Setup Instructions for the Classroom System Administrator

The Big Picture

This course (Using Databases on the Web) can be adapted for a variety of classroom hardware configurations:
• A roomful of NT boxes
• A roomful of Unix workstations
• Terminal emulators (on PCs or workstations) connecting to a Unix host

A variety of classroom software configurations are possible:

• Each student's desktop machine has its own Perl interpreter, web server and database server.
• Each student's desktop machine has its own Perl interpreter and web server. There is one database server, shared by all students, on a separate machine. Database access permissions must be setup properly.
• All servers are shared; none reside on the desktops. There is one web server, one Perl interpreter, and one database server that are shared by all students. The database server may reside on a machine separate from the web server and Perl interpreter. Students must be able to create and run their own CGI scripts on the machine (likely a Unix box) that hosts the web server and Perl interpreter. Thus, logins must be set up for them to telnet to. As above, database access permissions must be setup properly.
The required software includes:
• A database
  • Microsoft Access, Oracle, Informix, Sybase, MySQL, etc.
  • Microsoft Access is the one we use most often, since it's part of the Microsoft Office suite, which many classrooms install by default
• A Perl interpreter
  • Version 5.004 or later
• The Perl DBI and DBD modules
  • The DBD module must be appropriate for the chosen database
• On NT, the ODBC utility
  • Use this with Microsoft Access and other ODBC-compliant databases
  • It requires its own DBD module
• A web server
  • Netscape FastTrack (or other Netscape server), Microsoft's IIS or PWS (Personal Web Server), O'Reilly's WebSite, Apache, etc.

In addition, there is software that is recommended but not required:

• A text editor that can display line numbers
  • Textpad is a good choice, and there are numerous others
• Both browsers
  • Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer
• winzip
  • For unpacking archives of source code files for the labs and exercises

In its present form, this course assumes each student has a PC running Windows NT and equipped with a Perl interpreter, ODBC, Microsoft Access, a web server, and the Perl modules DBI and DBD::ODBC.

Which Database?

Perhaps the most important message of this course is that the technologies presented here make the choice of database -- traditionally a major, irrevocable decision -- less critical. These technologies are database- and platform-independent.

The current version of this course assumes you're using Microsoft Access. The course can be adapted for:

• MySQL
• Oracle
• Informix
• Sybase
• Others -- see the section below on Installing the DBD Module.

Utility Programs to Install

Archive/Zipfile Unpacker

• For NT, Winzip (shareware) is a good one. You can download it from http://www.winzip.com/ or from Dan Keller's site.
• For Unix, gzip and gunzip work well. Download them from the GNU site.

Text Editor

Perl error messages include source code line numbers, so the ability to locate lines in source code files by line number is essential for debugging. Make sure you have an editor that shows line numbers.
• For NT, suitable choices include:
  • edlin, DOS's antique, crusty line editor
  • textpad, a full-featured shareware graphical text editor for Win32 platforms. Download it from ftp://ftp.textpad.com/ or from Dan Keller's site.
• For Unix, vi and emacs have line-numbering modes that can be enabled.

File Manager

NT Explorer is useful for many of the procedures described here. An easy way to invoke it is: Right-click on the Start button and choose Explore in the menu that pops up.

Installing Perl

Installing Perl on Windows NT

1. Download the latest binary build of Perl from ActiveState to Temp folder
   
2. Double click downloaded .exe file to execute self extracting setup file
   
3. The Welcome Screen is displayed: Choose Next
   
4. Software License Agreement: Choose Yes
   
5. Installation Notes: Choose Yes
   
6. Choose Destination Location: Choose Yes (C:\Perl)
   
7. Select Components: Choose
   • Perl
   • Online Help and Documentation
   • Choose Next
8. Select Perl Options:
   • Add the Perl bin directory to your path
   • Associate '.pl' with Perl.exe in Explorer
   • Choose Next
9. Select Program Folder:
   • Program Folders: ActivePerl
   • Choose Next
10. Start Copying Files: Choose Next
11. Wait (5 to 10 minutes for processing)
12. Do you want to review the release notes: Choose No
13. Setup Complete: Choose Yes and click Finish (reboot)
14. Verify a complete installation after reboot:
    • Open a dos window
    • Enter the command: perl -v
TOTAL TIME FOR INSTALLATION: 12 to 15 minutes.
• Installation time can be reduced by not installing and building the HTML documentation.

Installing Perl on Unix

• The tasks required here demand advanced system administration skills... don't try this at home, kids! :-)
• If you are building a Perl interpreter for use by any user (including the web server) you need root privilege in order to write in /usr/local/lib and related system directories.
• For Unix, you must download and compile the source code.
• Get it from CPAN's source code directory.
• You'll need an ANSI C compiler (such as gcc) and gzip (get them from GNU).

Installing the DBI and DBD Modules on Win32

Installing the DBI Module on WIN32

ActivePerl comes with a built in package management system. It automatically retrieves packages from the repository and installs the modules you request. To activate the package management system:
1. Open a dos window
2. CD to the \perl\bin directory
3. Enter the command: perl ppm.pl
4. Notice the new command prompt: PPM>
5. Enter the command: install DBI
6. Install package 'DBI?' (y/N): y
7. Wait for download and auto install to finish
8. Enter command: quit

TOTAL TIME FOR INSTALLATION: Less than 5 minutes.

Installing the DBD Module

You must have the appropriate DBD module for the database you're using. DBD modules are available for these databases:

Altera CSV DB2 Empress FreeTDS SearchServer Informix Informix4 Ingres

ODBC Oracle QBase Solid Sybase XBase mSQL mysql pNET

The current version of the course demands DBD::ODBC which talks to Microsoft Access. For details, see the FAQ.

To install the appropriate DBD module, use the same procedure as for DBI, except the install command should be: install DBD-ODBC (substitute the module name as appropriate)

Installing the DBI and DBD Modules on Unix

Installing the DBI Module

• In recent Perl interpreters, the DBI module is included "for free". That is, Perl 5.004 (and later) already has the DBI extension installed. If you must use an older Perl version, you will need make and a C compiler.
• Get the source code from CPAN's DBI directory.
• Compile it with these commands:

  perl Makefile.PL
  make
  make test
  make install

Installing the DBD Module

You may need to compile this module yourself. If so, get the source code from http://www.perl.com/CPAN/modules/by-module/DBD/ and compile as above.

Installing a Web Server

Many are available, including Microsoft's IIS, O'Reilly's Website, Netscape's FastTrack, and others. Some offer free or demo downloads from the Web.

Installing the Netscape Fast Track Server on Windows NT

• Download the installation program for the Fast Track server from Netscape. If that URL is stale, try http://home.netscape.com/download/selectplatform_103_13.html or from Dan Keller's site.
• Choose the right platform, language, and version.
• Select the "Test-Drive" option.
• Fill out the registration form if needed.
• Select a download location (e.g. C:\TEMP).
• Wait.
• Run the downloaded .exe file:
• Double-click on the executable, then:
  • Click Next.
  • Accept License Agreement.
  • Accept Destination Directory.
  • Don't click LDAP check-box, click Next.
  • Select Admin user name "admin", set password to "admin".
  • Use port 8080.
  • Accept Document Root, Web Server Port, click Next.
  • Check Confirmation, click Next.
• Connect to admin interface on port 8080, login with admin/admin.
• Click on the button with the local host name.
• Click Programs on the top row.
• Click Shell CGI (not CGI Directory!) in the left column.
  • URL Prefix: cgi-bin/
  • CGI Directory: c:\cgi-bin
• Click OK.
• Click Save and Apply.

Defining the .cgi Filename Extension (Windows NT)

• Start an MS-DOS shell session.
• Run "assoc .cgi". If it does not return ".cgi=cgi_auto_file", then run the command "assoc .cgi=cgi_auto_file".
• Run "ftype cgi_auto_file". If it does not return something like "cgi_auto_file=c:\perl\bin\perl.exe %1 %*", then run the command "ftype cgi_auto_file=c:\perl\bin\perl.exe %1 %*" (making sure that you provide the actual path to Perl in the command.)

Installing the Database and Class Labs Source Files

Building the Database

For MySQL, Oracle, and Informix, build the test_nile database. Here are scripts that do this:
• create_tables.mysql (MySQL version): source code, run it
• create_tables.oracle (Oracle version): source code, run it
• create_tables.informix (Informix version): source code, run it
• cr-ix-db.pl is Reed White's version of the database setup-and-test script for a remote Informix server. Download and install the source code and run it locally.
For Microsoft Access, download a copy of a pre-built database:
• It's the first file in the tarball of data and source code used in this class. Download it and unpack it with Winzip.
Here are scripts that verify that the tables are healthy:
• dump_title: source code, run it (initially, yields three rows)
• dump_transact: source code, run it (initially, yields zero rows)

Connecting the Access database to ODBC (on NT)

• Open the ODBC Control Panel.
• Click on the System DSN tab.
• Click on Add.
• Select the Microsoft Access Driver and click Finish.
• Fill in the Data Source Name field with "test_nile".
• Click on the Select button.
• Browse to and select the test_nile.mdb file (downloaded earlier) in the c: drive.
• Click on OK.
• Close the Control Panel.

Installing the Class Labs Files on Windows NT

• Using your Windows NT Explorer, create a folder called dbclass in your C: drive.
• Into your new folder, download an archive file containing the source code for the labs in this class.
• With your zipfile unpacker, unpack the archive file into your new c:\dbclass folder.
• If you haven't already done so, download the file named test_nile.mdb. Download it to your C:\ drive.
• Using a text editor, edit the file dbweb-cgi\dbtype.pl and uncomment the appropriate setting for the $DB_type variable.
• Copy the dbweb-cgi folder into the cgi-bin folder for your Web server. If you installed the Fast Track server following the directions in this document, you should create a folder cgi-bin in your C: drive and copy the dbweb-cgi folder into it.
• Copy the dbweb folder into the document root folder of your web server. If you installed the Fast Track server following the directions in this document, this folder is C:\Netscape\SuiteSpot\docs. Copy the dbweb folder into it.
• Copy the dbweb-cgi/dbtype.pl file into either /tmp (c:\tmp) or /temp (c:\temp).

Tips and Traps

• We have found that on some PCs (e.g. zebra) "localhost" doesn't work in URLs. That is, instead of using a URL such as http://localhost/tryme.html you must use http://zebra/tryme.html.
• You may have to hunt around to figure out where your web server expects to find its CGI scripts. It's not always a directory named cgi-bin. For example, IIS uses C:\inetpub\wwwroot\cgi-bin or C:\inetpub\wwwroot\scripts.

Making Sure Everything Works

In your browser, run http://localhost/cgi-bin/dbweb-cgi/test.cgi. If you're using ODBC, also run http://localhost/cgi-bin/dbweb-cgi/testodbc.cgi. These work only if all the following criteria are satisfied (i.e. everything is installed and working):
• The labs files are downloaded and installed in the right place.
• A local web server is running and the browser can find it.
• The local web server has CGI configured properly.
• A Perl interpreter (correct version) is installed and runs and can be found by the web server.
• The database software works and is reachable from Perl (perhaps via ODBC).
• The tables (and the rows they contain) have been constructed and are accessible.
If clicking the above hyperlink yields a list of fictitious technical books, you're golden!