README
1 Faq-O-Matic Faq-O-Matic: README
2
3<a href="">Faq-O-Matic Faq-O-Matic</a> : <a href="">Administrators' Guide</a> : <a href="">Install</a> :
4README
5 ====================
6 What is FAQ-O-Matic?
7 ====================
8
9 The Faq-O-Matic is a CGI-based system that automates the process of
10 maintaining a FAQ (or Frequently Asked Questions list). It allows
11 visitors to your FAQ to take part in keeping it up-to-date. A
12 permission system also makes it useful as a help-desk application,
13 bug-tracking database, or documentation system.
14
15 Current version (2.719) can handle 7 languages and have language
16 specific functions for some languages like Japanese,Hungarian.
17
18 This documentation itself is, naturally, maintained with Faq-O-Matic:
19
20 <http://faqomatic.sourceforge.net/>
21
22 ===============
23 Latest Version:
24 ===============
25
26 Before you get in too deep, make sure you have the latest version
27 of the FAQ-O-Matic. Check the main website to see which version it is
28 running:
29
30 <http://faqomatic.sourceforge.net>
31
32 Especially the Administrators' Guide:
33
34 <http://faqomatic.sourceforge.net/cgi-bin/fom?file=3>
35
36 And check the download site for the most recent revision:
37
38 <http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=10674>
39 <http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/faqomatic/>
40
41
42 ===========
43 Quickstart:
44 ===========
45
46 % perl Makefile.PL
47 % make
48 % make install
49 % mv fom /usr/local/etc/httpd/cgi-bin/fom
50 (or wherever your CGIs live.)
51 % netscape http://localhost/cgi-bin/fom
52 (or whatever browser you prefer)
53 (or whatever the URL would be to execute the CGI)
54
55 * subscribe to faqomatic-users (see link to FOMFOM at bottom).
56
57 * add your Faq-O-Matic (a description is fine if it's not public) to
58 the List of Faqomatics (on the FOMFOM).
59
60 * send Jon a postcard, if you're feeling generous.
61
62 ======================
63 Themes and Variations:
64 ======================
65
66 * If you don't have the privilege to install the modules in an "official"
67 place, tell Makefile.PL that before you start:
68
69 % mkdir ~/user_perl
70 % perl Makefile.PL PREFIX=~/user_perl
71 % make
72 ...
73
74 * If your web server requires CGIs to have a certain suffix, simply
75 rename the generated file "fom" to something like "fom.cgi":
76
77 ...
78 % mv fom /usr/local/etc/httpd/cgi-bin/fom.cgi
79 % netscape http://localhost/cgi-bin/fom.cgi
80
81 * If the user that CGIs run as can't write to the directory in which
82 CGIs reside (a wise security move), create a writable meta/ directory
83 (or a link to one) there in advance:
84
85 ...
86 % mv fom /usr/local/etc/httpd/cgi-bin/fom
87 % mkdir /usr/local/etc/httpd/cgi-bin/meta
88 % chown nobody /usr/local/etc/httpd/cgi-bin/meta
89 % netscape http://localhost/cgi-bin/fom
90
91 or
92
93 ...
94 % mv fom /usr/local/etc/httpd/cgi-bin/fom
95 % mkdir /somewhere/else/meta
96 % chown nobody /somewhere/else/meta
97 % ln -s /somewhere/else/meta /usr/local/etc/httpd/cgi-bin/meta
98 % netscape http://localhost/cgi-bin/fom
99
100 * If you'd rather not even put a link in that directory, modify the
101 fom CGI stub to name the meta directly:
102
103 % vi fom
104 % cat fom
105 #!/usr/local/bin/perl
106 use Faq::Omatic::dispatch
107 Faq::Omatic::dispatch::main('/somewhere/else/meta/');
108 % mv fom ...
109
110 Either of the above two techniques are also suitable for running
111 multiple FAQ-O-Matics on one server. Keep in mind that if the FAQs
112 are related, they should probably be kept together as one FAQ with
113 a few main categories, so searches will search the entire lot.
114
115
116 =====
117 Bugs:
118 =====
119
120 Bugs and problems are best reported at
121 <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?func=add&group_id=10674&atid=110674>
122
123
124
125 ============
126 Author Info:
127 ============
128
129 Jon Howell
130 jonh@cs.dartmouth.edu
131 http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~jonh
132
133
134This document is at: http://www.jonh.net/cgi-bin/faqomatic/fom?file=1026
135Generated by FAQ-O-Matic 2.719.
136available at http://faqomatic.sourceforge.net/
137