BookAdder Docfile:
Installation Problems

BookAdder: Installation Problems

But 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 Cures

Data-Error Fail

If 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--

• main URL for your site;
• URL of the BookAdder subdirectory;
• server path to the BookAdder directory; or
• your site's IP Address

--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 Fail

There 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 Fail

Another 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 4.1.0, 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 4.1.0, you should be out of there like a shot.

Read/Write Fail

If 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. 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 Fail

If the permissions on your uploaded files do not allow the BookAdder scripts to erase them, the package cannot install properly. The warning of such a condition would look like this:

The significance of that depends on the actual permissions value for testfile pigeon and whether cgi-wrapping is in place. With wrapping, all these sorts of problems just don't happen; without it, they can and often do. The immediate remedy for this snag is simple: manually, via ftp, change the permissions on each of the uploaded files to 777. (As recommended before, read the BookAdder docfile Security-Related Concerns for more background.) When you have re-permissioned everything, run tryme1st.php again.

Create Fail

If the tryme1st.php script is unable to write a file, it will signal the problem this way:

This will, again, almost surely be a permissions problem. You really need to, if you haven't already done so, read the accompanying docfile Security-Related Concerns to understand the issues properly. Very probably you failed to set the main BookAdder directory permissions to 777 (or rwxrwxrwx, same thing) when you first created that directory--the readout will tell you the current permissions level on it. Without cgi wrapping, your server does not know that your php scripts' actions are to be treated as operations by you, and if the directory does not allow anyone but the owner "write" privileges in it, the php scripts--because php is not the directory owner--cannot create files in it.

Other Problems

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.

Moving On

BookAdder Documentation Files Available

They are:

• About BookAdder - a useful overview of what BookAdder does, how, and why
• Installing BookAdder - getting BookAdder initially set up and functioning
• Installation Problems - this file
• Tuning Your Search - how to easily optimize your search phrase
• Further Customizing BookAdder - ad displays, look-and-feel, and other aspects of customizing
• Security-Related Concerns - understanding the hows and whys of several related matters
• Upgrading - how to proceed if you have an earlier version installed
• BookAdder Files List - the purpose of every file in BookAdder: worth reading for tips'n'tricks

What to Read Next

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.