--- doc/build/Attic/faq.html 2002/05/02 02:22:30 1.6 +++ doc/build/Attic/faq.html 2003/01/30 00:02:23 1.9 @@ -1,6 +1,6 @@ - + @@ -36,8 +36,10 @@ Now what do I do? How do I begin?
3. Why do I have to worry about choosing a "role"?
4. What kind of computer and operating will this work on? -
4a. Will this work on BSD Unix? -
4b. Will this work on Mac OS X? +
4a. Will this work on BSD Unix? +
4b. Will this work on Mac OS X? +
4c. Will this work on an old SPARC, Solaris, SGI, NeXT, or +DEC machine that is collecting cobwebs in my university's technology center?
5. What does LON-CAPA stand for?
6. Who wrote this code?
7. Where is this software being used? @@ -55,17 +57,20 @@ ideas surrounding the LON-CAPA project?<
17. How are you similar or different to WebCT, Blackboard, etc? -
1. What is TtH and how do I know I have it? +
1.
What is TtH and how +do I know I have it?

TtH = TeX-to-HTML. -You should have a file called tth.so on your system. If you do not -have it, then you should download and install the binary -http://install.lon-capa.org/3.1/binaries/tth.so -into your -/usr/lib/perl5/site_perl/5.???/ directory. - +You should have a file called tth.so on your system. If you do not +have it (should be located somewhere underneath /usr/lib/perl5), then you +should download and install the binary + +http://install.lon-capa.org/resources/tth.so +into your /usr/lib/perl5/site_perl/5.???/ directory (5.??? corresponds +to the version number of your perl distribution).

-
2. So I think I'm done with the LON-CAPA installation. +
2.
So I think I'm done +with the LON-CAPA installation. Now what do I do? How do I begin?

You will first need to set up a domain coordinator on your machine. @@ -75,7 +80,8 @@ yet have a user manual, but Felicia is helping answer questions related to the LON-CAPA web interface.

-
3. Why do I have to worry about choosing a "role"? +
3.
Why do I have to +worry about choosing a "role"?

A critical feature of the LON-CAPA interface is the idea that a user must select a role before doing anything further inside the educational @@ -85,7 +91,11 @@ system. computer and operating will this work on?

The operating system LON-CAPA runs on is the Linux operating -system. LON-CAPA relies on an Intel-based architecture. +system (RedHat 7.3 is the supported linux distribution). +LON-CAPA relies on an Intel-based architecture. In order to +move beyond this state of affairs, we are beginning to develop +a BSD-based solution, as well as a set of diagnostic scripts +which should verify LON-CAPA's performance on any computer platform.

For full-time, classroom usage, an adequate LON-CAPA server @@ -109,7 +119,7 @@ fit the above recommendation.

If thousands of students start accessing the box as a web server... -well you may want to consider more options. The design of the LON-CAPA +you may want to consider more options. The design of the LON-CAPA system is to naturally and transparently load-balance on multiple computer clusters. So, a simple solution for running an entire college campus is to just have an adequate plurality of LON-CAPA @@ -118,15 +128,30 @@ servers rather than a single, particular

We like to think of high web server usage as "a good problem" though.. :)

-
4a.
Will this work on BSD Unix? +
4a.
Will this work on +BSD?

-No. +Active development has begun for supporting LON-CAPA on FreeBSD version 4.7.

-
4b.
Will this work on Mac OS X? +
4b.
Will this work on +Mac OS X?

-No. +No. Plans for Mac OS X involve waiting for completion of a FreeBSD version 4.7 +solution, as well as allowing Mac OS X more time to mature within the freeware +community. +

+
4c.
Will this work on +an old SPARC, Solaris, SGI, NeXT, or DEC machine that is collecting cobwebs in +my university's technology center? +

+No. The needs for predictable performance of a LON-CAPA system cause us +to emphasize support on a restricted set of platforms. We welcome developers +who would like to create porting solutions, however based on our timeline, +you are even more strongly encouraged to help develop the actual educational +software technology seen by students and instructors.

-
5.
What does LON-CAPA stand for? +
5.
What does LON-CAPA +stand for?

The Learning Online Network with Computer-Assisted Personalized Approach.

@@ -136,41 +161,72 @@ An eclectic variant is: Look! Our New Ca

Or something.

-
6.
Who wrote this code? +
6.
Who wrote this +code?

-This code was originally written by a group of staff and graduate assistants -at Michigan State University. We are now receiving software contributions -from several other universities. The technical design behind the project -was constructed by Gerd Kortemeyer. +The ultimate goal of LON-CAPA is to be a software initiative with a +sense of ownership spanning the entire academic and freeware community. +As such, LON-CAPA is progressing toward a piece of code that is not +characterized by a set of individual authors or any measure of territoriality.

-
7.
Where is this software being used? -
8.
What are current plans for the installation? +

+To date, LON-CAPA has received code contributions from a growing +number of academic institutions and freeware contributors. LON-CAPA first +originated at Michigan State University in 2000 based on a grant funded +initiative, Kortemeyer, et. al.. +

+
7.
Where is this +software being used? +

+The existing user sites are: +

+ +
8.
What are current +plans for the installation?

We have been able to run LON-CAPA on RedHat 6.2, 7.1, 7.2, Debian, and Mandrake.

-
9.
How do I upgrade? +
9.
How do I +upgrade?

You must use CVS over the network. Please click on the upgrade button at the top of this web page.

-
10.
What are RPMs? +
10.
What are +RPMs?

Software packages that are (usually) very easy to install. RPM stands for RedHat Packaging Manager software package.

-
11.
How do I know this will be a secure solution for -my users? +
11.
How do I know +this will be a secure solution for my users?

LON-CAPA is distributed without warranty as described in the -license. +license.

We do think our security strategy is fairly robust. Important communications are encrypted and the server-client validation is instantiated in such a way as to prevent any remotely conceivable kind of spoofing.

-
12. How do I contribute code? +
12.
How do I +contribute code?

Send a diff to lon-capa-dev@mail.lon-capa.org. It helps if you give it context @@ -182,7 +238,9 @@ diff -u -C3 doc/build/faq.html doc/build


13. Is LON-CAPA owned by any umbrella company?

-No and hopefully never. That's not what we're about. +No and hopefully never. That is not what we are about. We are about a +freeware-community oriented approach where the software features are directly +specified by the involved academic institutions and instructors.


14.
What are the costs? @@ -200,8 +258,11 @@ freeware project.
15.
What kind of computer do I need?

-You need a RedHat 6.2-7.2 Intel-compatible computer. -We do not currently support the SPARC and SGI hardware architectures. +You need a RedHat 7.3 Intel-compatible computer. +For more information on RedHat compatible hardware, visit +http://hardware.redhat.com/hcl/. +We do not currently support the SPARC, SGI, Macintosh, or other hardware +architectures.


16. Where can I learn more about the technical