Installing Greenstone

From GreenstoneWiki

How do I compile Greenstone from a source or SVN distribution?

• General Unix compilation notes
• Cygwin
• Darwin/Mac OS X
• GNU/Linux
• FreeBSD
• Solaris
• Windows (Visual C++)
• 64 bit processors

What is the difference between Greenstone's local library and web library?

Firstly, the local library is only available if you're running Greenstone under Windows. It's not yet available on Unix.

The major difference between the two is that the local library contains it's own built-in webserver. The web library however, requires an external webserver like Apache or Microsoft IIS. This makes the local library much easier to install and configure than the web library.

For this reason, it's recommended that Windows users install the local library unless they're sure that they need the web library. Even if you think you might need the web library, try installing the local library first. You can always uninstall it later and install the web library if you then decide you need it.

A situation where the web library may be preferable is if you plan to serve your Greenstone collections as a full-time service on the web. In this case you'll probably want the added stability that running the web library in conjunction with an external webserver can provide.

Please note that the local library is quite capable of serving Greenstone collections over a local area network or the web (despite its rather misleading name).

How do I use Greenstone's web library with IIS?

Note: we don't use IIS, test Greenstone with it, or recommend it (Apache has a much better security record, and of course it's open source).

After installing the web library version of Greenstone, configure IIS by following these steps:

1. Visit http://localhost in a web browser to check that IIS is running
2. Run the IIS configuration program (Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Internet Information Services)
3. Double-click on the local computer, then Web Sites. Right-click on Default Web Site, choose New -> Virtual Directory. Set the Alias to "gsdl", the Content Directory to the directory where you installed Greenstone (eg. C:\\Program Files\\Greenstone), and allow "Read" and "Browse" permissions only.
4. Open the new "gsdl" entry, right-click on the "cgi-bin" folder and choose Properties. Enter "Greenstone" as the Application name and choose "Scripts and Executables" for Execute Permissions. Untick "Directory browsing".
5. IIS 6: Copy the gsdlsite.cfg file from the Greenstone "cgi-bin" folder into the main Greenstone folder.
6. IIS 6: expand Local Computer, click "Web Service Extension", then right-click "All Unknown CGI Extensions" and choose Allow. (Thanks to Victor T. Jones, Jr.)
7. Close the IIS configuration program.
8. Make the Greenstone "etc\\error.txt", "etc\\key.db" and "etc\\users.db" files world-writeable by opening a DOS prompt (Start -> Run -> cmd.exe) then running:
   cacls "C:\\Program Files\\Greenstone\\etc\\error.txt" /P Everyone:F
   cacls "C:\\Program Files\\Greenstone\\etc\\key.db" /P Everyone:F
   cacls "C:\\Program Files\\Greenstone\\etc\\users.db" /P Everyone:F
   

You should now be able to access your Greenstone library at http://localhost/gsdl/cgi-bin/library.exe.

How do I install the Greenstone Librarian Interface as an applet?

Install the GLI applet by following the instructions on this page.