wget in ubuntu

at least its called ‘wget’

apt-get install wget

inetd

it just gets better and better:

apt-get install inetutils-inetd

aparently a zealotry for it’s own sake forbids xinetd, so install neither!

enabling apache ssl on ubuntu

does the insanity never stop?

# a2enmod ssl
# a2ensite default-ssl

see http://ubuntuforums.org/archive/index.php/t-4466.html

getting ’service’ and ‘chkconfig’ on Ubuntu

typing /etc/init.d/apache2 restart is too much work, and sloppy

yet another Ubuntu shortcoming. Fix it with an optional tool (because sysadmins aren’t supposed to use Ubunut):

# apt-get install sysvconfig
# service apache2 status
* Apache is running (pid 8914).

#service apache2 restart
* Restarting web server apache2
… waiting .

Running it through service gives you a bit more feedback than calling the init.d script directly.

See:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SwitchingToUbuntu/FromLinux/%20RedHatEnterpriseLinuxAndFedora

Chkconfig is a bit more difficult. The alternatives are:

# update-rc.d
# sysv-rc-conf

The latter needs installed:

# apt-get install sysv-rc-conf

The former is byzantine, and I’m not even sure how it works or if it does what I want. It’s not a drop-in replacement for chkconfig.

see http://ubuntuforums.org/archive/index.php/t-20583.html

ubuntu www-data user should be apache

or something sane:

usermod -l apache www-data
groupmod -n apache www-data

I wonder is there are any other hidden snags — like file user and group permissions?

Twiki cache add-on

This might make using twiki bearable:

http://twiki.org/cgi-bin/view/Plugins/CacheAddOn

What do I want in a wiki / cms?

I’m migrating the one shore website and wiki to a new server. So I’m evaluating new software to use along with the migration, because it’s easiest to do, and once it gets moved over, there won’t be the momentum to do it later (which may be a good thing — it’s really a time sink.)

So I’ve been reviewing other products including Xwiki and Sitellite. I think I know what I want in a wiki or CMS and have detailed it before, but I came across a good article that’s helped me start asking myself some serious questions.

Top 10 mistakes when selecting a CMS.

I’ve been using Twiki for a wiki. I like it’s featureset as a product, except it could be easier to customize the layout and appearance. (I still haven’t gotten around to doing it.) The hierarchy of pages and friendly urls are important to me. I like being able to have URLS like /tools/qa/defecttracking/bugzilla.

But do I really need a wiki (for tools)? I like the idea that others could edit pages, but that hasn’t happened. And if it does, do I really want a free-form wiki that anyone can edit? The answer is no, because in order for a wiki to overcome the dangers of spam and vandalism, you have to have a critical mass of active users. So I only want registered users to be able to edit and create pages, at least for now.

I prefer a system where content is extractible and versionable. Wikis beat out most CMS systems here. I guess what I’d really like is a CMS that respects my content and layout. Meaning it doesn’t capture it or hold it hostage.

I want pages with content that can be wrapped in my website theme, that is searchable, has pretty urls, and can have structured pages (like the tools wiki), include date specific pages (like the blog) which can be categorized, and commented on. And I want the static “about us” and “products” type pages, as well as forms like “contact us” and ecommerce capabilities “order now”. Ecommerce is not a necessity at this time. Even forwarding to paypal or some third party system is acceptable. I want comments and submissions on the tools wiki, but restricted editing. I’ll need spam control on comments, but I’d like to review comments on blog and knowledgebase entries anyway.

So a knowledgebase-type application is what I want for the tools section. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a wiki, though I thought at one point a wiki would be the easiest solution. I thint that a bug-tracking type application is actually what I want. (This is also what I’d like to see for a requirements system.)

A “content” section that is easily editable, and versioned
Comments that are monitored, but free for all to enter.
Submissions (like Nate’s tip submission) for new pages
Searchability
Navigability (the tree widget)
Taggability — I need to convert the tools tree widget into tags, since some products fit into multiple categories.
The ability to export the content (and comments, preferably) so that I can transfer it to another system.

python and XML

markup.py does approximately what XML::Generator does, but in an easier (simpler) way.

I still prefer SimpleXML or almost even Castor or XMLBeans.

Markup may not be good enough for building RESTful web services, but I’m toying with switching the prototype ShoppingList web service over to python –just for fun.  Building (and iterating) through complex hierarchies in python *is* nice.  Nicer even than perl.

vi – another ubuntu gripe

vi /etc/profile.d/aliases.sh

alias vi=’vim’

installing custom images on your linode

see this howto:

http://thegrebs.com/~michael/custom_howto/