rx directory_name, chmod a+r directory_name/*)

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Posted by Carl Coryell-Martin on
I have been futzing around with this a bit today and its still unported.

I am evaluating this, the Ybos Content Management System and the Karl's Templating System as a way to allow administrators to upload content (and do some templating). If this turns out to be the easiest thing, then I will finish porting it.  My first impressions aren't good though.