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HELP much PHP hair pulling

Merrick
Grafter
Posts: 102
Registered: ‎31-08-2007

HELP much PHP hair pulling

0/
I've been with PN for over a year now but never really investigated just what i can do with ym webspace.
I have website and a domain name hosted by PN and its all great.
I have a PHP forum with another group. Its not mine to control as such, i can change the skin or add/remove sections, the basics, but i cant tinker with it much or access its database or view files.
So im looking into downloading a proper version of PHP (where do i start?) and then somehow magicaly importing my current forum (which im not sure i can even get a copy of from the hosts) into my own PHP shell (that right?) and uploading the whole lot to by web space on PN and then figuing out how to run it beside my current website under one domain anme (front page called index with seperate links to both forum and website??)
I can use dreamweaver a bit and the basic admin funcitons of PHP and i work with coms for a living so i can catch on fast but PHP and using web space is one area i really am struggling with as i have little prior experiance.
If anyone can point me in the right direction or give me some simply instructions that wont go over my head that would be great
Thanks
Merr
17 REPLIES 17
Merrick
Grafter
Posts: 102
Registered: ‎31-08-2007

Re: Not new to PN but VERY new to PHP

Ah ok, i dont have a CGI button, just a webspace button
I'm guessing my account needs upgraded to get that?
Merrick
Grafter
Posts: 102
Registered: ‎31-08-2007

Re: Not new to PN but VERY new to PHP

I have a BB Plus account
Merrick
Grafter
Posts: 102
Registered: ‎31-08-2007

Re: Not new to PN but VERY new to PHP

yeah i just looked over that and also noticed the effect on my online games from speed reductions after certain times etc so ive gone for option 3 (you should be on comision  Grin )
once thats up and running i'll be back on Smiley
Merrick
Grafter
Posts: 102
Registered: ‎31-08-2007

Re: Not new to PN but VERY new to PHP

ok the cgi is actived, waiting the 4 hours
do i need to active the SQL DB as well?
i will contact my forum host and ask them if i can have a copy of it Smiley
Merrick
Grafter
Posts: 102
Registered: ‎31-08-2007

Re: Not new to PN but VERY new to PHP

yeah i read through some php stuff on these forums and some guids while i was waiting the upgrade going through and saw SQL a lot in there.
Merrick
Grafter
Posts: 102
Registered: ‎31-08-2007

Re: Not new to PN but VERY new to PHP

ok seriously stuck here  Huh
I have phpbb uploaded to my cgi webspace using DW
Ive been using this tutorial
http://usertools.plus.net/tutorials/id/51
its doing my nut in Smiley
i unpakced the files before uploading them as per another tutorial and then move to this one as the former didnt explain how to get into PN webspace.
now that they are there this tutorial tells mes to use telnet to do various thins to them and also to access my files using a url
im using the putty telnet client and it keeps closing automaticaly on me after a few seconds and when i do type fast enough to get a command in there it it doesnt exucute, jsut goes to a new line
the URL, no mater what wonderful combi or words i use never goes to my webspace and when  i try and access it from my webstats it says theres no files there....
im very confused so any help would be great
i have phpbb2.0.22 in my cgi webspace and in the right directory
from here im stuck
thanks
merr
Merrick
Grafter
Posts: 102
Registered: ‎31-08-2007

Re: HELP much PHP hair pulling

ok permissions done btu its the URL thats still getting me
i changes the phpbb2 folder name to something, as per the tutorial, still cant get the dam thing to work  Grin
im going to reupload it and then set the permissions and not change the directory name yet, so i can see if i can at leaset load the pages
Merrick
Grafter
Posts: 102
Registered: ‎31-08-2007

Re: HELP much PHP hair pulling

i have phpbb2 uploaded to the top of my cgi space directory, its not in a sub folder, its just next to the cgi bin folder
when i do ccgi.username.plus.com/phpbb2  i just get page can not be displayed
i used dreamweaver to originaly upload it, setting up a site etc, do i need to use the name of the site in that url?
sorry for the questions, very new to this Smiley
Merrick
Grafter
Posts: 102
Registered: ‎31-08-2007

Re: HELP much PHP hair pulling

could it be my data sources from sql? i havent done anything with that other than turn it on and log into the admin section
Merrick
Grafter
Posts: 102
Registered: ‎31-08-2007

Re: HELP much PHP hair pulling

yeah i uploaded the phpbb2 folder and then i tried with out that folder in the route
tried it always, still get page can not be displayed

very frustrating Sad

anyway, thanks for your help mate, apriciate it  Smiley
Penny
Superuser
Superuser
Posts: 1,309
Thanks: 809
Fixes: 8
Registered: ‎05-04-2007

Re: HELP much PHP hair pulling

Quote from: Merrick
ok seriously stuck here  Huh
I have phpbb uploaded to my cgi webspace using DW
Ive been using this tutorial
http://usertools.plus.net/tutorials/id/51
its doing my nut in Smiley

... been there Smiley
I installed a phpbb in May last year, using that tutorial and some other stuff I think I might have found on the portal help guide (?) or elsewhere within UserTools.  Some but not absolutely all of the steps were detailed between the two, and there was a lot of guessing - and trying of different things - before I (finally) got things working.
Mine was on the Force 9 ccgi server, so there may be some differences in addresses, but the basic principles shd be probably approximately the same.  I'll note down here all the things which seem relevant, so my apologies if you already know much of what is here Smiley  maybe some factor of what's below will be relevant to solve your current issue.
1. phpBB2 is in the outer directory of ccgi (ie not within the cgi bin itself).
2. so, also, is a folder called "coffeelounge" - not the actual name but I don't want to give away where my finally-successful phpbb got located Smiley
3. I've checked in mysql and phpBB2 isn't there (but coffeelounge is) so I figure I must eventually have given up with trying to sort things out with the actual phpBB2 folder and worked entirely within the "coffeelounge" folder.
4. There's a screenshot of what the ftp screen looks like when I open up the coffeelounge folder, at http://www.happychild.org.uk/ZZZZcommsite/phpmysql/ ; [which should be read-able and show it contains the same stuff as the originally-nominated phpBB2 folder].  Don't recall precisely what caused the name change, more a question I think of not having made it work from the phpBB2 folder and just opening up a copy set and trying again - once it worked I wasn't inclined to do any further name-changing Smiley
5. The URL address by which I access the finished board is at http://ccgi.username.force9.co.uk/coffeelounge/ , if that clarifies anything.
6. Given that 'coffeelounge' appears in my mysql folder, I must have done the set-ups there to some degree.  Really don't recall, quite how, but presumably the tutorial gives instructions, and you already know how to get into mysql.
7.  However telnetting into mysql is (to me, anyway) slightly complex and it was a while before I figured out a simple route. I'll list below what I use:
a) "run" command (from start-bottom-left-of-screen) - telnet typed in box, enter.
b) type in o ccgi.force9.net (or whatever the PlusNet equivalent address is).
c) type in username and press the enter key.
d) type in password and press the enter key (the password will not display on screen].
e) ... that should achieve the log in.  The username and password for (c) and (d) are those used for access to the cgi server.
... by the way you only get about a maximum of 60 seconds total to get your username/password login correct, or else it will boot you off. Once you get through this stage things slow down to a much easier pace.
f) type in mysql -h rumpus -u username -p0000000000000000
g) ... replace "rumpus" with the name of the server that you use in mysql (F9 has "rumpus" or "humbug" but other vISPs will have different server names).
h) ... "username" will be whatever the username was in your mysql-activated e-mail (probably the same as (c) above) - ie whatever you use for your mysql log-in on the PN server.
i) ... "password - the 0000000000000000 above - will be the password from your mysql-activated e-mail (again the same as your usual mysql log-in).
j) ... note that there is no "space" after -p  - there's a space after -h (host) and -u (username) but none after -p when you type it in.
k) This will get you a response "welcome to the Mysql monitor" (or some such).
NOTE THAT AFTER THIS STAGE, EVERY LINE YOU ENTER MUST END WITH A ; before you press enter.
l) So now you're on the server (on which you also work "live" when you use the F9/PN-based mysql access via the browser, incidentally).
m) Next you need to work on "your" database - which will have whatever name F9/PN gave it.  You can check by accessing mysql via the browser and see what follows "rumpus" (or other server name) in the line at the top.  Say it's pterodactyl_f9 (to choose an unlikely username at random).
n) Key in USE pterodactyl_f9;
o) ... that should get you into "your" database (you'll get the response "Database Changed").  Note that this is just "your area" - it won't get you into any of your mysql content, by itself, but you can access this by using telnet-type commands to get it to display what's there.  For example I would use SHOW TABLES; to get it to display the name of all the databases I have in mysql (the terminology needed is a bit weird) and DESCRIBE tabletest02; to get some more info on one of the tables (databases) it had listed.
p) The only other relevant item re uploading actual data I have, is LOAD DATA LOCAL INFILE 'tabletest02.txt' INTO TABLE tabletest02; [this is how I import the content of database-output .txt files already-uploaded via cgi, into databases I have created within mysql by means of the F9 browser-access to it].
8. I don't recall how / where I uploaded the coffeelounge type data, but I assume the tutorial will walk you through the actual telnet processes. I've only included as much as I have, above, because I found it really difficult to get into mysql on telnet originally - you need items (7a) to (7n) above to get you in there (takes about a minute for the whole process, if that, once you've done it a few times).
9. I did note down a few things when I originally made the phpbb, which I'll put here as I assume they may be relevant, however obliquely.
chmod -R -g-rwx coffeelounge
changed to
chmod -R -g-rwyr-xr-x coffeelounge          ? still 403
chmod o++ coffeelounge
chmod u (me) g (them) + rx coffeelounge (ticked)
chmod 755 coffeelounge (ticked)
chown Penny coffeelounge (permission denied)
chmod o-+ coffeelounge (ticked)
I seem to recall that the last one (o-+) was the significant one, but (a) I assume you'd need to be in the right directory each time before changing anything (b) you need to find the parallel info in the tutorial or the portal help guides, which refers to such commands, to know they're being worded correctly.
10. The only other thing it occurs to me to mention, was that I had endless problems getting the graphics to display, when everything was finally working. Default setting is 640, and I ended up going through most of the possible variables (changing the attributes on the cgi ftp screen) until I finally found what would work.
666
'nuff said.
I might comment that after *finally* getting everything working, I wasn't sure enough of my ground to actually open up the phpbb to other people - mainly because I was concerned about the security aspects and didn't know how to protect it enough to ensure that I could prevent it becoming open house.  It's been very useful for some screenwriting notes however Smiley  and using php/mysql just for database stuff is *vastly* easier.
Regards,
Penny.
Penny Rollo * * * joined Force9 on 17/02/98 * * * with PlusNet from 2000 onwards * * * personal website at pennymidasrollo.plus.com
Project HappyChild website (free educational resources for kids and schools, plus directory of charities helping children) 1998 onwards
Superusers are not PlusNet staff but do have a direct line of communication into the business to raise issues, concerns and feedback from the Community.
Peter_Vaughan
Grafter
Posts: 14,469
Registered: ‎30-07-2007

Re: HELP much PHP hair pulling

Just follow the one tutorial (the usertools one) and forget about using dreamweaver. As detailed it will work.
So scrap what you have done and follow each of the steps in order and you will have your forum up in no time.
Merrick
Grafter
Posts: 102
Registered: ‎31-08-2007

Re: HELP much PHP hair pulling

yeah DW seriously confused things so i started using filezillla, as PJ mentioned, and it cleared things right up
i did find out why i couldnt browse to the pages using IE in the end
i was being a mega noob and putting www.ccgi, wasnt paying atention to what i was typing  Embarrassed
many thanks for all your help, much pariciated, now have my forum up and running and oh many thanks to the staff for helping me with my domain over the weekend.
merr
Merrick
Grafter
Posts: 102
Registered: ‎31-08-2007

Re: HELP much PHP hair pulling

just waiting for my dns doman records to do their thing so my forum runs under my domain instead of the ccgi.username etc.
i've brought my website into that webspace as well so until the domain sorts its self im without by website as well which isnt so good but its a means to an end Smiley
i'm guessing its 24 hours but im not sure.