Forum .LRN Q&A: new install, new error:

After a multitude of problems, it was advised that I use the latest rev of
openacs, 5.2.2, instead of the 5.1. (something or the other) that came with the
dotLRN tarball on the openacs.org site:
https://openacs.org/projects/dotlrn/download/one-revision?revision_id=320323

So, I downloaded openacs 5.2.2:
https://openacs.org/projects/openacs/download/one-revision?revision_id=363173

After starting the server and starting the install:
http://localhost/installer/install

The error log showed:

[31/Jan/2006:10:41:06][20485.98311][-conn:oacs02::3] Error: Error sourcing
/var/www/oacs02/packages/acs-bootstrap-installer/installer/install.tcl:
psql:acs-relationships-create.sql:368: ERROR: parser: parse error at or near
"with" at character 42

invoked from within
"db_source_sql_file -callback apm_ns_write_callback acs-kernel-create.sql"
(procedure "install_do_data_model_install" line 7)
invoked from within
"install_do_data_model_install"
invoked from within
"if { ![install_good_data_model_p] } {
install_do_data_model_install
} else {
ns_write "Kernel data model already installed."
# If kernel i..."
(file
"/var/www/oacs02/packages/acs-bootstrap-installer/installer/install.tcl" line
37)
invoked from within
"source $__file "
[31/Jan/2006:10:41:06][20485.114696][-conn:oacs02::4] Warning: tclfilter:
install_handler return invalid result:

[31/Jan/2006:10:54:33][20485.65541][-conn:oacs02::1] Warning: tclfilter:
install_handler return invalid result:

I have now been working on this for, oh, what, four or five days now. As an
administrator, here's a problem that I see with dotLRN and openACS.

Let's start with the install procedures:

https://openacs.org/doc/current/dotlrn/dotlrn-install

These instructions say:

"If you are installing OpenACS, follow the extensive installation
documentation."

Which has a url to:
https://openacs.org/doc/openacs-4

Now, already flags should go off, since I know that the latest release of
openacs is 5.2.2, but hey, I am a newbie, maybe dotLRN only works with
release 4.xxx or something...

So, let's visit:
https://openacs.org/doc/openacs-4

I click on "Unix Installation Guide"

and it takes us to:
https://openacs.org/doc/openacs-4/unix-install.html

Since I have re-installed now a few times let's look at a few obvious
problems:

First, "Install AOLserver 3.3+ad13"

I am pretty sure that version we are really on is aolserver-4.0.10?

and the second problem:

"Install OpenACS4.6"

I thought I was installing 5.2.2?

anyway, after following through, this maze and not really knowing what is
SUPPOSE to be installed, we come back to:

https://openacs.org/doc/current/dotlrn/dotlrn-install

and the line:
"Stop at the point where the OpenACS installation instructions tell you to
"download OpenACS". Don't use the "Quick Downloads"! Continue on with this
document."

That point, by the way is:
https://openacs.org/doc/openacs-4/openacs.html

Now we are suppose to:

cvs -d :pserver:mailto:anonymous@openacs.org:/cvsroot login
(just hit return for the password)
cvs -z3 -d :pserver:mailto:anonymous@openacs.org:/cvsroot checkout acs-core

Which, after a long pause (5+ minutes), yields us with a back fat nothing:

cvs [login aborted]: connect to openacs.org(209.162.194.126):2401 failed:
Connection timed out

Now about now, the average developer is thinking, "this guy is just a
bonehead, can't follow directions, and has cvs misconfigured", which by the
way certainly crossed my mind more than once. But, as luck would have it, the
nice gentlemen, Jose Pablo Escobedo Del Cid, has sent me a cvs command to
download a package for dotLRN, not included in the dotLRN tarball:

https://openacs.org/projects/dotlrn/download/one-revision?revision_id=320323

...but that is another part of the story...

Back to the cvs command that works:
cvs -z3 -d :pserver:mailto:anonymous@cvs.openacs.org:/cvsroot co -r oacs-5-2 evaluation
evaluation-portlet dotlrn-evaluation

The magic command that finally worked was:
cvs -z3 -d :pserver:mailto:anonymous@cvs.openacs.org:/cvsroot co -r oacs-5-2 acs-core

well, actually that downloaded something, I obviously don't know if that is
actually the correct version that I need...?

I could go on, but I hope somebody who matters has gotten the point. I would
like very much to use dotLRN. The design and implementation of OpenACS is, I
believe outstanding. The delivery is beyond broke, and ruins your credibility.

openacs.org has so very many broken links that yield nothing but:

file not found,

I have lost count; and again, destroys your credibility.

...and the fact that you have the 5.2.X repository under openacs-4, is just
down right confusing, if not silly. Is it openacs-4 version 5.2.2?

as a newbie, how am I suppose to know?

I have had my fair share of problems trying to get the installation up and running last week. Some things seem to have been mixed up last week, causing problems. Since Saturday, thanks to the hard work of some the resident guru's I have a clean install of https://openacs.org/projects/openacs/download/one-revision?revision_id=363173
and it works fine, despite a few cosmetic issues and missing key errors.

One thing I have learned is don't waste time trying to find the cause of problems, just dump the corrupt installation and install from scratch. Saves a lot of frustration. Remember. It's a toolkit, and sometimes tools get misplaced. Anyway, the install should be ok just now.

On thing I noticed is dotLRN get's mounted without being asked for, causing a partial twin install, that seems to mess up the installation.( missing key and double tabs). I think it will be a great improvemnt if we have theme selva available independant of dot LRN, as that's what seems to be causing the problem. If you install Theme Selva now, it will by default install dot LRN!!!!

I noticed there's various levels of themes availabel hidden. Apart from theme selva there also a them art deco, but ist's no where to to be find as an option by default. I came accross it last year and it displays a lovely calendar on the weblog. Other than that I have never been able to retrieve it. It would be great to have the skin/theme issue sorted out and made available to end users ( is admins)via a switch parameter.

One thing I would like to see is a community design competion for skins. Giancarlo did some fine work in this respect, but his contributions are not to be found.

Right now we have:

- Selva
- Art Deco
- Giancalo ??????
- Default

Zen Gardens got started with a simple goal like this, so I don't see why we can't aswell.

Good luck

Ben

Looks like Al went to the current OpenACS docs whic, of course, contain all openacs packages on the 5-2- branch where the install docs under the "dotlrn" pakcage are totally out of date.

If he had visited openacs.org/projects/dotlrn/ he would have found more recent docs. It looks like dotlrn was never merged from 5.1 to HEAD ages ago.