Faq-O-Matic Faq-O-Matic: README

<a href="">Faq-O-Matic Faq-O-Matic</a> : <a href="">Administrators' Guide</a> : <a href="">Install</a> : README

The Faq-O-Matic is a CGI-based system that automates the process of maintaining a FAQ (or Frequently Asked Questions list). It allows visitors to your FAQ to take part in keeping it up-to-date. A permission system also makes it useful as a help-desk application, bug-tracking database, or documentation system.

Current version (2.719) can handle 7 languages and have language specific functions for some languages like Japanese,Hungarian.

This documentation itself is, naturally, maintained with Faq-O-Matic:

<http://faqomatic.sourceforge.net/>

Before you get in too deep, make sure you have the latest version of the FAQ-O-Matic. Check the main website to see which version it is

running

<http://faqomatic.sourceforge.net>

Especially the Administrators' Guide:

<http://faqomatic.sourceforge.net/cgi-bin/fom?file=3>

And check the download site for the most recent revision:

      <http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=10674>
      <http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/faqomatic/>

Quickstart

---

% perl Makefile.PL
% make
% make install
% mv fom /usr/local/etc/httpd/cgi-bin/fom

(or wherever your CGIs live.) % netscape http://localhost/cgi-bin/fom

      (or whatever browser you prefer)
               (or whatever the URL would be to execute the CGI)

• subscribe to faqomatic-users (see link to FOMFOM at bottom).
• add your Faq-O-Matic (a description is fine if it's not public) to the List of Faqomatics (on the FOMFOM).
• send Jon a postcard, if you're feeling generous.

• If you don't have the privilege to install the modules in an "official" place, tell Makefile.PL that before you start:

        % mkdir ~/user_perl
        % perl Makefile.PL PREFIX=~/user_perl
        % make
            ...

• If your web server requires CGIs to have a certain suffix, simply rename the generated file "fom" to something like "fom.cgi":

            ...
        % mv fom /usr/local/etc/httpd/cgi-bin/fom.cgi
        % netscape http://localhost/cgi-bin/fom.cgi

• If the user that CGIs run as can't write to the directory in which CGIs reside (a wise security move), create a writable meta/ directory (or a link to one) there in advance:

            ...
        % mv fom /usr/local/etc/httpd/cgi-bin/fom
        % mkdir /usr/local/etc/httpd/cgi-bin/meta
        % chown nobody /usr/local/etc/httpd/cgi-bin/meta
        % netscape http://localhost/cgi-bin/fom
        
        or
        
            ...
        % mv fom /usr/local/etc/httpd/cgi-bin/fom
        % mkdir /somewhere/else/meta
        % chown nobody /somewhere/else/meta
        % ln -s /somewhere/else/meta /usr/local/etc/httpd/cgi-bin/meta
        % netscape http://localhost/cgi-bin/fom

• If you'd rather not even put a link in that directory, modify the fom CGI stub to name the meta directly:

        % vi fom
        % cat fom
        #!/usr/local/bin/perl
        use Faq::Omatic::dispatch
        Faq::Omatic::dispatch::main('/somewhere/else/meta/');
            % mv fom ...
    
      Either of the above two techniques are also suitable for running
      multiple FAQ-O-Matics on one server. Keep in mind that if the FAQs
      are related, they should probably be kept together as one FAQ with
      a few main categories, so searches will search the entire lot.

Bugs

---

      Bugs and problems are best reported at
      <http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?func=add&group_id=10674&atid=110674>

            Jon Howell
            jonh@cs.dartmouth.edu
            http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~jonh

This document is at: http://www.jonh.net/cgi-bin/faqomatic/fom?file=1026 Generated by FAQ-O-Matic 2.719.
available at http://faqomatic.sourceforge.net/