OK, now that I have completed all my other assignments, I can do the XML project tomorrow and get everything turned in on Thursday.  The end is in sight!

After searching around for a while, I applied html links to PayPal and Google Maps.  Check them out at: My 683 class website.

It was pretty easy to add the PayPal button, since I’ve done this before.  I just put some html code on my webpage and voila!

To do the Google Map, I went to Google and found a great selection of possible gadgets to add.  I thought the map would be something very useful for a company’s website, so I picked it.  The html text was provided after entering the address of USF, then I pasted it into my webpage.

I have been looking for a way to easily locate the php.ini file and discovered the slocate command.  I instantly found the file in the /opt/lampp/etc folder.  I checked the memory allocation and it was still set at 100mB, just like before.

After going home and getting my passwords, I tried to start SugarCRM, but it didn’t work.  When I typed http://localhost/sugarcrm, I just got question marks.  Leo checked it out, but couldn’t figure out what wa wrong.  Everything seemed in place, except we couldn’t locate the php.ini file.  I was back to square one.

 Today, I re-downloaded SugarCRM for the 8 (or so) time.  Then, I went through th steps to move it to the correct location and get it all set up.  I realized I didn’t write down how to remove the old files, so I experimented, did some reading, and figured it out (sudo rm filename -R).

 I was still having the problem with the configuration not starting when I discovered that the config file had the same content as a long time ago.  It hit me that the configuration setup that I did weeks ago probably created the contents.  Just to be sure, I compared this to the original config file that I had unzipped in Desktop and discovered that the unzipped file was blank.  Then I realized that I must have copied the file wrong.  I copied the original sugarcrm file to htdocs one last time, went to the browser, typed http://localhost/SugarSuite-Full-4.5.0c and I was in the configuration mode.  FINALLY!

Unfortunately, at the top of the screen, the following was printed.  It seems ominous:

Warning: session_start() [function.session-start]: open(/tmp/sess_000a088f7328ff8e1a97b126644d77bd, O_RDWR) failed: Read-only file system (30) in /opt/lampp/htdocs/SugarSuite-Full-4.5.0c/install.php on line 24

Warning: session_start() [function.session-start]: Cannot send session cookie - headers already sent by (output started at /opt/lampp/htdocs/SugarSuite-Full-4.5.0c/install.php:24) in /opt/lampp/htdocs/SugarSuite-Full-4.5.0c/install.php on line 24

Warning: session_start() [function.session-start]: Cannot send session cache limiter - headers already sent (output started at /opt/lampp/htdocs/SugarSuite-Full-4.5.0c/install.php:24) in /opt/lampp/htdocs/SugarSuite-Full-4.5.0c/install.php on line 24

Warning: ini_set() [ref.outcontrol]: Cannot change zlib.output_compression - headers already sent in /opt/lampp/htdocs/SugarSuite-Full-4.5.0c/include/utils.php on line 2755

It struck me that I didn"t change the permissions, but when I entered what I knew to be the correct command, I was told that all the files were read-only.  That is when I decided to re-boot.  However, when it started booting, I got an error message that explained why everything was read-only.  I had some drive errors that needed to be checked manually using fsck.  Of course, it took a half-hour to figure out what that meant then another 15 minutes to run it.  Then I typed mount -n -o remount,rw / , apparently to remount the drive.  Whatever I did, it seemed to work.  I immediately re-booted Ubuntu and went to localhost/SugarSuite-Full-4.5.0c/ and the configuration program appeared without any error messages.

Oops.  I spoke too soon.  I still need to change those permissions.  No problem.  I’m an expert now.

I’ve gotten way behind on writing in my blog, so I will try to get all caught up here.  I have been keeping my notes on scraps of paper and napkins, so this is a compilation of them all. 

UBUNTU: Had trouble getting into Ubuntu.  Turns out my username, “steve,” is all lowercase.  I had been using “Steve.” 

XAMPP: Starting xampp: type “sudo /opt/lampp/lampp start”.  My username, which I never seem to need, is “lampp”.

After starting xampp, I go to my browser and type: “localhost” and the xampp menu appears.

INTERNET ACCESS: I spent at least a couple hours trying to figure out how to access the Internet through Ubuntu.  Nothing I tried seemed to work.  Some of my classmates were having similar problems, but they either went away or their computer was configured very differently from mine.

One day, while in the shower, I thought to check the configuration files in Parallels Workstation.  Sure enough, there is a menu that forces me to choose between a wired and a wireless connection.  Therefore, every time I go from home to school, I need to change the configuration.  Fortunately, it is very simple to do. Unfortunately, I can’t seem to get this to work on my wireless at home, even though it works outside Parallels just fine.  I’m regretting not making my entire computer Ubuntu rather than splitting my drive with Parallels.  Live and learn.

SUGAR CRM: Downloading SugarCRM was my next challenge.  First, I had to figure out that downloading a zip file is the same as downloading a tar.gz file.  After that, downloading was easy.  However, figuring out how to extract the file to the correct folder was a huge challenge.  The directions provided by SugarCRM did not all apply to my setup, but there was no indication that this could be the case.  Instead, I had to experiment for hours trying to figure it out, then get help from classmates, especially Andy, Leo, and Chris, as to how to set it all up.  I used to mv command to move the files, then the rm –R to remove the files I put in the wrong place.  I also had to learn that, even though the directions say to put the files in the var/www/ folder, they really need to go in the /opt/lampp/htdocs folder.  I used the command: sudo cp -R SugarSuite-Full-4.5.0c/ /opt/lampp/htdocs/ to move the folder to the right location.

I learned to change the all of the access permissions for all the files in SugarCRM by going to: /opt/lampp/htdocs/sugarcrm/ and typing: sudo chmod 777 –R *.  I recall the 777 means open access for all users, administrators, and the public.  (NOTE: I later found that the command sudo chmod ugo=rwx -R * works the same)

Finally, I typed http://localhost/sugarcrm and got the SugarCRM set up screen.  I went through the whole set up process only to get an error message in the end.  Leo had me copy it and do a Google search.  Countless references appeared, much to my amazement!  Could so many people have the same exact problem?  Am I not the only computer idiot on the planet?

It turns out I left out –R in the command when I moved the SugarCRM files the last time, so only some of the files were copied.  One of the missing files was php.ini.  I had to find and update it. Finding it was a challenge.  After looking in several folders, I did.  Then I increased the memory allocation to 100M.  I remember the first time I set up SugarCRM (an aborted attempt), I got to this point and found that my memory allocation was fine, so I didn’t need to make any changes to php.ini.  I remember Chuck being very surprised by this.  However, in the end, the install didn’t work and I had to start over.

After going through the steps to reinstall SugarCRM, I was able to configure SugarCRM without an error message.  However, the next week when I went to show the setup to JP, I realized that, since I left my notes at home and hadn’t uploaded them to my blog, I didn’t know the commands and password to start xampp and, therefore, SugarCRM.  That is when I realized the importance of having everything online!

Installing WordPress is simple, if you are geekish.  Unfortunately, I didn’t get enough geek genes from my parents.  However, after a couple hours of trying different things, I finally read some classmates’ blogs and realized that I needed to access phpmyadmin through the web browser.  I made sure lampp was running, then typed http://localhost and noticed that there was a link on the left to phpmyadmin.  There, I set up the database I would need for WordPress.  Then, all I had to do was type http://localhost/blog to get wordpress to run.  Success! (Boy, that sure makes it all sound so simple.  No sign that I spent several hours on this!)

When I downloaded xampp, I noticed that I could set it up for increased security.  I thought: "why not?"  Well, what I learned is that my password didn’t work when trying to access certain areas.  Therefore, JP recommended that I reinstall xampp (the step back).  It took me a while to figure out how to remove the files, but now I know to go to the directory that the file or directory is in, then type: sudo rm -r <file/directory name>.  In my case, Iwent to the /opt directory (where xampp put all the lamp files) and typed sudo rm -r lampp to remove all the files in the lampp directory. 

I installed LAMP today.  Yes, I know.  You’re thinking "that’s nice."  Well, this has been a huge struggle for me.  I am good with computers after I practice a lot, but I was virtually blindfolded for this project.  I didn’t know a thing about what I was doing, except for the sketchy stuff I read. 

Anyway, last Thursday I was so stressed out which, for those of you who know me, is a very rare occurrence.  I had spent many hours trying to get my computer to accept Linux to no avail.  I had to give up and go to class.  In class, I got the bad news from JP: I needed to have a fully-functional laptop and that mine was far from it.  I called Toshiba immediately, only to learn that I needed to resolve a warranty issue before I could get my laptop repaired. I wouldn’t even begin to resolve that issue until Wednesday (today).

After relaxing Thursday night after class (the shot of vodka and good movie helped), I gave fresh consideration to my predicament on Friday.  By Saturday I had decided that I needed to "bite the bullet" and buy a cheap laptop at a store, since I didn’t have time to wait on delivery.  It would serve as my course laptop as well as a back-up while my other laptop is being repaired.  Can you believe that you can get a brand new laptop for $500?  I was amazed and — needless to say –very happy.  Compared to the cost of the course, I figured it is a real bargain.  It wasn’t too long ago that I paid almost that much for a PDA!

Last night, I finally had time to unpack the new laptop and begin setting it up.  I pretty much knew what to do to load Parallels and Ubuntu Linux, since I had spent several hours last week tinkering with that.  Next, I loaded Apache, which I had tried — unsuccessfully — to do last week.  This time, it worked.  It was so easy (thanks to John’s help in class) that I was amazed.  Then I remembered someone telling us that they installed xlamp, or something like that, so I did a search online, found the instructionsat www.apachefriends.org , and downloaded it.  It turned out to be called "XAMPP" and seemed to make a lot of sense: why download MySQL, PhP, and Apache separately when I can download them all at once.  Therefore, I followed the instructions and did it. 

Unfortunately, with my limited understanding, it took a long time; several hours.  By the wee hours of this morning, I finally gave up and wrote to JP for password assistance, since I kept getting an error message.  I recalled he had a "magic spell" to get around this challenge.  Sure enough, this afternoon, I applied what he suggested and — after another couple hours of tinkering — got it loaded.  Before I could celebrate, I needed to uninstall the Apache that I had already downloaded.  This took another half hour or more, since I figured out it also required uninstalling each of the other files that go with Apache.  

One little tidbit of advice that I think might be useful: when typing commands in the terminal mode, when you encounter a situation where you are told that your password is incorrect or that you need to be an administrator or that you need to be "in the root", just bypass it all using JP’s magic spell:

All in one line, type "sudo <command> <parameters, if any>" then press enter and provide your password at the prompt.  I kept typing "sudo", then pressing enter (as the online instructions said) and getting the password prompt.  However, it won’t work this way for some reason.  Basically, by doing it all in one line, you are telling the computer to give you full permission to use all files and commands. This all probably is very obvious for others but it was a huge roadblock for me until I figured it out with JP’s assistance.

OK.  One more tidbit: when installing a package (application), be sure you are in the directory that contains the downloaded file before using the command to extract it.  If not, you will need to use the "cd" (change directory) command to get to the correct one.  For example, type:

cd  /home/steve/Desktop

(notice that if the file is on your desktop, the word is capitalized for some reason–another long lesson for me)

Press <enter>, then type the command.  In my case, the command was:

tar xvfz xampp-linux-1.5.4.tar.gz -C /opt

Actually, because of my password challenge, it was:

sudo tar xvfz xampp-linux-1.5.4.tar.gz -C /opt

Somehow, that told Linux to move the XAMPP file from the "/home/steve/Desktop" directory to the "/opt" directory. 

I am SO glad this project is over!  Now, I can look forward to learning how to install and evaluate open source software.  First, though, I need to learn what is out there and how to access it.  My virtual blindfold is on again.