Server and KwaJoja Install

LarryJoy

I am using Ubuntu 18.04.1 OS on my personal desktop PC on a LAN, not trying to do anything over the internet except to download the needed programs/files. It looks like I need some personal hand holding--please.

In my Downloads directory I have the file "xampp-linux-x64-7.4.2.0-installer.run". When I open it I get "Could not display "xampp-linux-x64-7.4.2.0-installer.run"" and "Do you want to search for an application to open this file?" What do I do to "install" XAMPP as my web server?

On KwaMoja > Getting Started it says to see "http://logidac.com/apache/apache-install-rpm.phtml" and "http://www.linux-sottises.net/en_apache_install.php". In the first case it comes back with "Not Found" "The requested URL /guillaume.filion.org/apache/apache-install-rpm.phtml was not found on this server." "Additionally, a 404 Not Found error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request." And below a horizontal line is "Apache Server at guillaume.filion.org Port 80". In the second case the website is in French, not English and, therefore, is of no use to me.

Now, from your recent e-mail post that I received about Release 22.03, I downloaded it to my Downloads directory, which is KwaMoja-develop.zip at 52.8 MB (MiB).
Information says "Assuming that a web server with PHP functionality is operational and a MySQL database is available either on the same machine or on the network and that the web-server is running under a user that is able to write to the KwaMoja installation directory then a new installation can proceed."
Then: • After downloading KwaMoja and placing the code in the web root, point your browser to the code. What is meant by "place the code in the web root"? How to accomplish that, what terminal commands? How do you "point a browser to the code"? How do you accomplish that, what commands?
--Thank you and regards, Larry

Tim

Hi Larry,
To install the server on Ubuntu follow these instructions:
https://howtoubuntu.org/how-to-install-lamp-on-ubuntu
Once there you need to unzip the KwaMoja archive into your /var/www/ directory.
You will now have a directory /var/www/KwaMoja-release_20.03
I would rename this to just KwaMoja for ease, and then in your web browser simply go to http:/localhost/KwaMoja and the installer should start.

Thanks
Tim

Tim

I have also updated the links to show better examples. Thanks for the heads up on this one.

Tim

LarryJoy

Hi Tim, Sorry for the misspelling/typo of KwaMoja.
I found out what terminal commands I had to do to install my downloaded XAMPP Apache2 server. It ends up being installed to "/opt/lampp". In my web browser I enter "http://localhost" and get the Apache2 Ubuntu Default Page. In the terminal I enter 'php -r "echo\n\nYour PHP installation' and what I type on the keyboard is echoed to the terminal screen. Thus, that installation is working.
My download of KwaMoja is in my Downloads directory as "KwaMoja-develop.zip", which I unzip and it becomes, of course, a directory named "KwaMoja-develop". I then do 'mv ~/Downloads/KwaMoja-develop /var/www/KwaMoja'. When I put in my web browser "http://localhost/KwaMoja" I get the dreaded "404 Not Found".
When doing 'sudo apt install apache2', 'sudo apt install mysql-server', and 'sudo apt install php-pear php-fpm php-de', according to your link, I don't know and it is not stated, where these are installed. Do I need to put the KwaMoja directory under "/opt" or "/opt/lampp" so they are connected?
--Thanks and regards, Larry

Tim

Hi Larry, this stuff (setting up a LAMP server) is a bit out of my comfort zone, so I asked someone who is an expert. He said:

"How/where Apache places the DocumentRoot seems to vary a little across Linux installations.

Larry mentioned /opt/lampp and if this is the case, based on a little bit of Googling, there may/should be a /htdocs sub-directory there, and if so, that's where he should move the KwaMoja directory.

If not, then we'd need to check his httpd.conf file to know the real path set to DocumentRoot.

Other places I've seen the htdocs:

/var/www/  (older Ubuntu)
/var/www/html  (supposedly Ubuntu 14.04+)
/etc/apache2
/opt/lampp (as mentioned by Larry, but unsure if his localhost is actually pointing there, or to /opt/lampp/htdocs/, or not there at all?)
...and others

That may not be the only item needed, but let's start here.

Thanks!,
-Paul"

Tim

LarryJoy

Hello Tim and Paul. Sorry it has taken these many days to get back with you, I have other tings going, like trying to get a website up and running, but having much trouble installing SSL certificates--been working on this for over 3 months.

Yes, I was able to find the htdocs subdirectory under /opt/lampp. I copied over the KwaMoja-develop unzipped file with 'sudo cp -r /home/larry/Downloads/KwaMoja-develop /opt/lampp/htdocs/KwaMoja'. Then went to my web browser and entered "http://localhost/KwaMoja" for which I got back, again, the dreaded "Not Found" "The requested URL was not found on this server."

To try something else, I reread the reply postings from Tim that said to download the Apache2 server from the link <https://howtoubuntu.org/how-to-install-lamp-on-ubuntu> and get "Unable to connect". I don't know what is going on but this "stuff" just isn't working for me. Any further help would be much appreciated.
--Regards, Larry

TurboPT

Previously you said that:

In my web browser I enter "http://localhost" and get the Apache2 Ubuntu Default Page

So that means that webserver is working, though we have to find out where the file is that has the default page information.
THAT is where KwaMoja will need to be copied, once known.

On my Ubuntu 16.0.4, the default Apache page is located in /var/www/html. Note that this does not have htdocs in the path, so that may be the location to try a copy of KwaMoja as well. (The specific htdocs name may or may not exist, it all depends on what path is specified to DocumentRoot within the webserver config file, and then that path would need to exist) The default Apache page has a section about Document Roots, so that would have some details too.

Side note: I have a new hard drive, and will soon be installing Ubuntu 18.0.4 (or whatever the latest 18 version may be) myself. I do not have anything in my /opt area. (except eclipse)

LarryJoy

TurboPT, Here is what I get when I run 'ls -l /opt/lampp/htdocs':
total 88
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 3607 Aug 27 2019 applications.html
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 177 Aug 27 2019 bitnami.css
drwxr-xr-x 21 root root 4096 Mar 9 14:46 dashboard
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 30894 May 11 2007 favicon.ico
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Mar 9 14:46 img
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 260 Jul 9 2015 index.php
drwxr-xr-x 17 root root 32768 Mar 18 17:14 KwaMoja
drwxr-xr-x 2 daemon daemon 4096 Mar 9 14:46 webalizer

This is what I get when I run 'ls -l /var/www:
total 40
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Mar 19 2019 html
drwxrwxr-x 17 larry larry 32768 Mar 1 17:14 KwaMoja

And this is what I get when I run 'ls -l /var/www/html:
total 12
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 10918 Mar 19 2019 index.html

It looks like what is called the "default Apache page" is the file "index.html", is this correct? I see that I have the KwaMoja directory in the directory /opt/lampp/htdocs with "root root" while the KwaMoja directory in the directory /var/www has "larry larry" instead of "root root". Is this the problem? If so, I don't remember installing KwaMoja in the /var/www directory or how I did it. Does the KwaMoja directory need to be put in the directory /var/www/html with "root root"? Hope this helps.
--Regards, Larry

TurboPT

Let's try this first:

Copy the KwaMoja to /var/www/html
Try to then access through: http://localhost/KwaMoja to see what you get

I can help with permissions from there, depending upon what you see.

LarryJoy

TurboPT, Yeaaas!
You didn't specify which KwaMoja director so I executed 'sudo cp -r /opt/lampp/htdocs/KwaMoja /var/www/html', because it had "root root" (for permissions?). I then executed in my search engine "http://localhost/KwaMoja" and got "KwaMoja Installation Wizard"! I'll let you know later how the installation goes. Again, thank you very much.
--Regards, Larry

TurboPT

I figured the same KwaMoja directory that you've already been using.

Good that got you started, let us know how it goes.

LarryJoy

TurboPT, Further to trying to install KwaMoja.
I had to change the "other" column permissions to w (writable) for /var/www/html/KwaMoja and /var/www/html/KwaMoja/companies.
On the next screen is:
Host Name: localhost
Database Name: kwamojadb
Database Prefix - Optional: None
Database User Name: root
Password: Is "Enter the database user password if one exits"--I left this blank
Clicked on "Next Step" and get:
"Failed to connect the database management system (!)"
"The database does not exist, and this database user does not have privileges to create it (!)"
What? How do I fix that?
--Regards, Larry

TurboPT

Is MySQL installed?

Let's take a step back for a moment...

I don't recall companies needing the other to be writeable? If the installer says to do that somewhere (I don't recall), then ok. But if not, then undo that if you can, and run the commands below to set all the expected permissions:

See if you have ack program installed (kinda like grep), at the command prompt run: ack test

If there is an error about the ack command not found, then install ack: sudo apt intall ack-grep

Need to check what the Apache group setting may be for your system. (may be the same)
This will be needed at step 2 below, only if it differs from my example: sudo ack APACHE_RUN_GROUP /etc/apache2/

Get to the document root path: cd /var/www/html
Set the permission for root owner and the Apache group user: sudo chown -R root:www-data KwaMoja
Ensure that the top-level KwaMoja directory has 755 permissions: sudo chmod 755 KwaMoja
Then change to the KwaMoja directory: cd KwaMoja
Ensure all KwaMoja sub-directories have 755 permissions: sudo find . -type d -exec chmod 755 {} \;
Then ensure all KwaMoja files have 644 permissions: sudo find . -type f -exec chmod 644 {} \;

Feel free to ask question about any of that handling.

LarryJoy

TurboPT,
In answer to the question "Is MySQL installed?"--No. XAMPP is an easy to install Apache distribution containing MariaDB, PHP, and Perl. This is the download URL link given at the KwaMoja Software requirements section for Linux environments.
I set the /var/www/html/KwaMoja directory back, so it now reads:
drwxr-xr-x 17 root root 32768 Mar 20 17:35 KwaMoja and
/var/www/html/KwaMoja/companies directory, so it now reads:
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 Mar 20 17:35 companies

Ran 'ack test' and get: Command 'ack' not found, but can be installed with: 'sudo apt instal ack'. I ran: 'sudo apt install ack-grep' according to your instructions. It loaded.

Then ran 'sudo ack APACHE_RUN_GROUP /etc/apache2/' and get:
"/etc/apache2/envvars"
"17:export APACHE_RUN_GROUP=www-data" and
"/etc/apache2/apache2.conf"
"117:Group $[APACHE_RUN_GROUP]"

cd /var/www/html -- done.
sudo chown -R root:www-data KwaMoja -- done.
cd KwaMoja -- done.
sudo find . -type d -exec chmod 755 {} \; -- done.
sudo find . -type f -exec chmod 644 {} \; -- done.

Went to "http://localhost/KwaMoja" and get "KwaMoja Installation Wizard"
Filled out Language: English United States, DBMS: MariaDB, and clicked on "Next Step" and get as before
"The directory /var/www/html/KwaMoja must be writable by web server (!)"
"The directory /var/www/html/KwaMoja/companies/ must be writable by web server (!)"

Am I missing something? Should I be putting "APACHE_RUN_GROUP" in the curly brackets at step 4 and 5? I don't understand. Further analysis and help needed--Thanks.
--Regards, Larry

TurboPT

Ok on the MySQL question. I should have clarified, could also be MariaDB. So the error about the DB is because of being installed within the XMAPP package, and not installed for "system wide use", so that is why the DB was not found.

I'll have to go check the link reference. To me, XAMPP is generally geared to a Windows based installation, and NOT for Linux (although it's possible, which could be a simplified solution for some users, depending upon skill level). With Linux, you can install the same packages yourself -- as it's only 3. Apache is already apparently installed, so the other packages would be: MariaDB (or MySQL), and PHP. The AMP portion in the middle of that acronym means Apache, MySQL (or MariaDB), and PHP. The leading X in the acronym implies the OS in use: If Windows, then you have WAMP (windows with those 3 packages), if Linux then you have LAMP (Linux with those 3 packages), and if Mac then you have MAMP (Mac with those 3 packages). That's all there is to it! ... I can help install any of the AMP portions, if needed. Technically speaking, the AMP packages can be individually installed on to any system without needing XAMPP.

The point of using ack was to simply find out what your APACHE_RUN_GROUP value was, which happened to be the same as mine. The www-data portion, is used in step 2, after the : ... This was only to check if your 18 version may have changed. Ack is a 'friendlier' search utility than grep for some, and it also highlights the match(es), which you might have noticed.

Nothing needed inside the curly braces at steps 4 and 5 are run as-is.
The curly braces within find command is replaced by any (file or directory) found by the find parameters.

No, you're not missing anything (so far, I think) ... we might have crossed each other during my edits yesterday (Saturday)

Writable by the webserver simply means the www-data group user, so this would be applied to the group permissions, and NOT to 'other'.

See item #3 in my previous comment, that should take care of the first writable message.
For the companies directory:

Get to the KwaMoja directory: cd /var/www/html/KwaMoja
Then run: sudo chmod 775 companies

That should take care of those last 2 install messages, but if not, let me know!
Seems that you're very close! (though you may still see the DB error, because of what I mentioned at the start of this comment)

LarryJoy

TurboPT, I did a search on the internet and found the official MariaDB website, followed their instructions for downloading to Ubuntu 18.04 LTS OS, and it didn't work as it came back with couldn't resolve this and couldn't resolve that and was using some old files, etc., etc., etc. I then found some websites that had download instructions for PHP but I found some instructions had 'apt-get', some just 'apt', some with '-y', and some without--very confusing. This is getting me down as this stuff isn't working for me as advertised. So, I'll take you up on your offer of help to install MariaDB and PHP and how to check them out to see if they are working correctly. Then move on from there. Thanks for all your help.
--Regards, Larry

TurboPT

Since the KwaMoja installer ran, the PHP appears to be installed/working too, or that would not have run as expected (I'll give a command to check the PHP version), so let's focus on the MariaDB.

To install MariaDB, you should be able to use this command: sudo apt install mariadb-server
If you get prompted about any dependencies, type y (or Y, whichever it may be) at the prompt, and press enter.

To see what PHP version that you have, enter this at the command prompt: php -v

LarryJoy

Hi TurboPT, Well, like I said it isn't working for me. See what you think of this:
larry@larry-MS-7693:~$ sudo apt install mariadb-server
[sudo] password for larry:
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
Some packages could not be installed. This may mean that you have
requested an impossible situation or if you are using the unstable
distribution that some required packages have not yet been created
or been moved out of Incoming.
The following information may help to resolve the situation:

The following packages have unmet dependencies:
mariadb-server : Depends: mariadb-server-10.4 (>= 1:10.4.12+maria_bionic) but it is not going to be installed
E: Unable to correct problems, you have held broken packages.

For the command 'php -v' I get the following:
larry@larry-MS-7693:~$ php -v
PHP 7.2.24-0ubuntu0.18.04.3 (cli) (built: Feb 11 2020 15:55:52) ( NTS )
Copyright (c) 1997-2018 The PHP Group
Zend Engine v3.2.0, Copyright (c) 1998-2018 Zend Technologies
with Zend OPcache v7.2.24-0ubuntu0.18.04.3, Copyright (c) 1999-2018, by Zend Technologies

Further help needed. I heard a couple of things from past supervisors, "It's always something", and "If it was easy everybody would be doing it". Hope your doing okay with COVID-19 (Coronavirus).
--Regards, Larry

TurboPT

What is the output if you run: sudo apt list --installed ?
(meanwhile, I'll check about that error)

...it will be a LONG list, but scroll up to see what is around the m's for MariaDB or MySQL.

Yep, it's always something, I agree! 😀 (and many times, it's the stupidest damn syntax thing as well)
Exercise is easy too (doesn't have to be strenuous), but not too many do.

IDGAFF on COVID, that's all I have to say.

=====

From what I'm reading, the bionic version already has MariaDB installed.
What do you get if you simply type mysql at the command prompt?

Why mysql you might ask? Not sure, may be aliased, but this is what I see using mysql on my 16.04:
(note the MariaDB within the output)

turbopt@turbopt-Inspiron-660:~$ mysql -u root -p
Enter password: 
Welcome to the MariaDB monitor.  Commands end with ; or \g.
Your MariaDB connection id is 3
Server version: 10.0.38-MariaDB-0ubuntu0.16.04.1 Ubuntu 16.04
 
Copyright (c) 2000, 2018, Oracle, MariaDB Corporation Ab and others.
 
Type 'help;' or '\h' for help. Type '\c' to clear the current input statement.

MariaDB [(none)]> select version();
+----------------------------------+
| version()                        |
+----------------------------------+
| 10.0.38-MariaDB-0ubuntu0.16.04.1 |
+----------------------------------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)

MariaDB [(none)]>

LarryJoy

Hello TurboPT, Here is what I got for MySQL when I ran 'sudo apt list --installed':
mysql-client-5.7/bionic-updates,bionic-security,now 5.7.29-0ubuntu0.18.04.1 amd64 [installed,automatic]
mysql-client-core-5.7/bionic-updates,bionic-security,now 5.7.29-0ubuntu0.18.04.1 amd64 [installed,automatic]
mysql-common/unknown,unknown,unknown,now 1:10.4.12+maria_bionic all [installed,automatic]
mysql-server-5.7/bionic-updates,bionic-security,now 5.7.29-0ubuntu0.18.04.1 amd64 [installed,automatic]
mysql-server-core-5.7/bionic-updates,bionic-security,now 5.7.29-0ubuntu0.18.04.1 amd64 [installed,automatic]
Note that there was no listing for MariaDB as follows:
manpages-dev/bionic,bionic,now 4.15-1 all [installed,automatic]
mawk/bionic,now 1.3.3-17ubuntu3 amd64 [installed]

Next I tried 'sudo mysql' and this is what I got:
larry@larry-MS-7693:~$ sudo mysql
[sudo] password for larry:
Welcome to the MySQL monitor. Commands end with ; or \g.
Your MySQL connection id is 11
Server version: 5.7.29-0ubuntu0.18.04.1 (Ubuntu)

Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation and/or its
affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective
owners.

Type 'help;' or '\h' for help. Type '\c' to clear the current input statement.
mysql>

Note that it doesn't mention MariaDB at all.
--Regards, Larry