• Installer woes...

    By Rob Breault 2 decades ago

    Trying to get an application installer, I've comeup with more questions than answers…



    First off, I have created the installer! That was the easy part… now I got several "scenerios" that need to be considered…


    1. Do we detach the templates local and refresh the database from there?
    2. What if the user is running 100% server based? Should we copy the templates to the server?
    3. How do we determine template/database version # programmatically from the installer db?
    4. Should we have the "admin" server specified in the config databases DBProfile?
    5. If we will be installing/ upgrading off of tempates, we need to start releasing templates vs. databases.
    6. While allowing for a manual install/upgrade, how do we ensure a cross db version check? (prevent databases at different revision levels)



      Any "directional" input is appreciated!
    • In Windows, this is typically done in the registry

      By Joe Jester 2 decades ago

      You could do the same, or place the info in the notes.ini and find that through the registry. Server installs of templates are always difficult since you must have access to put files out there. Typically, you can assume a local destination, and find the notes.ini, and place the files in the notes data directory.

      • That's what I figured...

        By Rob Breault 2 decades ago

        I was basically "assuming" (bad, BAD word) that the admin or designer would be dropping the new templates into their Notes Data directory and refreshing the server databases from their local system. I presonally like the option of doing a manual install, but making the installer code is easy, its making it idiot-proof is going to be the PITA…



        I created a pretty generic installer, drop one or more templates into a notes form and your done! The installer would drop each one of these into the "local" Notes\Data directory, look for the "Template Name" and then attempt to locate the matching Database (either on local or server) and then trigger a design refresh…



        Since VIC is more "rigid" in design, we will be doing lookups against the older notes.ini variables to locate the particular databases or use the new DBProfile to do the same. For example, we've added some dynamically updated logo's need to be "tweaked" to prevent any errors from showing up when the freshly "re-freshed" database is first opened…



        I was just looking for "how" the people are using VIC and how they have installed. I've embarked on a journey to tighten up the VIC code and make it very efficient and functional. The installer just help up deploy it easier for the "end-user"…



        Thanx for your input, it really is appreciated!

    • Installer status...

      By Rob Breault 2 decades ago

      Cruising right along… Here are the "standard" naming convention (extended from the DBProfile names)



      Template Names (physical template name):

      CratchitCRMConfig (vic_config.ntf)

      CratchitCRMRolodex (vic_rolodex.ntf)

      CratchitCRMJournal (vic_journal.ntf)

      CratchitCRMLibrary (vic_library.ntf)

      CratchitCRMContracts (vic_contracts.ntf)

      • installer and documentation!

        By Steve Cassidy 2 decades ago

        OK, started fiddling away and several points come up.



        1) created all the databases from the templates; how does one run whatever-it-is that "sets up" the system, so that it stops producing the "I am not set up" error? The about db documents prominently advertise the original developers, but don't actually tell you what to do next or have any one-click agents etc.



        2) Branding. OK, so Mr Cratchit and friends ar eproud of what they have done; however, once this thing is in use in anger, most companies (and I have 2 interested immediately) want their own branding on the forms and databases. The setup utility should at a minimum go round removing the happy little beaver, and drop in a pasted graphic from the user's own logo library.



        3) one of the templates is a rebadged Notes Journal; I can't see any development over and above the standard template. As a documenter, how should I explain this? Another database is called Journal, but isn't that - it's really the diary interface. Can we call it something that isn't "journal" given that another part of the delivery calls itself "Journal" once you are in it? This is very confusing.



        4) to be on a server or not. I think you should assume that the setup is always, initially, local, and that rolling out to a server is the admin's responsibility.



        5) signing. Should all these tmeplates be signed by local admin by default? There's about 4 certifiers in 'em as delivered. I'd like to see an SOP of all submissions here coming out signed with/OpenNTF anyways.

        • Points

          By Dave Leigh 2 decades ago

          All good points, and good timing. I had to take a hiatus recently, but I'm about ready to start up again. My thoughts:


          1. Rob's done some work on an installer. The ultimate goal should be a simple install that should work to install either locally or to a server. All databases will be delivered in a singe ntf file.


          2. Branding. Use it in anger? Interesting phrase. It's always been supposed that the Logo page would contain the client's logo, so there's one place to edit that: change it in the Logo page in the Config database and refresh design on the others to propagate the change. To make this simpler for non-programmers in the future this will be data-driven. Rob's experimental code was in the last release. The beaver appears in the upper-left area of the frameset, which displays a page. To use the user-defined logo instead you can change that to the Logo document. Ultimately, there will be a user-friendly method of selecting from among a selection of admin-defined logos, both as a global default, and at a user level. This will allow departmental logos to be displayed on a per-user basis. Rob provided the code, and I think it's a good start. I left it out of the last release, though, because I thought it needed some more work on the UI, and it might be a bit difficult for existing users (if the logo doc doesn't pre-exist there are some nasty results).


          3. Yeah, the Notebook is exactly that… a rebadged Journal, mainly because I got lazy and it was an afterthought. I just wanted a place to put quick jotted notes, and it was intended as a placeholder while other, more pressing things were developed. I'll clarify the names. Something else that needs addressing in the code and installer is that the Notebook is always intended to be local, not shared. That may be a topic for discussion.


          4. I absolutely agree that the default install should be local. Most times somebody (either a company analyst or just an individual) will download and try this stuff out before committing server resources to it.


          5. Signing. Good point.



            Other thoughts:



            As it stands, and from the outset, this really is designed for very small companies (< 25 users), and to be installed by a consultant. Larger companies wishing to use it at the present should assign a Notes developer to evaluate it and do the customizations. Individuals wishing to use it should be prepared for the rough edges. This will improve in the future, but that's the current status.
          • But how to install??

            By Mark Janssen 2 decades ago

            We, small company, have just downloaded VIC, unzipped the package and created NSFs from the templates. I know, because you say so, that Rob is working on an installer, but could you give this helpless user a small hint on how to get the thing going without the benefit of an installer? We'd really like to get rid of the "I'm not installed" message.

            Thanks a lot!