Forum OpenACS Q&A: OpenACS Newbie

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1: OpenACS Newbie
Posted by Adrian Byng-Clarke on 05/02/01 10:55 PM
Hello,

I want to try out openacs (due to the traumatic breakup of philg and
arsdigita) but I don't really know where to start. I have been using
ACS 3.4 and trying to use ACS 4.x for a little while. I have setup
Oracle and feel comfortable with it. Is it difficult to use Oracle
with OpenACS?  Exactly what is different between classic and open
ACS? can I move packages from one to the other?

Gracias

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2: Response to OpenACS Newbie (response to 1)
Posted by S. Y. on 05/02/01 11:07 PM
You should probably go to the top level of this web site and start reading. OpenACS doesn't use Oracle. It's a full open source solution; as a matter of fact, I think one of the initial reasons to do OpenACS was to get away from Oracle.

I guess Don and others will tell you the differences about OpenACS and Classic ACS-Tcl and how OpenACS will move forward, but you can start off by forgetting about Oracle.

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3: Response to OpenACS Newbie (response to 1)
Posted by Michael Feldstein on 05/02/01 11:57 PM
Actually, Sean isn't exactly right about forgetting Oracle. The currently completed version of OpenACS--3.2.5--does indeed use only PostgreSQL. There are other folks here who can tell you far better than I about how Postgres compares to Oracle, but the consensus seems to be that it is much, much easier.

That having been said, if you are absolutely in love with Oracle, OpenACS 4.x, which is currently under development, will run on both Oracle and PostgreSQL. But you'll probably have to wait a month or two before there's a critical mass of packages ported and ready to go on 4.x.

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4: Response to OpenACS Newbie (response to 1)
Posted by S. Y. on 05/03/01 02:07 AM
There's at least one recent thread about Oracle v. Postgres (this Q&A forum? the aD forum?), so it's probably worth checking that out. I stopped doing web/db stuff a while ago but I did set up an OpenACS site as a "proof-of-concept" recently and installing Postgres is *much* easier than installing Oracle.

Installing OpenACS (AOLserver, Postgres, OpenACS) took me an afternoon (and I haven't touched the ACS for over a year) so in answer to your question about where to start, I suggest that you start by downloading the software and following the install guide. If you've installed Classic ACS before, it's pretty straightforward especially since you're at the "just dabbling" stage.

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5: Response to OpenACS Newbie (response to 1)
Posted by Louis Gabriel on 05/03/01 04:39 AM
Sean,

Just curious...you mentioned you stopped doing web/db stuff a while back...what area have you moved into?  Any thoughts to share?  You sure have been a great help on these boards.  I've always valued your insights.

Thanks!

Louis

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6: Response to OpenACS Newbie (response to 1)
Posted by S. Y. on 05/03/01 04:54 AM
I'm marketing guy now for an Internet startup. After seven years of being a technical person, it was time for a change. While I still maintain the company's web site, I don't do anything more technical than hacking static HTML and firing up Photoshop. For me, the change has been for the better.
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7: Response to OpenACS Newbie (response to 1)
Posted by Louis Gabriel on 05/03/01 12:46 PM
Sean,

Thanks for the update.  Glad to know things are going well for you!

It's also interesting to see what directions members of the community take over time.  Especially someone like yourself that has been so helpful to others.  Thanks for sharing.

Enjoy!  And **best** wishes!!

Louis