Just one wee inline comment... On Wed, 2011-05-11 at 19:49 +0100, Peter Dietz wrote: > This discussion is not about the ASync release anymore. > dspace + modules(xmlui, solr) = My DSpace >
Well it sort of is. One of the consequences of Async releases is that we would be moving much of source code to something like the modules directory and this raises issues about visibility and easy accessibility of the source code. The likes of an Installer might provide a means of aiding those who don't want to get too involved with Maven, SVN, etc, which would remove that particular barrier to the adoption of Async releases. Cheers, Robin. > > But about improving the installation problems of the straw man. > I do find using a program like Splunk very awesome. Just download an > archive, unzip, execute [splunk]/bin/start.sh and all of a sudden this > black box just works, and you can do things to it with your web > browser. Amazing. > > > With installing DSpace, maybe the real problem is that the > installation guide is too general, and not opinionated enough that a > lay user who has an afternoon free to figure things out, runs into a > problem because they're not a Sys Admin. > Do I want Postgres or Oracle? > Do I want OpenJDK6 or SunJDK6 > Do I want Tomcat or Jetty or ... > Do I want [dspace-source] to be /home/dspace/dspace-source > or /opt/dspace > Do I want tomcat to run at tomcat6 user or as dspace user. > Do I want DSpace to be installed to /dspace or do I want it to be > installed to /usr/local/dspace > > > But instead we have a question at the top that they must answer yes to > all three: Are you using <OS name . version>, and want to install > DSpace 1.<version>, and want a <simple don't> screw around with me way > to get installed? > > > I've made a guide thats as easy as it gets for getting DSpace > installed on Ubuntu. It makes use of standard tools to automate things > for you: tasksel, apt-get install. And gives you the exact commands to > type. > https://wiki.duraspace.org/display/DSPACE/Installing+DSpace+1.7+on > +Ubuntu+10.10 > > > Additionally, Hilton Gibson of South Africa has extensive > documentation on getting installed. Its a lot longer than my guide, > but its probably more precise. Its suited especially for the needs of > SunScholar. > http://wiki.lib.sun.ac.za/index.php/SUNScholar/Prepare_Ubuntu > > > So the One-Jar method is fine as a way to solve a need. However, I > think having easy to follow guides on how to install DSpace on: RHEL5, > CentOS, Ubuntu 10.x, Mac OSX, Windows, NASA's system, etc is > sufficient. As you find yourself continuously having to install and > having to wing it several times that you find is better to document > your steps, you're likely to have people make a Howto blog post. Or > continuously hearing from certain crowds: "I'm a non-techie, and have > a Windows computer, how do I get started". Then we might have Tim's > easy-button for Windows, where he compiles (mvn package + ant update), > and then ZIP's up his C:/DSpace directory and has some (opinionated) > instructions on how to install JDK, Postgres, tomcat. > > > But, for developing DSpace, and people that build from source (since > they've got their own modifications to make), mvn + ant are excellent > tools to do that. For everyone who doesn't quite get maven, then we > should have easy to follow docs that say in plain english/i18n > edit: /opt/dspace/pom.xml and at line 503, edit the <modules> > directive and add an additional entry for <module>../rest</module>. > And have the rest project checked out to /opt/rest, then proceed as > usual (mvn ... ant ... tomcat). > > > If someone is crafty at building a helper tool, then feel free to > propose one. > (i.e. /dspace/bin/dspace module add > rest http://scm.dspace.org/svn/repo/modules/rest/trunk ) > ( /dspace/bin/dspace module add <module-name> <module-source> ) > > > > Peter Dietz > > > > On Wed, May 11, 2011 at 11:54 AM, Graham Triggs > <grahamtri...@gmail.com> wrote: > Hi, > > > On 11 May 2011 15:57, Tim Donohue <tdono...@duraspace.org> > wrote: > The missing piece here that you may not have > understood is that the DSpace "Easy Installer" > actually is automating more of the install processes. > > > That's why I said it would be good to know more about it. I > realized it would be doing things in one step vs. following a > 20 step process in the documentation, but I didn't know what > shape it would be taking. > > > In contrast, the DSpace "Easy Installer" requires the > following steps: > 1. Install (fewer) Prerequisites (DB, Java, Tomcat) > 2. Download DSpace Installer > 3. Run Installer (this prompts user with information > to auto-fill out their primary settings in dspace.cfg, > and auto-install DSpace to specified location, etc.) > 4. Deploy DSpace to Tomcat > 5. Startup Tomcat & access via web. > > > I think the number of steps are right. But I wonder if it > would be worth prototyping the other form - a zip of the > 'regular' dspace/dspace project, bundled with Maven and Ant, > and with script(s) that ask questions to modify the > configuration files and run the Maven and Ant steps for you. > > > Yes, it would take longer to execute the Maven assembly, and > you would have to have internet connectivity in order to > execute it. But in terms of user steps, it's the same thing, > and the advantage is that it gives you a 'proper' environment > for customizations (ie. branding). > > > As long as we aren't doing things like bundling a java db, > then there is no particular reason why this couldn't be used > as the basis of creating a production setup. > > > Basically, it comes down to asking whether we've understood > the pain points correctly - if we remove / reduce the need to > follow documentation, if we remove the need to obtain the > correct version of tools (maven/ant), if we take the basic > config requirements from being buried in the file structure to > being a few simple questions, if we reduce the number of > commands typed and remove the changing up/down of directories > - does it really matter if the unattended portion takes few > minutes, and downloads a bunch of things from the internet? > (*) > > > (* leaving aside for a minute the question of 'what happens > when it doesn't work') > > > I'm not convinced that we aren't just guessing at that. > > > Obviously, as Mark has mentioned, we could streamline > this even further. Eventually, there could even be a > "Extremely Quick" install option in the "Easy > Installer", wherein perhaps all you need to do is the > following: > > > Whilst this is possible, I'm not sure it's really worth > maintaining an installer to do this, versus simply configuring > a VM that people can either download and run with (free) > VMware or VirtualBox, or have it already in the Amazon public > images so that they can simply fire up a new instance there. > > > That might not have the full reach that an installer does, but > it might be a lot more useful to the ones that do use it, as > it could get some things right with regards to database > installation / backup that it could be reasonably used in a > production scenario. > > > G > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Achieve unprecedented app performance and reliability > What every C/C++ and Fortran developer should know. > Learn how Intel has extended the reach of its next-generation > tools > to help boost performance applications - inlcuding clusters. > http://p.sf.net/sfu/intel-dev2devmay > _______________________________________________ > Dspace-devel mailing list > Dspace-devel@lists.sourceforge.net > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/dspace-devel > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Achieve unprecedented app performance and reliability What every C/C++ and Fortran developer should know. Learn how Intel has extended the reach of its next-generation tools to help boost performance applications - inlcuding clusters. http://p.sf.net/sfu/intel-dev2devmay _______________________________________________ Dspace-devel mailing list Dspace-devel@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/dspace-devel
