OpenInteract: A robust web application framework built to run under Apache and mod_perl.

QUICK INSTALL

• Read the 'INSTALL' file also located in this directory.
• If you're upgrading from version 1.05 or earlier, please read the UPGRADE file in this directory.

WHAT IS IT?

OpenInteract is an extensible application server using Apache and mod_perl built for developers but also to be manageable almost entirely via the web browser. It includes:

• A robust system of components built on templates that can access your data just about any way that you can think of.
• A very flexible separation of presentation and data access: you can use one template for accessing data from different sources (e.g., a listing of users from the system, from an LDAP server, from an NT/SMB authentication controller, etc.) or you can use one set of data to fill multiple templates.
• A consistent security mechanism allowing you to control security for users and groups not only at the task level, but also at the individual data object level.
• A simple user and group-management system that allows users to create their own accounts and an administrator to assign them to one or more groups.
• A convenient packaging system that makes it simple for developers to distribute code, configuration and all other information necessary for an application. It also makes the installation and upgrading processes very straightforward and simple.
• An integrated, database-independent method for distributing data necessary for a package. You should be able to install any package on any database that's been tested with OpenInteract. (Some of this work must be done by the package authors, but OpenInteract tries to make this as painless as possible.)

OpenInteract uses a number of CPAN modules, relying heavily on the following:

• SPOPS (Simple Perl Object Persistence with Security, which was developed in tandem with this framework)
• Template Toolkit (version 2+ is required)
• Apache::Session

Many others are also used -- why reinvent the wheel when there are so many lying around and so many interesting problems to conquer?

OpenInteract is usable right now, out of the box. That doesn't mean we're sitting on our laurels -- we're working on a number of different features to OpenInteract which will be added soon to a separate file 'TODO', found in this directory.

HOW DO I INSTALL IT?

(1) Read and follow the directions in INSTALL.

(2) Read and follow the directions in INSTALL.

(3) Return to step (1).

IS THERE MORE INFORMATION?

Check out the HTML documents in the 'doc/' directory where you unpacked this distribution. These documents are also copied to the base installation directory when you install OpenInteract and from there to individual websites as you create them. This way someone creating a website can see the docs through her browser.

Documentation also comes in the individual packages and modules within the packages. Some packages are better documented than others, but we're working on bringing them all up to a stellar level.

WHAT NEXT?

We're interested in your feedback on a number of topics. In particular:

• How did you find the installation process? Was OpenInteract simple to install and configure?
• How easy was it for you to create an application, install its SQL structures and data and import its templates?
• Which documentation do you feel is lacking?

As you might tell, we're keenly aware that installation and initial understanding can be a big barrier to entry with a fairly substantial application like this. Feedback is crucial for us to plug the holes.

We also hope to extend certain features (such as users and groups) to different types of data sources, like LDAP directories. Other applications of OpenInteract really depend on what you'd like it to do!

Updates can be found at:

http://www.openinteract.org/

and

http://sourceforge.net/projects/openinteract/

FINALLY

Thanks for trying out OpenInteract! If you have any questions, comments, thoughts, diatribes, e-mail them to Chris Winters <chris@cwinters.com>.

COPYRIGHT AND DISCLAIMERS

OpenInteract is Copyright (c) 2001-2002 intes.net, inc.. All rights reserved.

The OpenInteract library(**) is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the Perl Artistic License or the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License (see 'COPYING'), or (at your option) any later version.

**"OpenInteract library" includes the core 'OpenInteract::' files:

OpenInteract
OpenInteract::ApacheStartup
OpenInteract::Auth
OpenInteract::CommonHandler
OpenInteract::Config
OpenInteract::Config::GlobalOverride
OpenInteract::Config::Ini
OpenInteract::Config::IniFile
OpenInteract::Config::PerlFile
OpenInteract::Cookies::Apache
OpenInteract::Cookies::CGI
OpenInteract::DBI
OpenInteract::Error
OpenInteract::Error::Main
OpenInteract::Error::System
OpenInteract::Handler::GenericDispatcher OpenInteract::LDAP
OpenInteract::Package
OpenInteract::PackageRepository
OpenInteract::Request
OpenInteract::Session
OpenInteract::Session::DBI
OpenInteract::Session::File
OpenInteract::Session::SQLite
OpenInteract::SPOPS
OpenInteract::SPOPS::DBI
OpenInteract::SPOPS::LDAP
OpenInteract::SQLInstall
OpenInteract::Startup
OpenInteract::Template::Context
OpenInteract::Template::Plugin
OpenInteract::Template::Process
OpenInteract::Template::Provider
OpenInteract::UI::Main
OpenInteract::Utility

along the default configuration and documentation, etc. This also includes the core packages:

base
base_box
base_component
base_error
base_group
base_page
base_security
base_template
base_theme
base_user
lookup
object_activity
results_manage
system_doc

and the following application packages:

classified
full_text
news

Every other package, whether developed by intes.net, inc. or other party, is licensed under its own terms.