25 May
2012
25 May
'12
8:16 a.m.
Hi devs,
Since I'm working on making XE work in Windows7 I've thought more about
XWiki's install and configuration. Actually this is not a new topic, I remember
starting a discussion about it a few years ago on the devs list but we didn't act on
it so here it comes again ;)
Rationale
========
The idea is to separate XWiki's binaries from its data. There are several reasons for
wanting this:
* Some OSes require this and don't allow writing in the binary directory. Windows 7
for example won't allow writing data in \Program Files.
* It makes upgrading simpler since you don't need to fish for configuration data and
copy them somewhere before unpacking a new distribution over. Or if you unpack in a new
directory you don't need to copy the data from the old directory to the new one.
* As a consequence of the previous point It allows easier auto upgrades of XE
* It makes it simpler to know what to backup: all you need to back is the data directory.
Proposal
=======
This is the simplest I've found (I've imagine a lot of more complex options which
offer other small possibilities but in the end I went for the simpler one for now). So
here goes the process when starting up XE:
* XE looks for a XWIKI_DATA environment variable and if found it uses it as its
environment.permanentDirectory value
* If not found, XE looks in the user home directory for an XWiki directory. Now the name
of this directory is environment-dependent. On non windows systems it looks for
".xwiki" directory and on Windows systems it looks for a "XWiki"
directory.
* If not found, then XE stops and prints a message in the console explaining that it
couldn't find the location of the XWiki Data dir with explanations on how to set it.
The recommendation is thus that users set the XWIKI_DATA environment property.
Notes:
* At startup XE prints as an INFO log the location of the permanent dir it is using.
* For the standalone distribution we would set the XWIKI_DATA env variable in the xwiki
start file (start_xwiki.sh and start_xwiki.bat) to point to the data/ dir in the
distribution.
* One aspect that is not covered here yet (the topic for another email): the installer.
I'll prepare another mail for that since it's independent for me.
Use cases
=========
This allows the following use cases:
* Make it easy to upgrade XE
* Make it easy to backup XE
* MAke it easy to use an existing XE install but point it to a different configuration,
for testing purposes for ex
* Allow installing XE for all users on a system
* Allow installing XE for my user only
WDYT?
Thanks
-Vincent
25 May
25 May
8:34 a.m.
New subject: [xwiki-devs] [Proposal] XWiki's Permanent Directory Strategy for Installations
On May 25, 2012, at 8:16 AM, Vincent Massol wrote:
Hi devs,
Since I'm working on making XE work in Windows7 I've thought more about
XWiki's install and configuration. Actually this is not a new topic, I remember
starting a discussion about it a few years ago on the devs list but we didn't act on
it so here it comes again ;)
Rationale
========
The idea is to separate XWiki's binaries from its data. There are several reasons for
wanting this:
* Some OSes require this and don't allow writing in the binary directory. Windows 7
for example won't allow writing data in \Program Files.
* It makes upgrading simpler since you don't need to fish for configuration data and
copy them somewhere before unpacking a new distribution over. Or if you unpack in a new
directory you don't need to copy the data from the old directory to the new one.
* As a consequence of the previous point It allows easier auto upgrades of XE
* It makes it simpler to know what to backup: all you need to back is the data
directory.
Proposal
=======
This is the simplest I've found (I've imagine a lot of more complex options which
offer other small possibilities but in the end I went for the simpler one for now). So
here goes the process when starting up XE:
* XE looks for a XWIKI_DATA environment variable and if found it uses it as its
environment.permanentDirectory value
* If not found, XE looks in the user home directory for an XWiki directory. Now the name
of this directory is environment-dependent. On non windows systems it looks for
".xwiki" directory and on Windows systems it looks for a "XWiki"
directory.
* If not found, then XE stops and prints a message in the console explaining that it
couldn't find the location of the XWiki Data dir with explanations on how to set it.
The recommendation is thus that users set the XWIKI_DATA environment property.
Notes:
* At startup XE prints as an INFO log the location of the permanent dir it is using.
* For the standalone distribution we would set the XWIKI_DATA env variable in the xwiki
start file (start_xwiki.sh and start_xwiki.bat) to point to the data/ dir in the
distribution.
s/standalone distribution/standalone zip distribution/
Thanks
-Vincent
* One aspect that is not covered here yet (the topic
for another email): the installer. I'll prepare another mail for that since it's
independent for me.
Use cases
=========
This allows the following use cases:
* Make it easy to upgrade XE
* Make it easy to backup XE
* MAke it easy to use an existing XE install but point it to a different configuration,
for testing purposes for ex
* Allow installing XE for all users on a system
* Allow installing XE for my user only
WDYT?
Thanks
-Vincent
11:32 a.m.
New subject: [xwiki-devs] [Proposal] XWiki's Permanent Directory Strategy for Installations
On Fri, May 25, 2012 at 8:16 AM, Vincent Massol <vincent(a)massol.net> wrote:
Hi devs,
Since I'm working on making XE work in Windows7 I've thought more about
XWiki's install and configuration. Actually this is not a new topic, I remember
starting a discussion about it a few years ago on the devs list but we didn't act on
it so here it comes again ;)
Rationale
========
The idea is to separate XWiki's binaries from its data. There are several reasons for
wanting this:
* Some OSes require this and don't allow writing in the binary directory. Windows 7
for example won't allow writing data in \Program Files.
* It makes upgrading simpler since you don't need to fish for configuration data and
copy them somewhere before unpacking a new distribution over. Or if you unpack in a new
directory you don't need to copy the data from the old directory to the new one.
* As a consequence of the previous point It allows easier auto upgrades of XE
* It makes it simpler to know what to backup: all you need to back is the data
directory.
Proposal
=======
This is the simplest I've found (I've imagine a lot of more complex options which
offer other small possibilities but in the end I went for the simpler one for now). So
here goes the process when starting up XE:
* XE looks for a XWIKI_DATA environment variable and if found it uses it as its
environment.permanentDirectory value
Why not XWIKI_PERMANENTDIRECTORY since that's how we call it in XWiki ?
* If not found, XE looks in the user home directory
for an XWiki directory. Now the name of this directory is environment-dependent. On non
windows systems it looks for ".xwiki" directory and on Windows systems it looks
for a "XWiki" directory.
* If not found, then XE stops and prints a message in the console explaining that it
couldn't find the location of the XWiki Data dir with explanations on how to set it.
The recommendation is thus that users set the XWIKI_DATA environment property.
Notes:
* At startup XE prints as an INFO log the location of the permanent dir it is using.
* For the standalone distribution we would set the XWIKI_DATA env variable in the xwiki
start file (start_xwiki.sh and start_xwiki.bat) to point to the data/ dir in the
distribution.
* One aspect that is not covered here yet (the topic for another email): the installer.
I'll prepare another mail for that since it's independent for me.
Note that for Debian installed I simply set the right directory in
xwiki.cfg/xwiki.properties.
Use cases
=========
This allows the following use cases:
* Make it easy to upgrade XE
* Make it easy to backup XE
* MAke it easy to use an existing XE install but point it to a different configuration,
for testing purposes for ex
* Allow installing XE for all users on a system
* Allow installing XE for my user only
WDYT?
Thanks
-Vincent
_______________________________________________
devs mailing list
devs(a)xwiki.org
http://lists.xwiki.org/mailman/listinfo/devs
--
Thomas Mortagne
12:31 p.m.
New subject: [xwiki-devs] [Proposal] XWiki's Permanent Directory Strategy for Installations
On Fri, May 25, 2012 at 11:32 AM, Thomas Mortagne <thomas.mortagne(a)xwiki.com
Note that for Debian installed I simply set the right directory in
xwiki.cfg/xwiki.properties.
Why not doing the same for the Windows installation ?
If you means, because the configuration file are on the read-only part of
your installation, then your need is to have local configuration files for
users. This is absolutely not the same issue.
--
Denis Gervalle
SOFTEC sa - CEO
eGuilde sarl - CTO
wrote:
> On Fri, May 25, 2012 at 8:16 AM, Vincent Massol <vincent(a)massol.net>
wrote:
> > Hi devs,
> >
> > Since I'm working on making XE work in Windows7 I've thought more about
> XWiki's install and configuration. Actually this is not a new topic, I
> remember starting a discussion about it a few years ago on the devs list
> but we didn't act on it so here it comes again ;)
> >
> > Rationale
> > ========
> >
> > The idea is to separate XWiki's binaries from its data. There are
> several reasons for wanting this:
> >
> > * Some OSes require this and don't allow writing in the binary
> directory. Windows 7 for example won't allow writing data in \Program Files.
> > * It makes upgrading simpler since you don't need to fish for
> configuration data and copy them somewhere before unpacking a new
> distribution over. Or if you unpack in a new directory you don't need to
> copy the data from the old directory to the new one.
> > * As a consequence of the previous point It allows easier auto upgrades
> of XE
> > * It makes it simpler to know what to backup: all you need to back is
> the data directory.
> >
> > Proposal
> > =======
> >
> > This is the simplest I've found (I've imagine a lot of more complex
> options which offer other small possibilities but in the end I went for the
> simpler one for now). So here goes the process when starting up XE:
> >
> > * XE looks for a XWIKI_DATA environment variable and if found it uses it
> as its environment.permanentDirectory value
>
> Why not XWIKI_PERMANENTDIRECTORY since that's how we call it in XWiki ?
>
> > * If not found, XE looks in the user home directory for an XWiki
> directory. Now the name of this directory is environment-dependent. On non
> windows systems it looks for ".xwiki" directory and on Windows systems it
> looks for a "XWiki" directory.
> > * If not found, then XE stops and prints a message in the console
> explaining that it couldn't find the location of the XWiki Data dir with
> explanations on how to set it.
> >
> > The recommendation is thus that users set the XWIKI_DATA environment
> property.
>
I do not like this so much.
If you use filesystem attachement, properly locating this directory is
crucial, and leaving it to an environment variable is risky, IMO.
Notes:
* At startup XE prints as an INFO log the location of the permanent dir
it is
using.
* For the standalone distribution we would set
the XWIKI_DATA env
variable in the xwiki start file (start_xwiki.sh and
start_xwiki.bat) to
point to the data/ dir in the distribution.
* One aspect that is not covered here yet (the
topic for another email):
the installer. I'll prepare another mail for that
since it's independent
for me.
Use cases
=========
This allows the following use cases:
* Make it easy to upgrade XE
* Make it easy to backup XE
* MAke it easy to use an existing XE install but point it to a different
configuration, for testing purposes for ex
* Allow installing XE for all users on a system
* Allow installing XE for my user only
WDYT?
Thanks
-Vincent
_______________________________________________
devs mailing list
devs(a)xwiki.org
http://lists.xwiki.org/mailman/listinfo/devs
--
Thomas Mortagne
_______________________________________________
devs mailing list
devs(a)xwiki.org
http://lists.xwiki.org/mailman/listinfo/devs
7:12 p.m.
New subject: [xwiki-devs] [Proposal] XWiki's Permanent Directory Strategy for Installations
On May 25, 2012, at 12:31 PM, Denis Gervalle wrote:
Note that for Debian installed I simply set the right directory in
xwiki.cfg/xwiki.properties.
Why not doing the same for the Windows installation ?
If you means, because the configuration file are on the read-only part of
your installation, then your need is to have local configuration files for
users. This is absolutely not the same issue.
This proposal is independent of installers (I mentioned I'll send a separate email for
installers). The idea here was for me to propose a solution that works without installers.
Supporting installers is ok and installers would be able to set the XWIKI_DATA env
variable by asking questions to you, whether you wish an install for all users, just for
your users, check if there's already some xwiki installs at the specified dir, etc.
Thanks
-Vincent
PS: Seen the various answers, I've probably not expressed myself very clearly. I
apologize for that and I hope it's more clear from my various answers. If not,
I'll resend a more general email with the goal so that at least we start by agreeing
with the goal (i.e. separate data from binaries - I thought it was a give but maybe
that's not the case).
On Fri, May 25, 2012 at 11:32 AM, Thomas Mortagne
<thomas.mortagne(a)xwiki.com
Funny :) Tomcat uses environment variables so if you don't set those rights you
don't even get XWiki ;)
So the solution is simple: you create a start script for your application (start_xwiki.sh
for ex) and inside it you set the XWIKI_DATA directory).
wrote:
> On Fri, May 25, 2012 at 8:16 AM, Vincent Massol <vincent(a)massol.net>
wrote:
>> Hi devs,
>>
>> Since I'm working on making XE work in Windows7 I've thought more about
> XWiki's install and configuration. Actually this is not a new topic, I
> remember starting a discussion about it a few years ago on the devs list
> but we didn't act on it so here it comes again ;)
>>
>> Rationale
>> ========
>>
>> The idea is to separate XWiki's binaries from its data. There are
> several reasons for wanting this:
>>
>> * Some OSes require this and don't allow writing in the binary
> directory. Windows 7 for example won't allow writing data in \Program Files.
>> * It makes upgrading simpler since you don't need to fish for
> configuration data and copy them somewhere before unpacking a new
> distribution over. Or if you unpack in a new directory you don't need to
> copy the data from the old directory to the new one.
>> * As a consequence of the previous point It allows easier auto upgrades
> of XE
>> * It makes it simpler to know what to backup: all you need to back is
> the data directory.
>>
>> Proposal
>> =======
>>
>> This is the simplest I've found (I've imagine a lot of more complex
> options which offer other small possibilities but in the end I went for the
> simpler one for now). So here goes the process when starting up XE:
>>
>> * XE looks for a XWIKI_DATA environment variable and if found it uses it
> as its environment.permanentDirectory value
>
> Why not XWIKI_PERMANENTDIRECTORY since that's how we call it in XWiki ?
>
>> * If not found, XE looks in the user home directory for an XWiki
> directory. Now the name of this directory is environment-dependent. On non
> windows systems it looks for ".xwiki" directory and on Windows systems it
> looks for a "XWiki" directory.
>> * If not found, then XE stops and prints a message in the console
> explaining that it couldn't find the location of the XWiki Data dir with
> explanations on how to set it.
>>
>> The recommendation is thus that users set the XWIKI_DATA environment
> property.
>
I do not like this so much.
If you use filesystem attachement, properly locating this directory is
crucial, and leaving it to an environment variable is risky, IMO. Notes:
* At startup XE prints as an INFO log the location of the permanent dir
it is
using.
* For the standalone distribution we would set
the XWIKI_DATA env
variable in the xwiki start file (start_xwiki.sh and
start_xwiki.bat) to
point to the data/ dir in the distribution.
* One aspect that is not covered here yet (the
topic for another email):
the installer. I'll prepare another mail for that
since it's independent
for me.
>> Use cases
>> =========
>>
>> This allows the following use cases:
>>
>> * Make it easy to upgrade XE
>> * Make it easy to backup XE
>> * MAke it easy to use an existing XE install but point it to a different
> configuration, for testing purposes for ex
>> * Allow installing XE for all users on a system
>> * Allow installing XE for my user only
>>
>> WDYT?
>>
>> Thanks
>> -Vincent
26 May
26 May
12:25 a.m.
New subject: [xwiki-devs] [Proposal] XWiki's Permanent Directory Strategy for Installations
On Fri, May 25, 2012 at 7:12 PM, Vincent Massol <vincent(a)massol.net> wrote:
--
Denis Gervalle
SOFTEC sa - CEO
eGuilde sarl - CTO
On May 25, 2012, at 12:31 PM, Denis Gervalle wrote:
Files.
Funny :) Tomcat uses environment variables so if you don't set those
rights you don't even get XWiki ;)
So the solution is simple: you create a start script for your application
(start_xwiki.sh for ex) and inside it you set the XWIKI_DATA directory).
for
This was absolutely not clear from your initial proposal. And I am still
puzzled now, since the permanent directory and the place where the
configuration file are stored are two very different things.
If you intend to put the configuration files in what we currently call the
permanent directory, this is a big -1. Putting configuration in the same
location we write file at run-time is simply opening a major security hole.
I think, to the benefit of this proposal, that you start over, since most
comments here are not related to your real goal, and please talk about a
configuration directory and not permanent directory.
On Fri, May 25, 2012 at 11:32 AM, Thomas Mortagne
<
thomas.mortagne(a)xwiki.com
wrote:
> On Fri, May 25, 2012 at 8:16 AM, Vincent Massol <vincent(a)massol.net>
wrote:
>> Hi devs,
>>
>> Since I'm working on making XE work in Windows7 I've thought more about
> XWiki's install and configuration. Actually this is not a new topic, I
> remember starting a discussion about it a few years ago on the devs list
> but we didn't act on it so here it comes again ;)
>>
>> Rationale
>> ========
>>
>> The idea is to separate XWiki's binaries from its data. There are
> several reasons for wanting this:
>>
>> * Some OSes require this and don't allow writing in the binary
> directory. Windows 7 for example won't allow writing data in \Program >> * It makes upgrading simpler since you
don't need to fish for
> configuration data and copy them somewhere before unpacking a new
> distribution over. Or if you unpack in a new directory you don't need to
> copy the data from the old directory to the new one.
>> * As a consequence of the previous point It allows easier auto upgrades
> of XE
>> * It makes it simpler to know what to backup: all you need to back is
> the data directory.
>>
>> Proposal
>> =======
>>
>> This is the simplest I've found (I've imagine a lot of more complex
> options which offer other small possibilities but in the end I went for
the
> simpler one for now). So here goes the
process when starting up XE:
>>
>> * XE looks for a XWIKI_DATA environment variable and if found it uses
it
> as its environment.permanentDirectory value
>
> Why not XWIKI_PERMANENTDIRECTORY since that's how we call it in XWiki ?
>
>> * If not found, XE looks in the user home directory for an XWiki
> directory. Now the name of this directory is environment-dependent. On
non
> windows systems it looks for
".xwiki" directory and on Windows systems
it
looks for
a "XWiki" directory.
I do not like this so much.
If you use filesystem attachement, properly locating this directory is
crucial, and leaving it to an environment variable is risky, IMO. * If not found, then XE stops and prints a
message in the console
explaining that it couldn't find the location of the
XWiki Data dir with
explanations on how to set it.
The recommendation is thus that users set the XWIKI_DATA environment
property.
>> Notes:
>> * At startup XE prints as an INFO log the location of the permanent dir
> it is using.
>> * For the standalone distribution we would set the XWIKI_DATA env
> variable in the xwiki start file (start_xwiki.sh and start_xwiki.bat) to
> point to the data/ dir in the distribution.
>> * One aspect that is not covered here yet (the topic for another
email):
the
installer. I'll prepare another mail for that since it's independent
for me.
Note that for Debian installed I simply set the right directory in
xwiki.cfg/xwiki.properties.
Why not doing the same for the Windows installation ?
If you means, because the configuration file are on the read-only part of
your installation, then your need is to have local configuration files users. This is absolutely not the same issue.
This proposal is independent of installers (I mentioned I'll send a
separate email for installers). The idea here was for me to propose a
solution that works without installers. Supporting installers is ok and
installers would be able to set the XWIKI_DATA env variable by asking
questions to you, whether you wish an install for all users, just for your
users, check if there's already some xwiki installs at the specified dir,
etc.
Thanks
-Vincent
PS: Seen the various answers, I've probably not expressed myself very
clearly. I apologize for that and I hope it's more clear from my various
answers. If not, I'll resend a more general email with the goal so that at
least we start by agreeing with the goal (i.e. separate data from binaries
- I thought it was a give but maybe that's not the case).
>> Use cases
>> =========
>>
>> This allows the following use cases:
>>
>> * Make it easy to upgrade XE
>> * Make it easy to backup XE
>> * MAke it easy to use an existing XE install but point it to a
different
> configuration, for testing purposes for ex
>> * Allow installing XE for all users on a system
>> * Allow installing XE for my user only
>>
>> WDYT?
>>
>> Thanks
>> -Vincent
_______________________________________________
devs mailing list
devs(a)xwiki.org
http://lists.xwiki.org/mailman/listinfo/devs
7:35 p.m.
New subject: [xwiki-devs] [Proposal] XWiki's Permanent Directory Strategy for Installations
On 05/25/2012 06:25 PM, Denis Gervalle wrote:
On Fri, May 25, 2012 at 7:12 PM, Vincent
Massol<vincent(a)massol.net> wrote:
I second Denis, the xwiki.properties file shouldn't be in the same place
as the other data. It's not something that should be writable by the wiki.
On May 25, 2012, at 12:31 PM, Denis Gervalle wrote:
Files.
Funny :) Tomcat uses environment variables so if you don't set those
rights you don't even get XWiki ;)
So the solution is simple: you create a start script for your application
(start_xwiki.sh for ex) and inside it you set the XWIKI_DATA directory).
for
This was absolutely not clear from your initial proposal. And I am still
puzzled now, since the permanent directory and the place where the
configuration file are stored are two very different things.
If you intend to put the configuration files in what we currently call the
permanent directory, this is a big -1. Putting configuration in the same
location we write file at run-time is simply opening a major security hole.
I think, to the benefit of this proposal, that you start over, since most
comments here are not related to your real goal, and please talk about a
configuration directory and not permanent directory.
On Fri, May 25, 2012 at 11:32 AM, Thomas
Mortagne<
thomas.mortagne(a)xwiki.com
wrote:
> On Fri, May 25, 2012 at 8:16 AM, Vincent Massol<vincent(a)massol.net>
wrote:
>> Hi devs,
>>
>> Since I'm working on making XE work in Windows7 I've thought more about
> XWiki's install and configuration. Actually this is not a new topic, I
> remember starting a discussion about it a few years ago on the devs list
> but we didn't act on it so here it comes again ;)
>>
>> Rationale
>> ========
>>
>> The idea is to separate XWiki's binaries from its data. There are
> several reasons for wanting this:
>>
>> * Some OSes require this and don't allow writing in the binary
> directory. Windows 7 for example won't allow writing data in \Program >> * It makes upgrading simpler since you
don't need to fish for
> configuration data and copy them somewhere before unpacking a new
> distribution over. Or if you unpack in a new directory you don't need to
> copy the data from the old directory to the new one.
>> * As a consequence of the previous point It allows easier auto upgrades
> of XE
>> * It makes it simpler to know what to backup: all you need to back is
> the data directory.
>>
>> Proposal
>> =======
>>
>> This is the simplest I've found (I've imagine a lot of more complex
> options which offer other small possibilities but in the end I went for
the
> simpler one for now). So here goes the
process when starting up XE:
>>
>> * XE looks for a XWIKI_DATA environment variable and if found it uses
it
> as its environment.permanentDirectory value
>
> Why not XWIKI_PERMANENTDIRECTORY since that's how we call it in XWiki ?
>
>> * If not found, XE looks in the user home directory for an XWiki
> directory. Now the name of this directory is environment-dependent. On
non
> windows systems it looks for
".xwiki" directory and on Windows systems
it
looks for
a "XWiki" directory.
> * If not found, then XE stops and prints a message in the console
explaining that it couldn't find the location of the XWiki Data dir with
explanations on how to set it.
>
> The recommendation is thus that users set the XWIKI_DATA environment
property.
I do not like this so much.
If you use filesystem attachement, properly locating this directory is
crucial, and leaving it to an environment variable is risky, IMO. >> Notes:
>> * At startup XE prints as an INFO log the location of the permanent dir
> it is using.
>> * For the standalone distribution we would set the XWIKI_DATA env
> variable in the xwiki start file (start_xwiki.sh and start_xwiki.bat) to
> point to the data/ dir in the distribution.
>> * One aspect that is not covered here yet (the topic for another
email):
the
installer. I'll prepare another mail for that since it's independent
for me.
>
Note that for Debian installed I simply set the right directory in
xwiki.cfg/xwiki.properties.
Why not doing the same for the Windows installation ?
If you means, because the configuration file are on the read-only part of
your installation, then your need is to have local configuration files users. This is absolutely not the same issue.
This proposal is independent of installers (I mentioned I'll send a
separate email for installers). The idea here was for me to propose a
solution that works without installers. Supporting installers is ok and
installers would be able to set the XWIKI_DATA env variable by asking
questions to you, whether you wish an install for all users, just for your
users, check if there's already some xwiki installs at the specified dir,
etc.
Thanks
-Vincent
PS: Seen the various answers, I've probably not expressed myself very
clearly. I apologize for that and I hope it's more clear from my various
answers. If not, I'll resend a more general email with the goal so that at
least we start by agreeing with the goal (i.e. separate data from binaries
- I thought it was a give but maybe that's not the case).
>
>>>> Use cases
>>>> =========
>>>>
>>>> This allows the following use cases:
>>>>
>>>> * Make it easy to upgrade XE
>>>> * Make it easy to backup XE
>>>> * MAke it easy to use an existing XE install but point it to a
> different
>>> configuration, for testing purposes for ex
>>>> * Allow installing XE for all users on a system
>>>> * Allow installing XE for my user only
>>>>
>>>> WDYT?
>>>>
>>>> Thanks
>>>> -Vincent
--
Sergiu Dumitriu
http://purl.org/net/sergiu/
25 May
25 May
7:05 p.m.
New subject: [xwiki-devs] [Proposal] XWiki's Permanent Directory Strategy for Installations
On May 25, 2012, at 11:32 AM, Thomas Mortagne wrote:
And how do you tell XE where xwiki.cfg and xwiki.properties are located? (since the idea
is to have all xwiki config files in the permanent directory).
Thanks
-Vincent
On Fri, May 25, 2012 at 8:16 AM, Vincent Massol
<vincent(a)massol.net> wrote:
Simply because it's very long for an environment variable but why not. Would need
another underscore: XWIKI_PERMANENT_DIRECTORY.
(please don't suggest XWIKI_ENVIRONMENT_PERMANENT_DIRECTORY ;))
Hi devs,
Since I'm working on making XE work in Windows7 I've thought more about
XWiki's install and configuration. Actually this is not a new topic, I remember
starting a discussion about it a few years ago on the devs list but we didn't act on
it so here it comes again ;)
Rationale
========
The idea is to separate XWiki's binaries from its data. There are several reasons for
wanting this:
* Some OSes require this and don't allow writing in the binary directory. Windows 7
for example won't allow writing data in \Program Files.
* It makes upgrading simpler since you don't need to fish for configuration data and
copy them somewhere before unpacking a new distribution over. Or if you unpack in a new
directory you don't need to copy the data from the old directory to the new one.
* As a consequence of the previous point It allows easier auto upgrades of XE
* It makes it simpler to know what to backup: all you need to back is the data
directory.
Proposal
=======
This is the simplest I've found (I've imagine a lot of more complex options which
offer other small possibilities but in the end I went for the simpler one for now). So
here goes the process when starting up XE:
* XE looks for a XWIKI_DATA environment variable and if found it uses it as its
environment.permanentDirectory value
Why not XWIKI_PERMANENTDIRECTORY since that's how we call it in XWiki ? * If not
found, XE looks in the user home directory for an XWiki directory. Now the name of this
directory is environment-dependent. On non windows systems it looks for ".xwiki"
directory and on Windows systems it looks for a "XWiki" directory.
* If not found, then XE stops and prints a message in the console explaining that it
couldn't find the location of the XWiki Data dir with explanations on how to set it.
The recommendation is thus that users set the XWIKI_DATA environment property.
Notes:
* At startup XE prints as an INFO log the location of the permanent dir it is using.
* For the standalone distribution we would set the XWIKI_DATA env variable in the xwiki
start file (start_xwiki.sh and start_xwiki.bat) to point to the data/ dir in the
distribution.
* One aspect that is not covered here yet (the topic for another email): the installer.
I'll prepare another mail for that since it's independent for me.
Note that for Debian installed I simply set the right directory in
xwiki.cfg/xwiki.properties. > Use cases
> =========
>
> This allows the following use cases:
>
> * Make it easy to upgrade XE
> * Make it easy to backup XE
> * MAke it easy to use an existing XE install but point it to a different
configuration, for testing purposes for ex
> * Allow installing XE for all users on a system
> * Allow installing XE for my user only
>
> WDYT?
>
> Thanks
> -Vincent
3:45 p.m.
New subject: [xwiki-devs] [Proposal] XWiki's Permanent Directory Strategy for Installations
On 05/25/2012 02:16 AM, Vincent Massol wrote:
Hi devs,
Since I'm working on making XE work in Windows7 I've thought more about
XWiki's install and configuration. Actually this is not a new topic, I remember
starting a discussion about it a few years ago on the devs list but we didn't act on
it so here it comes again ;)
Rationale
========
The idea is to separate XWiki's binaries from its data. There are several reasons for
wanting this:
* Some OSes require this and don't allow writing in the binary directory. Windows 7
for example won't allow writing data in \Program Files.
* It makes upgrading simpler since you don't need to fish for configuration data and
copy them somewhere before unpacking a new distribution over. Or if you unpack in a new
directory you don't need to copy the data from the old directory to the new one.
* As a consequence of the previous point It allows easier auto upgrades of XE
* It makes it simpler to know what to backup: all you need to back is the data
directory.
Proposal
=======
This is the simplest I've found (I've imagine a lot of more complex options which
offer other small possibilities but in the end I went for the simpler one for now). So
here goes the process when starting up XE:
* XE looks for a XWIKI_DATA environment variable and if found it uses it as its
environment.permanentDirectory value
* If not found, XE looks in the user home directory for an XWiki directory. Now the name
of this directory is environment-dependent. On non windows systems it looks for
".xwiki" directory and on Windows systems it looks for a "XWiki"
directory.
* If not found, then XE stops and prints a message in the console explaining that it
couldn't find the location of the XWiki Data dir with explanations on how to set it.
The recommendation is thus that users set the XWIKI_DATA environment property.
I prefer the current way, defining it in xwiki.properties. Changing the
way this configuration works is going to add some more headache for
upgrades.
AFAIR, it is possible in the izpack installer to filter a configuration
file with values from the environment, or even asked from the user.
I don't know how many people know how to define system variables, and
even with a tutorial in front it is possible to mess it up.
Plus, on a web-managed environment, are there ways of defining
environment variables without needing restart rights on the servlet
container?
Notes:
* At startup XE prints as an INFO log the location of the permanent dir it is using.
* For the standalone distribution we would set the XWIKI_DATA env variable in the xwiki
start file (start_xwiki.sh and start_xwiki.bat) to point to the data/ dir in the
distribution.
* One aspect that is not covered here yet (the topic for another email): the installer.
I'll prepare another mail for that since it's independent for me.
Use cases
=========
This allows the following use cases:
* Make it easy to upgrade XE
* Make it easy to backup XE
* MAke it easy to use an existing XE install but point it to a different configuration,
for testing purposes for ex
* Allow installing XE for all users on a system
* Allow installing XE for my user only
WDYT?
Thanks
-Vincent
--
Sergiu Dumitriu
http://purl.org/net/sergiu/
7:02 p.m.
New subject: [xwiki-devs] [Proposal] XWiki's Permanent Directory Strategy for Installations
On May 25, 2012, at 3:45 PM, Sergiu Dumitriu wrote:
On 05/25/2012 02:16 AM, Vincent Massol wrote:
err? That cannot work :)
Maybe I wasn't clear: the goal is to move XWiki configuration files in a different
directory from xwiki's binaries, that includes xwiki.properties of course :)
Hi devs,
Since I'm working on making XE work in Windows7 I've thought more about
XWiki's install and configuration. Actually this is not a new topic, I remember
starting a discussion about it a few years ago on the devs list but we didn't act on
it so here it comes again ;)
Rationale
========
The idea is to separate XWiki's binaries from its data. There are several reasons for
wanting this:
* Some OSes require this and don't allow writing in the binary directory. Windows 7
for example won't allow writing data in \Program Files.
* It makes upgrading simpler since you don't need to fish for configuration data and
copy them somewhere before unpacking a new distribution over. Or if you unpack in a new
directory you don't need to copy the data from the old directory to the new one.
* As a consequence of the previous point It allows easier auto upgrades of XE
* It makes it simpler to know what to backup: all you need to back is the data
directory.
Proposal
=======
This is the simplest I've found (I've imagine a lot of more complex options which
offer other small possibilities but in the end I went for the simpler one for now). So
here goes the process when starting up XE:
* XE looks for a XWIKI_DATA environment variable and if found it uses it as its
environment.permanentDirectory value
* If not found, XE looks in the user home directory for an XWiki directory. Now the name
of this directory is environment-dependent. On non windows systems it looks for
".xwiki" directory and on Windows systems it looks for a "XWiki"
directory.
* If not found, then XE stops and prints a message in the console explaining that it
couldn't find the location of the XWiki Data dir with explanations on how to set it.
The recommendation is thus that users set the XWIKI_DATA environment property.
I prefer the current way, defining it in xwiki.properties. Changing the way this
configuration works is going to add some more headache for upgrades. AFAIR, it is possible in the izpack installer to
filter a configuration file with values from the environment, or even asked from the
user.
I don't know how many people know how to define system variables, and even with a
tutorial in front it is possible to mess it up.
I've mentioned that this proposal has nothing to with installers. They are different
and of course users don't need to define any variable when using installers.
Plus, on a web-managed environment, are there ways of
defining environment variables without needing restart rights on the servlet container?
You mean in case the servlet container is meant to host several webapps, xwiki being only
one of them and it's not possible to stop it?
Thanks
-Vincent
> Notes:
> * At startup XE prints as an INFO log the location of the permanent dir it is using.
> * For the standalone distribution we would set the XWIKI_DATA env variable in the
xwiki start file (start_xwiki.sh and start_xwiki.bat) to point to the data/ dir in the
distribution.
> * One aspect that is not covered here yet (the topic for another email): the
installer. I'll prepare another mail for that since it's independent for me.
>
> Use cases
> =========
>
> This allows the following use cases:
>
> * Make it easy to upgrade XE
> * Make it easy to backup XE
> * MAke it easy to use an existing XE install but point it to a different
configuration, for testing purposes for ex
> * Allow installing XE for all users on a system
> * Allow installing XE for my user only
>
> WDYT?
>
> Thanks
> -Vincent
26 May
26 May
7:42 p.m.
New subject: [xwiki-devs] [Proposal] XWiki's Permanent Directory Strategy for Installations
On 05/25/2012 01:02 PM, Vincent Massol wrote:
I mentioned installers because this way it would be easy to set the
value for environment.permanentDirectory, thus solving the need for
defining system variables, since this is what I thought you were talking
about.
Yes. I'm talking about a shared hosting environment where the user can
only deploy wars, without other access to the container or the server
itself.
On May 25, 2012, at 3:45 PM, Sergiu Dumitriu wrote:
Indeed, I did not understand that at all. I remember now the old
discussions though.
On 05/25/2012 02:16 AM, Vincent Massol wrote:
err? That cannot work :)
Maybe I wasn't clear: the goal is to move XWiki configuration files in a different
directory from xwiki's binaries, that includes xwiki.properties of course :) Hi devs,
Since I'm working on making XE work in Windows7 I've thought more about
XWiki's install and configuration. Actually this is not a new topic, I remember
starting a discussion about it a few years ago on the devs list but we didn't act on
it so here it comes again ;)
Rationale
========
The idea is to separate XWiki's binaries from its data. There are several reasons for
wanting this:
* Some OSes require this and don't allow writing in the binary directory. Windows 7
for example won't allow writing data in \Program Files.
* It makes upgrading simpler since you don't need to fish for configuration data and
copy them somewhere before unpacking a new distribution over. Or if you unpack in a new
directory you don't need to copy the data from the old directory to the new one.
* As a consequence of the previous point It allows easier auto upgrades of XE
* It makes it simpler to know what to backup: all you need to back is the data
directory.
Proposal
=======
This is the simplest I've found (I've imagine a lot of more complex options which
offer other small possibilities but in the end I went for the simpler one for now). So
here goes the process when starting up XE:
* XE looks for a XWIKI_DATA environment variable and if found it uses it as its
environment.permanentDirectory value
* If not found, XE looks in the user home directory for an XWiki directory. Now the name
of this directory is environment-dependent. On non windows systems it looks for
".xwiki" directory and on Windows systems it looks for a "XWiki"
directory.
* If not found, then XE stops and prints a message in the console explaining that it
couldn't find the location of the XWiki Data dir with explanations on how to set it.
The recommendation is thus that users set the XWIKI_DATA environment property.
I prefer the current way, defining it in xwiki.properties. Changing the way this
configuration works is going to add some more headache for upgrades. AFAIR, it is
possible in the izpack installer to filter a configuration file with values from the
environment, or even asked from the user.
I don't know how many people know how to define system variables, and even with a
tutorial in front it is possible to mess it up.
I've mentioned that this proposal has nothing to with installers. They are different
and of course users don't need to define any variable when using installers. Plus, on a
web-managed environment, are there ways of defining environment variables without needing
restart rights on the servlet container?
You mean in case the servlet container is meant to host several webapps, xwiki being only
one of them and it's not possible to stop it? Thanks
-Vincent
>> Notes:
>> * At startup XE prints as an INFO log the location of the permanent dir it is
using.
>> * For the standalone distribution we would set the XWIKI_DATA env variable in the
xwiki start file (start_xwiki.sh and start_xwiki.bat) to point to the data/ dir in the
distribution.
>> * One aspect that is not covered here yet (the topic for another email): the
installer. I'll prepare another mail for that since it's independent for me.
>>
>> Use cases
>> =========
>>
>> This allows the following use cases:
>>
>> * Make it easy to upgrade XE
>> * Make it easy to backup XE
>> * MAke it easy to use an existing XE install but point it to a different
configuration, for testing purposes for ex
>> * Allow installing XE for all users on a system
>> * Allow installing XE for my user only
>>
>> WDYT?
>>
>> Thanks
>> -Vincent
--
Sergiu Dumitriu
http://purl.org/net/sergiu/
27 May
27 May
11:46 a.m.
New subject: [xwiki-devs] [Proposal] XWiki's Permanent Directory Strategy for Installations
On Fri, May 25, 2012 at 7:02 PM, Vincent Massol <vincent(a)massol.net> wrote:
--
Thomas Mortagne
On May 25, 2012, at 3:45 PM, Sergiu Dumitriu wrote:
Yes you were definitely not clear since you only talked about
environment.permanentDirectory.
On 05/25/2012 02:16 AM, Vincent Massol wrote:
err? That cannot work :)
Maybe I wasn't clear: the goal is to move XWiki configuration files in a different
directory from xwiki's binaries, that includes xwiki.properties of course :) Hi devs,
Since I'm working on making XE work in Windows7 I've thought more about
XWiki's install and configuration. Actually this is not a new topic, I remember
starting a discussion about it a few years ago on the devs list but we didn't act on
it so here it comes again ;)
Rationale
========
The idea is to separate XWiki's binaries from its data. There are several reasons for
wanting this:
* Some OSes require this and don't allow writing in the binary directory. Windows 7
for example won't allow writing data in \Program Files.
* It makes upgrading simpler since you don't need to fish for configuration data and
copy them somewhere before unpacking a new distribution over. Or if you unpack in a new
directory you don't need to copy the data from the old directory to the new one.
* As a consequence of the previous point It allows easier auto upgrades of XE
* It makes it simpler to know what to backup: all you need to back is the data
directory.
Proposal
=======
This is the simplest I've found (I've imagine a lot of more complex options which
offer other small possibilities but in the end I went for the simpler one for now). So
here goes the process when starting up XE:
* XE looks for a XWIKI_DATA environment variable and if found it uses it as its
environment.permanentDirectory value
* If not found, XE looks in the user home directory for an XWiki directory. Now the name
of this directory is environment-dependent. On non windows systems it looks for
".xwiki" directory and on Windows systems it looks for a "XWiki"
directory.
* If not found, then XE stops and prints a message in the console explaining that it
couldn't find the location of the XWiki Data dir with explanations on how to set it.
The recommendation is thus that users set the XWIKI_DATA environment property.
I prefer the current way, defining it in xwiki.properties. Changing the way this
configuration works is going to add some more headache for upgrades. AFAIR, it is possible in the izpack installer to
filter a configuration file with values from the environment, or even asked from the
user.
I don't know how many people know how to define system variables, and even with a
tutorial in front it is possible to mess it up.
I've mentioned that this proposal has nothing to with installers. They are different
and of course users don't need to define any variable when using installers.
Plus, on a web-managed environment, are there
ways of defining environment variables without needing restart rights on the servlet
container?
You mean in case the servlet container is meant to host several webapps, xwiki being only
one of them and it's not possible to stop it?
Thanks
-Vincent
> Notes:
> * At startup XE prints as an INFO log the location of the permanent dir it is using.
> * For the standalone distribution we would set the XWIKI_DATA env variable in the
xwiki start file (start_xwiki.sh and start_xwiki.bat) to point to the data/ dir in the
distribution.
> * One aspect that is not covered here yet (the topic for another email): the
installer. I'll prepare another mail for that since it's independent for me.
>
> Use cases
> =========
>
> This allows the following use cases:
>
> * Make it easy to upgrade XE
> * Make it easy to backup XE
> * MAke it easy to use an existing XE install but point it to a different
configuration, for testing purposes for ex
> * Allow installing XE for all users on a system
> * Allow installing XE for my user only
>
> WDYT?
>
> Thanks
> -Vincent
_______________________________________________
devs mailing list
devs(a)xwiki.org
http://lists.xwiki.org/mailman/listinfo/devs 
12:08 p.m.
New subject: [xwiki-devs] [Proposal] XWiki's Permanent Directory Strategy for Installations
Well, I really like the idea, and agree with you that it would
simplify upgrade process.
If I may, I would propose XWIKI_HOME as environment variable name, and
use it both to store permanent data and configuration (in specific
sub-folders for example).
If one day xwiki manages to upgrade its configuration files at startup
automatically (as is done for database) or whatever, then it will
appear logical that this conf is in the permanent directory. By the
way xwiki could safely propose new conf files with a name scheme
(reference.xwiki.properties, reference.xwiki.cfg ...) and rename them
only if they do not already exist, that would simplify users life.
This really is close to what does Jenkins, and the data directory is
JENKINS_HOME. I think this is because the most important and valuable
information about your app in this case, is not what's inside the
webapp, but what is inside this data directory. So the concept of HOME
is appropriate.
I apologize as some things here are a bit off-topic, my main point
being that XWIKI_HOME would seem more logical to me, as far as I
understood the need (and much nicer than
XWIKI_PERMANENT_DATA_DIRECTORY or such :) )
Jeremie.
2012/5/27 Thomas Mortagne <thomas.mortagne(a)xwiki.com>om>:
On Fri, May 25, 2012 at 7:02 PM, Vincent Massol
<vincent(a)massol.net> wrote:
--
Thomas Mortagne
_______________________________________________
devs mailing list
devs(a)xwiki.org
http://lists.xwiki.org/mailman/listinfo/devs
On May 25, 2012, at 3:45 PM, Sergiu Dumitriu wrote:
Yes you were definitely not clear since you only talked about
environment.permanentDirectory.
On 05/25/2012 02:16 AM, Vincent Massol wrote:
err? That cannot work :)
Maybe I wasn't clear: the goal is to move XWiki configuration files in a different
directory from xwiki's binaries, that includes xwiki.properties of course :) Hi devs,
Since I'm working on making XE work in Windows7 I've thought more about
XWiki's install and configuration. Actually this is not a new topic, I remember
starting a discussion about it a few years ago on the devs list but we didn't act on
it so here it comes again ;)
Rationale
========
The idea is to separate XWiki's binaries from its data. There are several reasons for
wanting this:
* Some OSes require this and don't allow writing in the binary directory. Windows 7
for example won't allow writing data in \Program Files.
* It makes upgrading simpler since you don't need to fish for configuration data and
copy them somewhere before unpacking a new distribution over. Or if you unpack in a new
directory you don't need to copy the data from the old directory to the new one.
* As a consequence of the previous point It allows easier auto upgrades of XE
* It makes it simpler to know what to backup: all you need to back is the data
directory.
Proposal
=======
This is the simplest I've found (I've imagine a lot of more complex options which
offer other small possibilities but in the end I went for the simpler one for now). So
here goes the process when starting up XE:
* XE looks for a XWIKI_DATA environment variable and if found it uses it as its
environment.permanentDirectory value
* If not found, XE looks in the user home directory for an XWiki directory. Now the name
of this directory is environment-dependent. On non windows systems it looks for
".xwiki" directory and on Windows systems it looks for a "XWiki"
directory.
* If not found, then XE stops and prints a message in the console explaining that it
couldn't find the location of the XWiki Data dir with explanations on how to set it.
The recommendation is thus that users set the XWIKI_DATA environment property.
I prefer the current way, defining it in xwiki.properties. Changing the way this
configuration works is going to add some more headache for upgrades. AFAIR, it is possible in the izpack installer to
filter a configuration file with values from the environment, or even asked from the
user.
I don't know how many people know how to define system variables, and even with a
tutorial in front it is possible to mess it up.
I've mentioned that this proposal has nothing to with installers. They are different
and of course users don't need to define any variable when using installers.
Plus, on a web-managed environment, are there
ways of defining environment variables without needing restart rights on the servlet
container?
You mean in case the servlet container is meant to host several webapps, xwiki being only
one of them and it's not possible to stop it?
Thanks
-Vincent
> Notes:
> * At startup XE prints as an INFO log the location of the permanent dir it is using.
> * For the standalone distribution we would set the XWIKI_DATA env variable in the
xwiki start file (start_xwiki.sh and start_xwiki.bat) to point to the data/ dir in the
distribution.
> * One aspect that is not covered here yet (the topic for another email): the
installer. I'll prepare another mail for that since it's independent for me.
>
> Use cases
> =========
>
> This allows the following use cases:
>
> * Make it easy to upgrade XE
> * Make it easy to backup XE
> * MAke it easy to use an existing XE install but point it to a different
configuration, for testing purposes for ex
> * Allow installing XE for all users on a system
> * Allow installing XE for my user only
>
> WDYT?
>
> Thanks
> -Vincent
_______________________________________________
devs mailing list
devs(a)xwiki.org
http://lists.xwiki.org/mailman/listinfo/devs 
4 Jun
4 Jun
2:30 p.m.
New subject: [xwiki-devs] [Proposal] XWiki's Permanent Directory Strategy for Installations
On Sun, May 27, 2012 at 12:08 PM, Jeremie BOUSQUET
<jeremie.bousquet(a)gmail.com> wrote:
Well, I really like the idea, and agree with you that
it would
simplify upgrade process.
If I may, I would propose XWIKI_HOME as environment variable name, and
use it both to store permanent data and configuration (in specific
sub-folders for example).
Yep, I was going to say the same thing.
A little bit like Maven does...
.m2/settings.xml for configuration
.m2/repository for actual data
A complete snapshot/backup of an XWiki instance can be done simply by
using tar cvzf backup.tar.gz $XWIKI_HOME (or whatever)
Of course the standard layout can be overridden by using
xwiki.properties, if the corresponding properties are set.
-Fabio
If one day xwiki manages to upgrade its configuration
files at startup
automatically (as is done for database) or whatever, then it will
appear logical that this conf is in the permanent directory. By the
way xwiki could safely propose new conf files with a name scheme
(reference.xwiki.properties, reference.xwiki.cfg ...) and rename them
only if they do not already exist, that would simplify users life.
This really is close to what does Jenkins, and the data directory is
JENKINS_HOME. I think this is because the most important and valuable
information about your app in this case, is not what's inside the
webapp, but what is inside this data directory. So the concept of HOME
is appropriate.
I apologize as some things here are a bit off-topic, my main point
being that XWIKI_HOME would seem more logical to me, as far as I
understood the need (and much nicer than
XWIKI_PERMANENT_DATA_DIRECTORY or such :) )
Jeremie.
2012/5/27 Thomas Mortagne <thomas.mortagne(a)xwiki.com>om>:
On Fri, May 25, 2012 at 7:02 PM, Vincent Massol
<vincent(a)massol.net> wrote:
--
Thomas Mortagne
_______________________________________________
devs mailing list
devs(a)xwiki.org
http://lists.xwiki.org/mailman/listinfo/devs
_______________________________________________
devs mailing list
devs(a)xwiki.org
http://lists.xwiki.org/mailman/listinfo/devs
On May 25, 2012, at 3:45 PM, Sergiu Dumitriu wrote:
Yes you were definitely not clear since you only talked about
environment.permanentDirectory.
On 05/25/2012 02:16 AM, Vincent Massol wrote:
> Hi devs,
>
> Since I'm working on making XE work in Windows7 I've thought more about
XWiki's install and configuration. Actually this is not a new topic, I remember
starting a discussion about it a few years ago on the devs list but we didn't act on
it so here it comes again ;)
>
> Rationale
> ========
>
> The idea is to separate XWiki's binaries from its data. There are several reasons
for wanting this:
>
> * Some OSes require this and don't allow writing in the binary directory. Windows
7 for example won't allow writing data in \Program Files.
> * It makes upgrading simpler since you don't need to fish for configuration data
and copy them somewhere before unpacking a new distribution over. Or if you unpack in a
new directory you don't need to copy the data from the old directory to the new one.
> * As a consequence of the previous point It allows easier auto upgrades of XE
> * It makes it simpler to know what to backup: all you need to back is the data
directory.
>
> Proposal
> =======
>
> This is the simplest I've found (I've imagine a lot of more complex options
which offer other small possibilities but in the end I went for the simpler one for now).
So here goes the process when starting up XE:
>
> * XE looks for a XWIKI_DATA environment variable and if found it uses it as its
environment.permanentDirectory value
> * If not found, XE looks in the user home directory for an XWiki directory. Now the
name of this directory is environment-dependent. On non windows systems it looks for
".xwiki" directory and on Windows systems it looks for a "XWiki"
directory.
> * If not found, then XE stops and prints a message in the console explaining that it
couldn't find the location of the XWiki Data dir with explanations on how to set it.
>
> The recommendation is thus that users set the XWIKI_DATA environment property.
I prefer the current way, defining it in xwiki.properties. Changing the way this
configuration works is going to add some more headache for upgrades.
err? That cannot work :)
Maybe I wasn't clear: the goal is to move XWiki configuration files in a different
directory from xwiki's binaries, that includes xwiki.properties of course :) AFAIR, it is possible in the izpack installer to
filter a configuration file with values from the environment, or even asked from the
user.
I don't know how many people know how to define system variables, and even with a
tutorial in front it is possible to mess it up.
I've mentioned that this proposal has nothing to with installers. They are different
and of course users don't need to define any variable when using installers.
Plus, on a web-managed environment, are there
ways of defining environment variables without needing restart rights on the servlet
container?
You mean in case the servlet container is meant to host several webapps, xwiki being only
one of them and it's not possible to stop it?
Thanks
-Vincent
> Notes:
> * At startup XE prints as an INFO log the location of the permanent dir it is using.
> * For the standalone distribution we would set the XWIKI_DATA env variable in the
xwiki start file (start_xwiki.sh and start_xwiki.bat) to point to the data/ dir in the
distribution.
> * One aspect that is not covered here yet (the topic for another email): the
installer. I'll prepare another mail for that since it's independent for me.
>
> Use cases
> =========
>
> This allows the following use cases:
>
> * Make it easy to upgrade XE
> * Make it easy to backup XE
> * MAke it easy to use an existing XE install but point it to a different
configuration, for testing purposes for ex
> * Allow installing XE for all users on a system
> * Allow installing XE for my user only
>
> WDYT?
>
> Thanks
> -Vincent
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13 comments
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participants (6)
-
Denis Gervalle -
Fabio Mancinelli -
Jeremie BOUSQUET -
Sergiu Dumitriu -
Thomas Mortagne -
Vincent Massol