LiveCode Server 8.1 - installing

[Richard Gaskin]

Graham Samuel wrote:

 > A quick check on the DreamHost Knowledge Base doesn’t answer the
 > question, so I’ve had  to generate a ticket in their support system.

You may consider closing that support request with Dreamhost.  There are 
enough of us using LC Server on DH that I'd like to avoid the potential 
of creating a reputation for LiveCode as representing an unusual cost 
for them to support.  I really like the team at DH (I've met some of 
them at the SoCal Linux Expo, and they were enormously helpful last year 
in helping us sort out LC's transition to 64-bit), so I try to be mindul 
of our impact on their time (hosting is a notoriously low-margin business).

DH's setup is fine.  I run LC on it often, as many of us do.  It's set 
up well to handle any executable that supports stdin and stdout as a 
CGI, including LC Server, so there's little they can do that won't eat 
up a lot of their time trying to learn the specifics of LC.

Please let us help you instead.  Many of us know DH well, and all of us 
know LC very well.  We can help you with LiveCode-specific questions 
more efficiently than they can.


 > A lot of LC people use DreamHost, and as I say it was kind of working
 > until I foolishly binned my 7 series version in favour of 8.1.

What is the error you're getting now that you didn't get before?

If the LC Lesson you found for setting up LC Server involved updating 
the Apache config file, you were looking at the one for a dedicated 
server or VPS.  What you want is the one that uses .htaccess, the 
override mechanism for Apache config supported on most shared hosting 
services like DG:
<http://lessons.livecode.com/m/4070/l/36655-how-do-i-install-livecode-server-with-apache-via-htaccess>

It may be helpful to review the notes that Stephen put together for 
setting up LC Server specifically on DH:
<http://lists.runrev.com/pipermail/use-livecode/2015-July/216377.html>

@Stephen: If you don't mind I can copy your notes to this thread in the 
forums where we've been collecting notes on host-specific setup 
instructions so they don't get lost in the ephemera of email list archives:
<http://forums.livecode.com/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=121>


 > What scares me is having to do command-line stuff on an OS I know
 > absolutely nothing about. The instructions and installation notes
 > I’ve read so far don’t work for someone with that particular phobia.

I somewhat agree.  Just as we need to be able to use a desktop 
environment well to be able to design software for it effectively, it's 
very helpful to be able to work fluidly via Terminal with a server in 
order to deploy systems there.

It's all learnable, and if you like learning it's kinda fun, but like 
any learning it does take time.

We can explore ways to build skills and confidence with Terminal here if 
you like - there's not all that much you need to know to work on a 
shared host like your DH account. In under a day you can become 
confident, in a week you're a pro. :)

But alternatively, you might also consider taking advantage of the range 
of options we have with server systems today.

Just as most other development platforms are available with different 
levels of support across the cloud, LiveCode has more options we well.

Using a shared hosting service is a sort of IaaS (Infrastructure as a 
Servce), where they provide the machine and maintain the OS and the 
connectivity, and within your account you're pretty much on your own.

But as we see with services like what Heroku provides for Python, PHP, 
etc., we have two PaaS (Platform as a Service) options in our LiveCode 
world:  on-rev.com and hostm.com

I have no direct experience with on-rev.com, but it was built by the 
core team and AFAIK still managed by LiveCode Ltd.

I've had correspondences with hostm.com, and while I haven't used their 
service myself yet I've read many comments here from those who seem very 
pleased with it.  My own exchanges with them have been prompt, candid, 
and courteous.  I was very impressed to find a third-party hosting 
service as committed to helping LiveCode grow as they are.

Both services provide LiveCode Server pre-installed and ready for use 
with your scripts.  Of the two, last time I checked hostm.com's pricing 
was more favorable.

And if you want to stay with DH, they're a fine option too.  Follow 
Stephen's guide, be willing to learn a little about managing permissions 
in Terminal (though you can probably do what you need in a good FTP tool 
as well, like the free and open FileZilla), and we can get you up and 
running there.

-- 
  Richard Gaskin
  Fourth World Systems
  Software Design and Development for the Desktop, Mobile, and the Web
  ____________________________________________________________________
  Ambassador at FourthWorld.com                http://www.FourthWorld.com