Easy install for Windows

[rjcorwin]

The current "easy" way to install from Windows is as follows:

1. Install CouchDB.
2. Use Futon to create all the Databases.
3. Use Futon to replicate http://oledemo.cloudant.com/sync to local _replicator database.

This could be easier if we just had some way to run a couple of HTTP calls on their system to create the databases and replicate the starter _replicator database. Some options include:

• a custom Google Chrome extension. Could base it on this
• wrapping a node.js program in a Windows executable like this
• maybe something like Titanium
• There was also a way to compile a couchapp into an executable a while back but I can't remember the project name...

[rjcorwin]

Here's another idea for an easy way to install on Windows, or any CouchDB. A Bookmarklet. With a Bookmarklet, a user would install the BeLL Apps as follows.

1. Drag Bookmarklet to Bookmark Bar in browser (works in all modern browsers)
2. User navigates to a CouchDB, let's say it's http://127.0.0.1:5984
3. User clicks the Bookmarklet
4. Bookmarklet looks at the replication entries at http://bellsource:install@bellsource.cloudant.com/replicator
5. Bookmarklet runs the replications
6. Bookmarklet forwards user to their newly installed BeLL LMS

Here's some example code of how we could do a Bookmarklet. I combined some of the code from the Sync Manager code example and some code from a Nettuts tutorial.

What the bookmarklet does is look at http://bellsource:install@bellsource.cloudant.com/replicator and then runs all the replications found with a create_target database as true. The replicator entries in http://bellsource:install@bellsource.cloudant.com/replicator will all have to be remote -> local entries that will essentially copy all the databases on http://bellsource:install@bellsource.cloudant.com to the local CouchDB instance.

[rjcorwin]

I added the Bookmarklet code to this repository here. I also added some documentation that will use this code to install on your local computer. Lastly, I created a screencast of carrying out those instructions in the documentation.

Still to do is make sure that we have all of the databases we need listed in both the ./build/install script and the bookmarklet install script.

[rjcorwin]

I made the install directions easier by moving them to a page that supports inserting Bookmarklets. The README renderings on Github don't support inserting javascript into links as is required for a Bookmarklet. The instructions are now over here. It's a Jekyll based site that Github hosts for us for free. It can be modified by editing files over here.

[treehouse-su]

awesome

On Tue, Jan 7, 2014 at 4:17 PM, R.J. Steinert notifications@github.comwrote:

I made the install directions easier by moving them to a page that supports inserting Bookmarklets. The README renderings on Github don't support inserting javascript into links as is required for a Bookmarklet. The instructions are now over herehttp://open-learning-exchange.github.io/. It's a Jekyll based site that Github hosts for us for free. It can be modified by editing files over herehttps://github.com/open-learning-exchange/open-learning-exchange.github.com/blob/master/index.md.

— Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHubhttps://github.com/open-learning-exchange/BeLL-Apps/issues/31#issuecomment-31780261 .

[rjcorwin]

After much discussion today about syncing Community BeLLs, it occurs to me that if the install Bookmarklet always uses bell-apps-stable.cloudant.com as its source server, the unique replication strategy for the nation contained in the replicator database of the National BeLL would be left out. The source server should then be something the user of the Bookmarklet can optionally change. For this we'll need to present a form before install that allows the user of the Bookmarklet to optionally modify the source server.