Week 4: Install a Forum

Objectives

By the end of this face to face session at itworks, you will have

• Accessed the DISCUSWARE web site
• Read the two stage installation instructions
• Uploaded the ftpdiag.pl script to your server space
• Accessed the script and interpreted the output of the script
• Generated and downloaded an installation file
• Unzipped the files and read the readme
• Set up the required directory structure on your Web space
• Uploaded the files with regard to binary and ascii upload types
• Set the file permissions
• Tested the forum
• Set up a basic administration account, moderator account and user accounts for participants
• Invited participants to post messages to your forum

Web Links

Discusware is at http://www.discusware.com/

If anyone is feeling brave (Paul? Daljit?) they might want to have a go at installing the Gossamer Threads forum - see http://www.gossamer-threads.com/scripts/gforum/index.htm - this looks fun. Warn me first as you will need more server space.

Many recent forum systems use a database 'back end'. Each post is stored as an item in a database table and indexed by its topic, author, date of posting, and can be searched for keywords. On such systems, searches are much quicker and the system can handle large numbers of posts. One example of an ASP based forum that uses a 'database abstraction layer' to allow you to use a range of databases including Access, MS SQLserver and the freeware MySQL is the Snitz forum. A colleague at work is especially fond of this forum software as it is used to run the Vauxhall Calibra forum. Having got a MySQL database set up on the bodmas.org server, I was able to upload and configure the forum software in about 20 minutes - here is the demo version...

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Last modified: 2nd Feb 03