OpenACS Core Documentation

Table of Contents

I. OpenACS For Everyone

1. High level information: What is OpenACS?

Overview

OpenACS Release Notes

II. Administrator's Guide

2. Installation Overview

Basic Steps

Prerequisite Software

3. Complete Installation

Install a Unix-like system and supporting software

Install Oracle 8.1.7

Install PostgreSQL

Install AOLserver 4

Install OpenACS 5.7.0

OpenACS Installation Guide for Windows2000

OpenACS Installation Guide for Mac OS X

4. Configuring a new OpenACS Site

Installing OpenACS packages

Mounting OpenACS packages

Configuring an OpenACS package

Setting Permissions on an OpenACS package

How Do I?

5. Upgrading

Overview

Upgrading 4.5 or higher to 4.6.3

Upgrading OpenACS 4.6.3 to 5.0

Upgrading an OpenACS 5.0.0 or greater installation

Upgrading the OpenACS files

Upgrading Platform components

6. Database Management

Running a PostgreSQL database on another server

Deleting a tablespace

Vacuum Postgres nightly

7. Backup and Recovery

Backup Strategy

Manual backup and recovery

Automated Backup

Using CVS for backup-recovery

A. Install Red Hat 8/9

B. Install additional supporting software

Unpack the OpenACS tarball

Initialize CVS (OPTIONAL)

Add PSGML commands to emacs init file (OPTIONAL)

Install Daemontools (OPTIONAL)

Install qmail (OPTIONAL)

Install Analog web file analyzer

Install nspam

Install Full Text Search using Tsearch2

Install Full Text Search using OpenFTS (deprecated see tsearch2)

Install nsopenssl

Install tclwebtest.

Install PHP for use in AOLserver

Install Squirrelmail for use as a webmail system for OpenACS

Install PAM Radius for use as external authentication

Install LDAP for use as external authentication

Install AOLserver 3.3oacs1

III. For OpenACS Package Developers

8. Development Tutorial

Creating an Application Package

Setting Up Database Objects

Creating Web Pages

Debugging and Automated Testing

9. Development Reference

OpenACS Packages

OpenACS Data Models and the Object System

The Request Processor

The OpenACS Database Access API

Using Templates in OpenACS

Groups, Context, Permissions

Writing OpenACS Application Pages

Parties in OpenACS

OpenACS Permissions Tediously Explained

Object Identity

Programming with AOLserver

Using Form Builder: building html forms dynamically

10. Engineering Standards

OpenACS Style Guide

CVS Guidelines

Release Version Numbering

Constraint naming standard

ACS File Naming and Formatting Standards

Variables

Automated Testing

11. Documentation Standards

OpenACS Documentation Guide

Using PSGML mode in Emacs

Using nXML mode in Emacs

Detailed Design Documentation Template

System/Application Requirements Template

12. Internationalization

Internationalization and Localization Overview

How Internationalization/Localization works in OpenACS

How to Internationalize a Package

Design Notes

Translator's Guide

C. Using CVS with an OpenACS Site

IV. For OpenACS Platform Developers

13. Kernel Documentation

Overview

Object Model Requirements

Object Model Design

Permissions Design

Groups Requirements

Groups Design

Subsites Requirements

Subsites Design Document

Package Manager Requirements

Package Manager Design

Database Access API

OpenACS Internationalization Requirements

Security Requirements

Security Design

Request Processor Requirements

Request Processor Design

Documenting Tcl Files: Page Contracts and Libraries

Bootstrapping OpenACS

External Authentication Requirements

14. Releasing OpenACS

OpenACS Core and .LRN

How to Update the OpenACS.org repository

How to package and release an OpenACS Package

How to Update the translations

Index