BookAdder: Installation ProblemsBut First!You should only be reading this docfile if you encountered an error message during the running of the testfile tryme1st.php. Unless the main install docfile Installation expressly linked you on to this page, nothing here is of interest or use to you. The Various Possible Problems and Their CuresData-Error FailIf any of what are labelled "key data" as shown by tryme1st.php are wrong, there's a problem. BookAdder would probably run, but would be plugging incorrect links and such in all over the place. PHP cannot correctly report what the server software does not report--and report accurately--to it. The commonest server software, Apache, is pretty good all around, though when run on Windows-based servers it does have some shortcomings; Windows' own IIS server software is worse yet. The scripts in BookAdder try several methods to get critical data, so that they should work on almost every platform, but "almost" isn't all. If any of the key data--
--are in error, email me and I'll work with you to try to get things fixed. (That benefits you, and it benefits me in that I'll learn about another odd problem environment.) There's nothing much else you can do right away. "Safe Mode"/No-Wrapper FailThere are some conditions or combinations of conditions that are fatal as far as the ability of BookAdder to run on your system. Here's what the presence of one such combination would look like as the output of tryme1st.php:
If that shows, you are likely to have problems with almost any package that is PHP-based (and an ever-increasing number of packages are). Mind, all is not necessarily lost: many hosts have the ability to provide cgi wrapping for PHP if asked. Ask. If the answer is negative, ask if PHP's "Safe Mode" can be turned Off for you. If the answer to both questions is negative, why in the world are you using that host? Those are downright barbaric conditions. I'm not saying "switch hosts just so you can use this package of mine": I'm saying switch hosts because you're with a bunch of losers. (The host I use, and which many professionals and companies of even large size use, is Pair Networks. Tthough pretty reasonably priced, they are assuredly not the very cheapest game in town, but they are excellent in all respects. Remember John Ruskin's famous observation: There is hardly anything in the world that someone cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price alone are that person's lawful prey. You can find out all about Pair at this Pair Network information page.) Insufficient PHP Version FailAnother fatal but possibly remediable condition would be signalled by this notice from tryme1st.php:
BookAdder is designed in such a way that it requires features of PHP not available prior to 4.2.0, and it will, by design, die if it detects any such antique version. Again: if your host cannot provide you with a PHP version of at the very least 4.2.0, you should be out of there like a shot. Remote-Read FailIf tryme1st.php is unable to read a sample one of the uploaded files using an HTTP (internet) connection, that is a fatal problem because the scripts need that ability. The notice of the problem would look like this:
As the warning notice says, far and away the most likely case is that your host has disabled the fopen functionality of PHP; regrettably, more and more hosts are doing this, usually with no notice or a small notice on some obscure page of their site. You only find out the hard way. The BookAdder package includes a local .htaccess file, something that only works on Apache-powered servers, not Windows, which file attempts to override a no-remote-fopen flag in php.ini (which you have no access to unless you are on a dedicated server you own); if your interface is Apache and you still see this problem, the over-ride failed. Fortunately, most hosts are quite willing to turn the feature back on for anyone who asks for it--the theory seems to be that if you know enough to ask, it's ok to do it for you. At any rate, if you get that warning message, ask your host if PHP fopen has been disabled and, if so, would they please turn it back on for you. If the answers are "Yes" and "No" respectively, that's another get-outta-there scenario. Erase FailIf the permissions on your BookAdder home directory do not allow the BookAdder scripts to erase files, the package cannot install properly. The warning of such a condition would look like this: | ||||||
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The need to erase comes about because of the way BookAdder re-permissions uploaded files: it copies their contents, deletes the original file (which it should be able to do if the directory is properly permissioned), then re-writes the file and re-permissions the re-created file. That rigmarole is because BookAdder is not the owner of the original uploaded file, and so cannot change its permissions; but when it writes the file anew, it does own that copy, and can then permission it as it pleases.
If BookAdder is unable to delete an uploaded original, the things that can be wrong are: 1) you didn't in fact permission its home directory to 777; 2) you are hosted on a Windows-powered (if that's not an oxymoron) server, and Windows' bizarre permission scheme is interfering; or 3) PHP's silly "Safe Mode" is ON and overriding the directory permissions by not allowing a non-owner to delete a file even through the directory says it can.
The solution to (1) is to for you to go back and correctly permission BookAdder's directory. (If you have a problem doing that, you need to consult with your host.) Then re-try runme1st.php.
The solution to (2) is to consult with your host about what Windows permissions are in effect and how to get them changed to allow anyone to create, rename, or delete files in the main BookAdder directory (and any subdirectories created under it). As the French say, bon chance.
The solution to (3) is to ask your host to turn off PHP "Safe Mode", at least for your BookAdder directory (though ideally for your entire site). If he/she/it cannot or will not, you are already in trouble, but ask if cgi-warpped PHP is available as an alternative. If not, sorry, you're with stumblebums and neither I nor anyone can help you.
If the tryme1st.php script is unable to write a file, it will signal the problem this way:
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This will, again, almost surely be a permissions problem, only more complicated, since you could delete a file OK. You really need to, if you haven't already done so, read the accompanying docfile Security-Related Concerns to understand the issues properly. If your host can't help you out here, email me and we can work on it together.
If BookAdder is unable to re-permission files that it itself made, something really bizarre is wrong, and the package cannot install properly. The warning of such a condition would look like this:
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Here, tryme1st read the uploaded file, erased it, and re-made it (all of which transfers "ownership" from FTP to PHP), but could not then re-permission the newly made file as required. That should not happen, since the file exists and is "owned" by PHP. Again, an immediate remedy for this snag is simple: manually, via ftp, change the permissions on each of the uploaded files to 777, something that finstall would later try to do anyway. (As recommended before, read the BookAdder docfile Security-Related Concerns for more background.) When you have re-permissioned everything, run tryme1st.php again. But something weird is going on.
If, when running the actual installer script, finstall.php, you get the error message (in red) Initial Foreign-Exchange Rates data file created but defective: run forex.php, it means just what it says: the attempt to create an initial datafile failed somehow, and the next step is to try running the script forex.php to get the rates (assuming that that was an isolated error in the install process).
If that message shows up, it would probably signify a temporary server outage at the data source BookAdder consults to get the rates (currently CNN). But if running forex.php does not show satisfactory results, then something deeper is wrong and you need to email me about it.
I cannot anticipate every possible problem (and its cause) that might arise. If using the tryme1st script shows a persistent problem not discussed here, you and I need to take it up individually. Please email me about it, including as much data as you can--at the least, give me your directory's URL and a description of the symptoms as manifested, including everything tryme1st is reporting. We'll go from there.
They are:
There is nothing in particular, since this docfile is a side creek not in the stream of installation progress. Till you hear back from me--if it's a problem you have submitted--you might as well read any other docfile you haven't gotten to yet.