TWiki Application Environment

TWiki Application Environment

Server and client system requirements; file system structure

Overview

Maintaining minimum client and server requirements is necessary to keep TWiki deployment as broad as possible.

Server-Side Requirements

TWiki is written in Perl 5 and uses a number of shell commands. It requires GNU RCS (Revision Control System) to be installed on the same system. TWiki is developed in a standard Linux/Apache environment. It can also work with Microsoft Windows and other platforms.

Required Server Environment
Resource	Unix	Windows
Perl	5.005_03 or higher
Non standard Perl modules	`Net::SMTP` (or `sendmail`)	`Net::SMTP`, `MIME::Base64`, `Digest::SHA1`
RCS	5.7 or higher
Other external programs	`ls, fgrep, egrep`
Web server	Apache; others (with support for CGI, authentication, extended path) *

Current documentation covers Linux only. Compiling a basic TWikiOnWindows installation guide is an ongoing effort.

Client-Side Requirements

The TWiki standard installation has extremely low browser requirements:

HTML 3.2 compliant
minimal use of JavaScript in the user interface (degrades gracefully)
no cookies
no CSS

TWiki generates XHTML 1.0 code as long as it is compatible with HTML 3.2.

Known Issues

The new TWikiPlugins feature currently does not have any compatibility guidelines for developers. Plugins can require just about anything: browser-specific functions, stylesheets (CSS), Java, cookies, etc.

TWiki File System

You can rename the root TWiki directory - twiki - to whatever you like by changing it in the twiki.cfg configuration file. However, to keep the current installation and future upgrades simple, you should leave the subdirectory structure intact:

Directory:	Files:	Used for:
`twiki`	list	Start-up info
`twiki/bin`	list	Perl scripts
`twiki/lib`	list	Configuration file, main library, Perl system modules, Plugins
`twiki/pub`	list	Public support files (ex: FileAttachments, images) and RCS histories)
`twiki/data`	list	Topic text (page content) and RCS histories;
`twiki/templates`	list	HTML templates, used by TWiki scripts

File Descriptions

A rundown of the individual files included in the current 01-Sep-2001 distribution, organized by TWiki root directories.

Files in `twiki`

Application info and the current reference documentation. Full file list:

File:	Used for:
`index.html`	A page with a link to first launch TWiki after install
`license.txt`	GNU General Public License and TWiki-specific info
`readme.txt`	General TWiki start-up info with relevant URLs
`TWikiDocumentation.html`	All documentation packaged as a single page
`TWikiHistory.html`	TWiki development timeline

Files in `twiki/bin`

Perl CGI scripts. Full file list:

File:	Used for:
`.htaccess.txt`	Authentication. Rename to .htaccess and customize if used
`attach`	Script that shows the attach file page (FileAttachment)
`delete`	(not used yet)
`edit`	Script to edit a topic
`geturl`	Script to fetch URL data
`mailnotify`	Script called by cron job to notify users of changes
`oops`	Script that shows an OK or oops dialog
`preview`	Script to preview topic after edit
`rdiff`	Script to see differences of topics
`rename`	Script to rename/move topics and move attachments
`register`	Script to register new users
`save`	Script that saves a topic, called by preview
`search`	Script that displays search results
`statistics`	Script to create statistics topic
`testenv`	Script to test CGI environment variables
`upload`	Script that does file upload (FileAttachment)
`view`	Script to view a topic ( the script )
`viewfile`	Script to view an file attachment

Files under `twiki/lib`

The new lib/TWiki/Plugins directories contain configuration, library and function files, and TWikiPlugins. Full file list:

File:	Used for:
`TWiki.pm`	Main TWiki library
`TWiki.cfg`	For configuration, used by `TWiki.pm`
`TWiki/Access.pm`	Access control
`TWiki/Attach.pm`	Attachment handling
`TWiki/Form.pm`	Form handling
`TWiki/Meta.pm`	Meta data in topics
`TWiki/Net.pm`	SMTP mail handling
`TWiki/Plugins.pm`	Plugin handling
`TWiki/Prefs.pm`	Preferences handling
`TWiki/Search.pm`	Search engine, used by wiki.pm
`TWiki/Store.pm`	Back-end storage, `.txt` text file and `.txt,v` RCS repository file handling
`TWiki/Plugins/DefaultPlugin.pm`	Handles some legacy rules
`TWiki/Plugins/EmptyPlugin.pm`	Empty plugin, use to create your own
`TWiki/Plugins/InterwikiPlugin.pm`	Use aliases as links for predefined URLs

Files under `twiki/pub`

The pub directory stores data-related files, including images used by TWiki and FileAttachments. Attachments are stored in sub-directories created with the related topic name. Partial file list:

File:	Used for:
`favicon.ico`	ICO file
`twikilogo.gif`	GIF file
`twikilogo1.gif`	GIF file
`twikilogo2.gif`	GIF file
`twikilogo3.gif`	GIF file
`twikilogo4.gif`	GIF file
`wikiHome.gif`	GIF file
`icn/_filetypes.txt`	GIF file
`icn/bat.gif`	GIF file
`icn/bmp.gif`	GIF file
...	...
`TWiki/FileAttachment/Sample.txt`	TEXT file
`TWiki/FileAttachment/Smile.gif`	GIF file
`TWiki/PreviewBackground/blankltgraybg.gif`	GIF file
`TWiki/PreviewBackground/blankwhitebg.gif`	GIF file
`TWiki/PreviewBackground/previewbg.gif`	GIF file
`TWiki/WabiSabi/wabisabi.gif`	GIF file

Files under `twiki/data`

TWiki page data stored as individual text files. Each active web has its own subdirectory. The TWiki distribution includes four start-up webs - Main, TWiki, Know, Test - with documentation and demo content, and a _default directory containing all topics required to start a new web. Partial file list:

File:	Used for:
`.htpasswd`	Basic Authentication (htaccess) password file
`debug.txt`	Program messages useful for debugging
`mime.types`	Recognized file formats
`warning.txt`	Diagnostic messages for identifying problems
_default directory can be copied to empty directory when creating new Webs
`_default/.changes`	Web-level record of topic changes
`_default/WebChanges.txt`	Display most recent topic changes in web
`_default/WebChanges.txt,v`	Revisions history (RCS)
`_default/WebHome.txt`	Default web home page
`_default/WebHome.txt,v`	Revisions history (RCS)
`_default/WebIndex.txt`	Lists all topics in a web
`_default/WebIndex.txt,v`	Revisions history (RCS)
`_default/WebNotify.txt`	Subscribe/unsubscribe to web changes email alert
`_default/WebNotify.txt,v`	Revisions history (RCS)
`_default/WebPreferences.txt`	Web-level preference settings
`_default/WebPreferences.txt,v`	Revisions history (RCS)
`_default/WebSearch.txt`	Web-level search options
`_default/WebSearch.txt,v`	Revisions history (RCS)
`_default/WebStatistics.txt`	Generates web usage statistics
`_default/WebStatistics.txt,v`	Revisions history (RCS)
...	...

Files in `twiki/templates`

Templates used to control appearance of all rendered pages. Full file list:

File:	Used for:
`oopsbadpwformat.tmpl`	Error message
`attachagain.tmpl`	Control screen
`attachnew.tmpl`	Control screen
`changeform.tmpl`	Control screen
`changes.tmpl`	Displays WebChanges list of recently changed topics
`edit.iejs.tmpl`	xxxx
`edit.tmpl`	Main edit window
`mailnotify.tmpl`	xxxx
`moveattachment.tmpl`	Control screen
`oopsaccesschange.tmpl`	Error message
`oopsaccessgroup.tmpl`	Error message
`oopsaccessrename.tmpl`	Error message
`oopsaccessview.tmpl`	Error message
`oopsauth.tmpl`	Error message
`attach.tmpl`	Error message
`oopschangepasswd.tmpl`	Error message
`oopsempty.tmpl`	Error message
`oopslocked.tmpl`	Error message
`oopslockedrename.tmpl`	Error message
`oopsmissing.tmpl`	Error message
`oopsmoveerr.tmpl`	Error message
`oopsnoformdef.tmpl`	Error message
`oopsnotwikiuser.tmpl`	Error message
`oopsnoweb.tmpl`	Error message
`oopspreview.tmpl`	Error message
`oopsregexist.tmpl`	Error message
`oopsregpasswd.tmpl`	Error message
`oopsregrequ.tmpl`	Error message
`oopsregthanks.tmpl`	Error message
`oopsregwiki.tmpl`	Error message
`oopsrenameerr.tmpl`	Error message
`oopsresetpasswd.tmpl`	Error message
`oopsrev.tmpl`	Error message
`oopssave.tmpl`	Error message
`oopssaveerr.tmpl`	Error message
`oopssendmailerr.tmpl`	Error message
`oopstopicexists.tmpl`	Error message
`oopsupload.tmpl`	Error message
`oopswrongpassword.tmpl`	Error message
`preview.tmpl`	Preview Changes screen
`rdiff.tmpl`	Displays text changes before & after (Diffs)
`register.tmpl`	Registration page
`registernotify.tmpl`	xxxx
`rename.tmpl`	Doing a new topic rename, user chooses web & topic
`renamebase.tmpl`	Used by other rename templates
`renameconfirm.tmpl`	Confirms a pre-specified rename, ex: undoing a rename
`renamerefs.tmpl`	Rename done, but some references not changed (topics were locked)
`search.tmpl`	xxxx
`searchbookview.tmpl`	Search results with full topic content
`searchmeta.tmpl`	xxxx
`searchrenameview.tmpl`	Used by `rename` to list references to topic being renamed
`twiki.tmpl`	Base template definitions used by other templates
`view.plain.tmpl`	Alternate topic header/footer view
`view.print.tmpl`	Alternate topic header/footer view
`view.tmpl`	Main topic view

-- MikeMannix - 29 Aug 2001

Topic TWikiImplementationNotes . { ~~Edit~~ | ~~Attach~~ | Ref-By | Printable | Diffs | r1.22 | > | r1.21 | > | r1.20 | More }

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TWiki Application Environment

Overview

Server-Side Requirements

Client-Side Requirements

Known Issues

TWiki File System

File Descriptions

Files in twiki

Files in twiki/bin

Files under twiki/lib

Files under twiki/pub