Should I continue installing without MAMP (XAMPP)?

[ProfKT]

I’m a Mac (OS X –10.4.11) user and have done some web design using Dreamweaver as my primary tool. Additionally, I’ve begun learning code for obvious reasons (HTML, X-HTML, CSS, and PHP, etc.) and have included some limited PHP in a couple of my sites. Apache (version 1.3.33) was pre-installed on my Mac and I later installed PHP (version 5.1.4).

I’m interested in adding shopping carts to my repertoire and my research took me to Zen Cart. I think I made the right decision. So, before I bought “the book” I installed ZenCart (new install--version 1.3.8a), and MySQL (version 5.0.51a). I put the ZC pages on one of my rarely used sites (via Dreamweaver)–it’s on a remote server—so I could play around with it. Yikes! I decided to purchase the book and now I’m seeing that perhaps I should have installed everything via MAMP. (learned about MAMP via the forum)

Do you think it’s okay to continue installing things without the MAMP package? Do I need a control panel? I’m really not sure what a control panel is.

Do I really need to install Mercury? Won’t Entourage or Outlook Express work for a very small business?

AND . . . myphpadmin ??? what is this? do I really need it?

ProfKT

[Kim]

Won’t Entourage or Outlook Express work for a very small business?

It really is NOT recommended that you use your localchost for a live website - only for development.

[canopy]

It seems like you already have PHP and MySQL installed on your Mac. In that case, you may try installing Zen Cart immediately. This is because MAMP/XAMPP mainly bundles PHP and MySQL for quick installation but you already have those software running on your system.

Nevertheless, if you still want to attempt installing MAMP/XAMPP, remember to watch out for any port conflicts on your Mac as you already have PHP and MySQL installed.

PS: Heed Kim's advice which is also stated in the book. Only run the web store from your local computer for development.

[ProfKT]

Sorry it's taken so long to get back to this. Life happens and just as I began the install process I had to deal with some other issues. Now, I'm back to the installation and am having a devil of a time. I've read through most of the FAQ's and most of the wonderful info in this forum and I'm still lost.

I'm not sure I have everything placed it their proper places.

First Direct Question: "Enabling cURL support inPHP"

On page 40 of the book there is an explanation for this. I've read it probably 20 times and looked for the file <xampp-home>.apache.bin/php.ini but I can't find it. I did not use XAMPP nor did I use MAMP (which explains the first part of the location problem) because I already had PHP & MySQL installed. Tried looking for apache.bin/php.ini but can't find it either.

There will be other questions. I spent hours and hours on this yesterday and at least have gotten to the point in myphpadmin I was able to create a database.

Second Question: I'm using DreamweaverCS3. By stating "Only run the web store from your local computer for development." Does this mean that I should not transfer the entire ZC package to the remote server?

Third Question: I can't find /includes/configure.php nor /admin/includes/configure.php Where might they be located?

I've created some websites and they are up and running, so I'm not entirely new to design aspects, but then I still consider myself a beginner. I'm willing to work on this, but fear it's going to take a great deal of effort.

ProfKT
http://zhttp://zen-cart.com/forum/im.../dontgetit.gif

[canopy]

Here are some of my views:

1st question

The book talks about a Windows environment. Because your PHP setup is on a Mac and done manually, things can be quite different. You'll need to determine whether your PHP was compiled with cURL support first before looking to enable/disable curl.

2nd question

What I meant was to use it to test out some features before you actually implement it on the server. For example, you may want to experiment with some attributes configuration for a particular product before implementing it on a server, or simply try out a mod to see if it suits you before installing it on your server.

Note:
You can set up a test store on your server instead of your local computer. For example, if your current store is at "www.somewhere.com/store". You can set up a test store at "www.somewhere.com/testmystore" for testing. There are many variations around this approach. You can read more about them in the tutorials/FAQs or other threads in the forums.

3rd question

The 2 x configure.php files you mentioned are present only after you have installed your Zen Cart store.


Summary
For your case, because the different pieces of software were installed differently, you will need more time and effort to configure things properly so that they work together.

As Zen Cart is what you really want to concentrate on right now, perhaps you would like to work with one of those packaged MAMP or XAMPP software first or have a test store set up on the server instead.

Whatever it is, don't give up! Installation may seem to be a big hurdle in the initial stages. After you get over that, you'll really enjoy the magic of Zen Cart.

[ProfKT]

I'm one happy Prof at this moment! I did it, I installed ZenCart. And, as far as I can tell I did it correctly. Did not use MAMP or XAMPP. The cURL is enabled (took me forever to figure out how to learn this info), and I got the "Congratulations" message! WhooHoo! Saw the sample Store Front from my browser and am going to begin Chapter 3.

Canopy and Kim...thank you so much for your directions and encouragement. Keep your fingers crossed the the rest will go a little more easily than what I just went through. But, I DID IT!!!

Now, onward to page 53 of the book.

ProfKT

[schoolboy]

Well done! for a newbie to get zencart working on a Mac is no mean feat!

But heed Kim's advice. What's on your mac should be a TEST environment only.

A functioning store needs to be hosted on a robust and reliable system, and if you are looking for a host, then click the "hosting" link at the top of this page.

[ProfKT]

By test environment I think I'm okay, but if you could verify that what I've done is okay, I'd sit a little more comfortably. Here's where I've got my ZC store located: Macintosh HD>Library>Web Server>Documents>Store. In order to see the storefront on my browser I typed in <http://localhost/store> Am I safe?

I did have the ZC store located on an old website via Dreamweaver. That's now gone.

I hope I'll be able to move everything okay when I have the site completed. Am planning on going with BlueHost.

Your input is welcomed.

ProfKT

[schoolboy]

If you are able to see and administer your local-drive store, then that's quite safe. I presume your Mac has firewall software that protects it from external "influences".

When you work on your site, keep DreamWeaver out of the equation. Don't attempt to create a look and feel using WYSIWYG html editors. You have to work within the parameters of PHP. Much of your look and feel is governed by CSS, and the structure of your zencart template, which is largely built through php.

While you are learning about zencart with your local-drive store, you would do well to learn about the template OVER-RIDES system.

When you are ready to "migrate" your store to a remote server, you need to realise that the remote server is likely to be Linux on a Unix box, and possibly have different versions and configurations of My SQL and PHP.

I'm not that skilled at migrating stores from a local drive to a remote server, but when I did this a few years ago, I was advised to do a FRESH install on the remote server with a new database.

I then FTP'd my custom template folders and files to the new server, and also put a COPY of my local-drive database on the remote server.

Using the settings in configure.php files, I pointed the site to that dbase copy, selected my template, and it all seemed to go fine.

You may need more expert advice than this, so come back to the forum when you're ready to move.

[ProfKT]

Thanks learned zen master, Schoolboy.

I'll check on the firewall settings and get going.

One current situation: I tried going to my store front several times today and each time I get a message window stating that the site is down for a few minutes (the ZenCart logo is included with the message). It's been several hours since I started trying to get in. There was also a "click here" link, but when I clicked on it nothing happened. Is this normal?

ProfKT