Help getting started

Philipp_Gysling · June 30, 2020, 8:42pm

Hi there,

I’ve been asked to install OPS for a client and am slowly wrapping my head around the requirements.

I’ve found the getting started page:
https://docs.pkp.sfu.ca/dev/documentation/en/getting-started

And the README page:

pkp/ops/blob/main/README.md

# Open Preprint Systems

> Open Preprint Systems (OPS) has been developed by the Public Knowledge Project. For general information about OPS and other open research systems, visit the [PKP web site][pkp].

## Using Git development source

Checkout submodules and copy default configuration :

    git submodule update --init --recursive
    cp config.TEMPLATE.inc.php config.inc.php

Install or update dependencies via Composer (https://getcomposer.org/):

    composer --working-dir=lib/pkp install

Install or update dependencies via [NPM](https://www.npmjs.com/):

    # install [nodejs](https://nodejs.org/en/) if you don't already have it
    npm install
    npm run build

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I think I am going to do a quick install on my local staging platform (LAMP) first just get a handle of how everything works.

Here my newbie questions:

Can I follow the “getting started” instructions for OPS too?
After I do a local install I need to install the application on a public environment, is there any way to get OPS installed on a standard shared hosting environment? Or are there special requirements?

Thanks in advance
Philipp

Philipp_Gysling · July 6, 2020, 6:50pm

Hi again,

Just follwing up on this installation.
I’ve cloaned the code from github and am able to get to where one updates the dependencies w/ Composer. Unfortunately I cannot get past that as I get the follwing error:

Screenshot from 2020-07-06 14-37-29

Can anyone offer some advice?
Thanks!
Philipp

asmecher · July 6, 2020, 9:08pm

Hi @Philipp_Gysling,

See docs/README.md – if you download OPS from the PKP website, it’ll already contain dependencies etc.

Regards,
Alec Smecher
Public Knowledge Project Team

Philipp_Gysling · July 7, 2020, 3:11am

Hi Alec,

Should I not have cloned from github?
If I understand correctly I should just get it from here: https://pkp.sfu.ca/ops/ops_download/
And then follow the instructions in this readme file:
https://github.com/pkp/ops/blob/master/docs/README.md

Thanks for sending me in the right direction!
Philipp

asmecher · July 7, 2020, 3:13am

Hi @Philipp_Gysling,

If you follow those directions, there is no need to clone from GitHub. You can just unpack the files from the .tar.gz package onto your server.

Thanks,
Alec Smecher
Public Knowledge Project Team

Philipp_Gysling · July 8, 2020, 4:29pm

Hi again Alec,

I’ve tried to follow the instructions from the readme file but am still running into problems.

I’ve unpacked the files into a new directory
And have created a new virtual server for the site in Apache
However, when I try to run the tools/install.php script I run into the mbstring error message:

Screenshot from 2020-07-08 12-24-30

I think I need to adjust the php.ini, which I thought I had done but somehow i cannot get past the above screen.

Thanks
Philipp

asmecher · July 8, 2020, 5:53pm

Hi @Philipp_Gysling,

Yes, you need to install the mbstring extension. It looks like it’s enabled in the configuration but not installed one server. That’s more of a PHP question than an OPS question, so you might find better guidance on StackOverflow.com or similar.

Regards,
Alec Smecher
Public Knowledge Project Team

Philipp_Gysling · July 8, 2020, 7:50pm

Thanks again for helping me through this!
I had installed the mbstring but I was working in the wrong php version; but it seems I’ve been able to get past the mbstring issue now.

Screenshot from 2020-07-08 15-45-42

However, I still get the XMLParser error, does this need to be installed as well?

Best
Philipp

asmecher · July 8, 2020, 8:03pm

Hi @Philipp_Gysling,

See e.g.: php - Fatal error: Call to undefined function xml_parser_create() - Stack Overflow

Regards,
Alec Smecher
Public Knowledge Project Team

Philipp_Gysling · July 8, 2020, 8:50pm

Thank you Alec,

I have now also been able to get past the xml issue

The install script looks to be running properly, I’ve gotten to the point a “repository identifier” but can’t find any information about this. What should I enter there?

Thanks
Philipp

asmecher · July 8, 2020, 10:38pm

Hi @Philipp_Gysling,

That is for the OAI-PMH interface, and should uniquely identify your journal. You’re free to make one up.

Regards,
Alec Smecher
Public Knowledge Project Team

Philipp_Gysling · July 8, 2020, 11:22pm

Thanks very much for your help, Alec,

I was able to successfully install!

I can call up the start page from the command line:
php index.php

However, I can’t seem to call it up in the browser even though I’ve created a new virtual site for this in Apache.

asmecher · July 9, 2020, 12:43am

Hi @Philipp_Gysling,

This question is more about PHP/Apache than OJS, so again StackOverflow might be helpful. I’m not sure what you mean about not being able to call it up in the browser – what happens when you try? You’ll probably find details in your PHP or Apache error log.

Regards,
Alec Smecher
Public Knowledge Project Team

Philipp_Gysling · July 9, 2020, 4:28am

Hi Alec,

Thanks again for helping me out. I’ve got it installed and up and running now. I had forgotten to adjust the hosts file for that virtual server. But it’s all good now!

Best
Philipp

Philipp_Gysling · July 9, 2020, 12:47pm

Hi again Alec,

I have a follow-up question. Do you have any advice on installing OPS in a shared hosting environment?
Is the installation only possible from the command line or is there a way to do it through the regular tools available in a shared environment. For example, can I run the install.php tool through a browser once all the files have been copied to the server?

Thanks in advance
Philipp

asmecher · July 9, 2020, 4:59pm

Hi @Philipp_Gysling,

Check step 4 in the README document; you can use a web-based installation form instead of the command line installer.

Regards,
Alec Smecher
Public Knowledge Project Team

Philipp_Gysling · July 13, 2020, 1:31pm

Hi again Alec,

I’ve been able to unpack the package on the hosting platform and was prompted to got through the installation process in the browser, however, after submission of the installation variables I just end up on am empty screen:

Do you have any pointers?

Thanks
Philipp

asmecher · July 13, 2020, 3:08pm

Hi @Philipp_Gysling,

Check your PHP error log for details.

Regards,
Alec Smecher
Public Knowledge Project Team

alaskadream · July 13, 2020, 3:39pm

Hi Philipp

I installed multiple OJS on hostpoint.ch using web-based installation (OJS and OPS should be quite similar).

In the installation variables make sure you choose ‘mysqli’ instead of ‘mysql’.

Hope this helps,
Cédric

Philipp_Gysling · July 13, 2020, 6:35pm

Thank you Alec and Cédric,

I thought I had selected ‘mysqli’ when I did the first install, but apparently not!
Anyway, I’ve been able to complete the installation now.

Thanks very much for your support!
Philipp