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Re: newbie notes 1: getting started



Elizabeth Krumbach wrote:

On Sun, Jan 4, 2009 at 9:25 PM, D. Hugh Redelmeier <..hidden..> wrote:
<snip>

I don't know how to deal with dependencies in a .deb.  I may not be
alone.  I used dpkg -i to install the package.  I got a lot of
complaints.  "apt-get -f install" seemed to fix things up.


I'm afraid a lot of these problems are more general needing to know
more about Debian/Ubuntu administration rather than LedgerSMB
installation problems, as you're run into these issues with a lot of
software. In this case if you're not familiar enough with apt you may
consider using one of the graphical package installers, I am pretty
sure they allow you to just double-click on a .deb and will
automatically resolve dependencies and install the packages.

I can see about trying to write something for someone completely new
to Debian server administration, PostgreSQL and Apache2, since you're
not the first person to have stumbled upon these issues. Meanwhile,
there are a lot more people on the ledgersmb users mailing list than
on the IRC channel, so when you're stumped please feel free to post
there.


I think that a short guide to using basic functions for PostgreSQL
and Apache and Apache2 are needed desperately. Just enough to get
a new user that is ONLY using them for LSMB.
How to set up Apache httpd.conf and how to erase everything in PostgreSQL.
It is hard to find good tutorials on how to do these basic steps.
An advanced user won't need this, but new users seem desperate for
clearly written steps.


I find out (too late) about README.Debian (from INSTALL).

==> Perhaps some big "START HERE" sign is needed.  Perhaps there was
   one that I missed.


Again, with Debian administration it's assumed that someone managing a
system will know that the "START HERE" sign is the README.Debian.


This seems to be a big error. Right or wrong, most people just jump into
installations,
without searching through all the files and directories first.

Unless I'm wrong, I needed to read INSTALL and OpenBSD.README.
But also, somewhat hidden away in /doc was README and faq.html.
At least three documents, not located together (or merged into one
document) needed to be found.

I think one single document needs to be created in the /ledgersmb
directory so that no one needs
to go hunting for various documents. I see no benefit in stripping out
any steps for individual OS's.
These can just be notes included at the proper time

==> it would be really nice if the .deb files were contributed to a
   Ubuntu repository.  That way dependencies would get handled by the
   machinery of apt-get or synaptic.


There is a bug for this already. As I mention in the bug I'd help with
such a thing since I already maintain the package but it's a lot of
additional work and I don't have the time to do it alone:

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bug/150374


When I recreated things, I used the same password everywhere.  I think
that there are different passwords for different purposes, but I was
not confident which password was needed in each context.


If you use the README.Debian I explain what each password is for:

In step 1: "Here it will prompt twice for the new ledgersmb database
user password, remember what you enter here for step 5." (step 5 is
where you enter this database info into your
/etc/ledgersmb/ledgersmb.conf)

In step 4: "Populate the user database and set an admin password (this
admin password will be used to log into the administrative
interface)."

I am open to suggestions of how to make this more explicit, but I don't see how.


Simple answer, MYROLEPASSWORD and MYPASSWORD look too similar.

Something like 'postgre-password' and 'ledgersmb-password' and
'user-password' would be instantly clear

As an example, I'm not 100% confident of the new lines I've added to
 /etc/postgresql/8.3/main/pg_hba.conf

README.Deb mentions the pg_hba.conf in step 6 but isn't explicit about
what the required line looks like or where to place it.


I'm afraid it does assume some knowledge of how to use postgres. Not
all servers are the same, not all suggestions will work everywhere so
I simply make the suggestion of "Depending on your security
infrastructure you can use the METHOD md5 or trust." Again I'm not
sure how exactly to improve this without inserting a crash course to
postgres in the middle of the install docs.


Now I get a login screen from LedgerSMB!  That means that LedgerSMB
can log into PostgreSQL.  But I don't yet know what to do with it.
Tentatively, I enter the name "admin" and my universal password.  I
get this page:

   Error!
   LedgerSMB/User.pm:199: FATAL: database "host=localhost" does not exist


It looks like somewhere in your config you called the database
"host=localhost"? Some parsing problem in your config file perhaps?


Don't know if applies to non-OpenBSD OS's, but I often have to spell out
127.0.0.1 instead of localhost.

Hope this helps,




--
A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion,
butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance
accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders,
give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new
problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight
efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.