January 2007 - Koha-devel - lists.koha-community.org

Shell script for installing PERL modules
by Partha Mukhopadhyay 19 Jan '07

19 Jan '07

Attention Koha Developers Dear friends, I'm dealing with Koha (both Windows and Linux versions for the last couple of years as end user (with little bit change/modification of source code to suit my requirements e.g. Bengali language version of Koha, introduction of GUI interface in Koha for easy backup and restoration of databases, integration of MARC 21 community information format with MARC 21 bibliographic format in Koha etc.). In this part of world people often request me to render help in installing Koha in their libraries (public, college and university libraries). As far as Koha 2.2.7 version in Windows is concerned there is no problem in installation (thanks to Rob for developing a installer file for all the PERL modules required for Koha [http://www.koha.rwjr.com/Perl5.8.xModulesForKohaR4.EXE] ). In fact this script is a great help in upgradation of Koha in windows. But a similar facility is not available for Koha Linux users. This sometimes create a great problem in installing koha on linux (paticulary version 2.2.6 onwards; upto version 2.2.5 it is managable). For example all the newly required PERL modules (for 2.2.6 & 2.2.7) again requires lot of dependencies, again dependencies requires further dependencies in the form of PERL modules. In some cases these dependencies are version specific. So things are day-by-day going beyond control. In view of this problem I would like to request the Koha developer team (one of the most talented and dedicated FLOSS team of our time) to develop a shell script for installation of the all the required PERL scripts for Koha 2.2.7. A tarball file may include all the PERL modules, their version specific dependencies (and dependencies of dependencies and so on) along with a installer script. The whole file may be released as a single tarball file or as a RPM file (as more sophisticated alternative). Pl. comment on this proposal and help to make life of end users more comfortable. I know it's a matter of a few hours for you people. Parthasarathi Mukhopadhyay Vidyasagar University, India

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Re: [Koha] premature end of script headers
by Rick Welykochy 19 Jan '07

19 Jan '07

Robert Lyon wrote: > Is that error from the koha error logs? The apache error log > if so try looking at the apache error log too - it might give some idea > but to me it looks like the acqui-home.pl might have the wrong file > permissions on it and can't run No, the script *used to* run fine. I found the cause of the problem by running the script in the shell. I could no longer connect to the MySQL database server since I had changed the name of the database user. Now the problem is fixed. This raises a couple of issues: 1. Why is the admin login username (to the Intranet) the same as the database username? The two should be separate, esp. for security reasons. 2. When the script that fails runs in the shell, I can clearly see the error: perl ./intranet/cgi-bin/mainpage.pl DBI connect('eesv2pre5:localhost','kohaadmin',...) failed: Access denied for user 'kohaadmin'@'%' to database'Koha' at /usr/local/koha/intranet/modules/C4/Context.pm line 411 Can't call method "prepare" on an undefined value at /usr/local/koha/intranet/modules/C4/Koha.pm line 388. Surely the same error message should be sent to the Apache log, rather than "premature end of script headers". I think the problem lies in the way Perl is being used. If Koha used mod_perl instead, this problem would not occur, since mod_perl can do things like ensure you have a valid database connection during Apache initialisation -- if there is a problem, mod_perl can be configured to abort the Apache startup. This would be a Good Thing (tm). Another Good Thing is mod_perl will run the scripts 100 x faster! A way to avoid the cryptic "Premature end of script headers" in scripts is to use the exception handling facility of Perl. For programmers only: each script is in an eval { } block and any errors caught, the HTTP headers output and then the error raised properly with Apache. I've been using this approach for years in LAMP apps -- works a treat, and no moer tears ;) My concern the the inordinate waste of hundreds of Koha users/installers time with the cryptic error message which can easily be ameliorated by a few programming tweaks. (This error is constantly being raised on the Koha user's mailing list) We can further discuss this on the koha-devel list if you wish. Advice to Koha users/installers: if you see the cryptic error message run the same script in the shell: PERL5LIB=/usr/local/koha/intranet/modules perl {FULL_PATH_TO_SCRIPT_HERE} cheers rickw > Rick Welykochy wrote: > >> I am running Koha/2.2.7 on LAMP. >> >> One of the scripts is causing a 500 error. The error log does not show >> any perl error report, rather just the following: >> >> [Fri Jan 19 00:14:18 2007] [error] [client 192.168.0.3] Premature end >> of script headers: acqui-home.pl >> >> Any idea what causes this? -- _________________________________ Rick Welykochy || Praxis Services The 7 R's of Windows support: retry, restart, reboot, reconfigure, reinstall, reformat and finally, replace with Linux.

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koha 3.0 packaging for Debian (a -french- candidate)
by paul POULAIN 18 Jan '07

18 Jan '07

Vincent Danjean a écrit : > [For MJ Ray, if you do not read french, I would like to help you > for your ITP about Koha] > Aucun problème, MJ lit tout à fait correctement le français, et le parle également un peu ! Ce n'est pas le cas des autres développeurs, je vais donc faire une réponse en anglais pour la liste koha-devel > De ce côté là, j'aimerais beaucoup la création d'un paquet Debian pour > l'installation. Je suis tout nouveau pour Koha (qui m'a l'air très bien, > mais que je n'ai pas encore utilisé). Par contre, j'ai assez d'expérience > dans l'installation de sites web, de bases de données et dans la création > de paquets Debian. > > J'ai vu qu'il y a un ITP pour koha : > http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=389876 > fait par MJ Ray <mjr(a)phonecoop.coop> (que je mets en CC en espérant qu'il > lise le français). > Est-ce qu'il y a moyen de savoir où ça en est ? > MJ, the answer will be your's > Le WE dernier, j'ai rapidement créé tous les paquets manquants[1] dans > Debian pour les dépendances de Koha. Je me suis basé sur la liste fournie > ici : http://wiki.koha.org/doku.php?id=debian > Mais je suppose que ce n'est pas à jour pour Koha 3.0 > right, it's not. look at : http://wiki.koha.org/doku.php?id=installingzebraplugin226 and, in the source code, misc/Installer.pm IMPORTANT : the CVS branch for 3.0 is rel_3_0. head is reserved to tumer & some experiments/improvements he did and that are not yet in stable branch. > Bref, je suis prêt à m'investir dans la création de paquet Debian > (je suis Developper Debian, donc les paquets pourront facilement > être introduit dans la distribution officielle). Il me faudrait juste > un peu d'aide du côté de Koha pour m'expliquer ce qu'il faut faire > (quelles tables mysql il faut créer, ...) > * install from scratch : misc/koha.mysql will contain the database * update from 2.2 : updater/updatedatabase script contains all what is needed to update the 2.2 DB Note that, atm, the koha.mysql is NOT uptodate. > En premier point de départ (si vous êtes intéressé par ma proposition de > paquets) serait donc pour moi : > - la liste des dépendances de Koha 3.0 > - une procédure d'installation de Koha 3.0 (les grandes lignes surtout) [j'ai déjà un checkout de la branche rel_3_0 chez moi] > for instance, nothing new has been done. What I would like to do is to separate the librarian setup from the technical setup. The 2.2 installer ask many librarian oriented questions, that a computer guy generally don't understand. It results in strange setups, as the tech guys answers "default", which is a wrong answer at least once for most libraries ! -- Paul POULAIN et Henri Damien LAURENT Consultants indépendants en logiciels libres et bibliothéconomie (http://www.koha-fr.org) Tel : 04 91 31 45 19

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the future of koha without zebra
by Paul POULAIN 18 Jan '07

18 Jan '07

Hi world, koha 3.0 will require zebra, everybody knows that. Zebra is hard to setup & configure, & it's probably a rocket bomb to kill a fly for small libraries. Thus, a Koha without zebra will continue to be interesting for most libraries. How can we continue to provide koha without zebra ? We have 2 possibilities : - continue to maintain & update 2.2 - code a "SQL only" 3.0 Some thought : Why we should NOT maintain 2.2 and 3.0 but create a SQL only 3.0 ================================================================ - code cleaned in 3.0, not in 2.2, making backport more complex & bugfix harder. - many more features in 3.0 that are not in 2.2 Why we should maintain a 2.2 and 3.0 ==================================== - nothing in 3.0 to handle SQL only MARC datas. Storing everything in a table like the previous marc_word should be "easy". The more complex part would be to add a "ccl querying" facilities. My personnal conclusion is that the 1st solution is the short term one, as it's easier on the short term, but will become harder in the long term. The 2nd solution is better if we decide to think "long term". However, the solution that will be adopted, will depend, as usually & often, of the candidates for the different solutions !!! Any opinion on this welcomed ! -- Paul POULAIN et Henri Damien LAURENT Consultants indépendants en logiciels libres et bibliothéconomie (http://www.koha-fr.org) Tel : 04 91 31 45 19

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Meet koha.contribs.org
by Joshua M. Ferraro 17 Jan '07

17 Jan '07

Hi folks, I'm happy to announce today that the Koha project has launched a new tool to streamline the user contribution process. Meet http://contribs.koha.org, our new Extensions Manager. Our goal with this tool is to lower the learning curve and overhead for contributing add-on components to Koha. We know many of you have created some nifty additions to Koha (fresh redesign of the templates, some command-line utilities, migration scripts, an icon set, a new MARC framework) but aren't keen on learning CVS or sending off an email to the dev list every time you change something minor. If that describes you, the new Extensions Manager will allow you to distribute your Koha extension using a simple web-based interface. So ... how to get started? 1. Create an archive (zip file ) of your extension with any documentation and license information included. 2. Create an account on contribs.koha.org. Click on the 'Login' link and then 'Register' to get an account. 3. Log in and then click 'Add' to add your extension. 4. Give your extension a meaningful name and description and assign it to the appropriate categories (if you need a new catagory to be added, send an email to the koha-devel list and we'll add it). 5. Specify which versions of Koha your extension works with. 6. After you upload, send an email to the Koha developer's list announcing your extension and describing what it does. 7. When you change your extension, update it on contribs.koha.org If you have any questions or have trouble with the system send an email to the list and we'll try to get it sorted out. On behalf of the Koha Development Team, I'd like to thank: *Pierrick Le Gall for creating the Extensions Manager *Chris Cormack from Katipo for spending a weekend translating and installing it as well as packaging and uploading some of his contributions *Kyle Hall for testing it out by uploading the tools he's created *LibLime for hosting space and bandwidth Cheers, -- Joshua Ferraro SUPPORT FOR OPEN-SOURCE SOFTWARE President, Technology migration, training, maintenance, support LibLime Featuring Koha Open-Source ILS jmf(a)liblime.com |Full Demos at http://liblime.com/koha |1(888)KohaILS

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too much buttons (librarian interface) => how to solve.
by Paul POULAIN 12 Jan '07

12 Jan '07

Hello, In some screens, depending on the situation, we have MANY "action" buttons. for example, in a biblio detail, when there is a subscription & the librarian has all permissions, there are : Edit biblio // Duplicate // Edit items // Delete // Complete view // ISBD view // normal view // add to shelf // Subscriptions // Print // view logs[*] That is 11 buttons !!! Really too much for the user imo. We have various solutions : - let as is, as there are only 2-3 places where there is this problem (mainly : biblio & member) Pro : nothing to do, and 2-3 places, who cares. Cons : not nice to use. - Put those 11 buttons on 3 different lines. Cons : that's many place left, as, sometimes the user has not 11 possibilités (due to permission or biblio). Pro : users used to find actions on the top of the screen. - Put those 11 buttons in a block on the right. It's very easy to do with CSS, functionnal blocks (EDIT / VIEW / OTHER) can be separated by a space (<br/>). Cons : on large screen, the right part can be a little bit far from the mouse. Pro : uses some free place. with a fixed positionning, can be always on screen. Let me know your opinion, but mine is "block on the right". [*] this is a new feature to see who do what on the biblio, if the systempref is set -- Paul POULAIN et Henri Damien LAURENT Consultants indépendants en logiciels libres et bibliothéconomie (http://www.koha-fr.org) Tel : 04 91 31 45 19

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dev_week fines management
by Ryan C. Higgins 11 Jan '07

11 Jan '07

We're looking at porting some of the rel_3_0 fines work to dev_week; for those of you running dev_week, what are your functional requirements? What is needed minimally? The obvious: writeoffs seem broken. partial payments on fines not allowed. no holidays management. This'll happen in a short timeframe, so do weigh in if there are features you require. rch Ryan Higgins ----LibLime---------------------------------- Providing Open-Source Solutions for Libraries Migration, Training, Maintenance and Support Featuring Koha ILS : http://liblime.com/koha ---------------------------------------------

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koha 3.0 release plan
by Paul POULAIN 11 Jan '07

11 Jan '07

Hello world, As you probably all know, the SAN-OP is now live with Koha from rel_3_0, and things goes very well (some still to fix problems with cataloguing, but nothing blocking) So, it seems that rel_3_0 is not far from stability. I've planned a day of testing (with 8 users from 6 french libraries) on jan, 22th, at ENSMP (thanks to them once again) So, a question : what could be the official release plan for Koha 3.0 ? Did someone work on it (except the "french team" ;-) ) ? -- Paul POULAIN et Henri Damien LAURENT Consultants indépendants en logiciels libres et bibliothéconomie (http://www.koha-fr.org) Tel : 04 91 31 45 19

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Search for cyrillic words not good
by Serhij Dubyk / Сергій Дубик 10 Jan '07

10 Jan '07

I am work with Koha 2.2.7 for Windows, encoding utf-8. Addition of records works as English and Ukrainian (cyrillic alphabet) well. But search for cyrillic is case-dependent, although for English words search does not depend from register. Also added one cyrillic book to LibLime: http://koha.liblime.com/cgi-bin/koha/bookshelves/shelves.pl?viewshelf=56 But there search for this book not work at all It's bug?

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New translations for koha 2.2.7
by Paul POULAIN 10 Jan '07

10 Jan '07

Hello all, I just commited some new translations for koha 2.2.7. They are available here : http://cvs.savannah.nongnu.org/viewcvs/koha/misc/translator/po/?root=koha&o… you'll find : -Italian translation (updated, thanks to Gaetano Piazza) - chinese, japanese & korean translations (new, thanks to laxendion, long_sam) Enjoy. -- Paul POULAIN et Henri Damien LAURENT Consultants indépendants en logiciels libres et bibliothéconomie (http://www.koha-fr.org) Tel : 04 91 31 45 19

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