Forum OpenACS Q&A: Is it time for a "recommended platform" for OpenACS?

1: Is it time for a "recommended platform" for OpenACS?

Posted by David Geilhufe on 09/08/01 11:03 PM

Over in the testing forum I note a bunch of discussion about platform... which Linux distribution, ns_xml, some postgres version questions. As Simon correctly notes, these are "particularly newbies" kind of questions.

However, wider adoption of OpenACS is completely dependent on newbies. Further, I feel like any vertical distributions we make of the OpenACS (see discussions here) will be even more dependent on answers to the question "What is the reference platform for OpenACS?".

As I think back on why the ACS was accessible to me, a non- programmer, it came down to the installation instructions. I followed them line by line, and was able to install the thing (including Oracle) and start learning its basic capabilities without committing to doing all the problem sets. The instructions were very specific about versions and where to get the underlying software.

So my proposal/question is this: Can we publish a "reference platform" for OpenACS?

This would be what newbies are told are the system requirements. Part of the testing would be on the reference platform, with other testing occuring because we know the developer community will be using various distributions and modifications of OpenACS. Johnathan does this pretty well at his site . Maybe we adopt that as a reference platform. We could also have multiple reference platforms if there is enough interest.

As always, I am willing to put my time where my mouth is to coordinate this, but the decision on reference platform is up to the programmers on this effort.

2: Response to Is it time for a "recommended platform" for OpenACS? (response to 1)

Posted by Cathy Sarisky on 09/09/01 01:52 AM

As one of those newbies, allow me to chime in and say I think this would be a great idea! I did my install of of Jonathan's rpms also. One quick and easy thing that could be done to make oACS installation more newbie friendly would be to link to Jonathan's page from the software page. I'd been fighting with the install for far too long when I found the rpms and figured "why not? they MIGHT work with Mandrake 8.0." (They do.)

I'd like to suggest that the newbie form of the system requirements should probably say something like "This is the reference platform for openACS. Members in the community also run openACS under (list here). However, we recommend that you start with the reference platform, as it is most likely to work out-of-the-box."

3: Response to Is it time for a "recommended platform" for OpenACS? (response to 1)

Posted by Michael Feldstein on 09/09/01 05:59 AM

Excellent, David. This would make a great FAQ. You might find it helpful to read these instructions1 on how to put one together for openacs.org.

1) https://openacs.org/faq/one-faq?faq_id=43842

4: Response to Is it time for a "recommended platform" for OpenACS? (response to 1)

Posted by Jonathan Marsden on 09/10/01 01:14 PM

I'm happy for my RPMs to become "the OpenACS Reference Platform", and/or for my info on how to install them to be used, improved or rewritten, if that is what will help newcomers to get started.

However, I'm not quite self-confident enough to create a FAQ that declares my RPMs to be "the reference platform"!! The choice of such a platform for newcomers needs to come primarily from the newcomers (or only-just-ex-newcomers) themselves, based on their own experiences. There's already a thread about suggested Linux distributions for testers over in the testing bboard. As you will see there, my personal take on that is that newcomers should use whichever distribution their local friends use -- so they can easily get local help should they need it.

When it comes to my RPMs, they are tested by me on Red Hat 6.2 and 7.1, and are reported by others to also work on Red Hat 7.0 and Mandrake 8.0. If there is a strong desire to pick a single Linux distribution as "the" reference distribution, which would use my RPMs, my suggestion as of today would be for Red Hat 7.1, since that is the distribution they are being developed on.

As Michael suggested, if David is able to create a FAQ on this topic, that would be a useful way forward, I think. Over time, it might bloom into a "Newcomers Guide to OpenACS" or some such document, as a part of the Documentation Project?

We don't seem to have a clear documentation roadmap at the moment, so anything you can create that helps newcomers get started is probably going to be useful and welcomed!