Contents:

Release Notes:

Version 0.7.2 is recommended for new installs. Updating older versions of OpenBiblio is highly recommended because the most important changes are for hardening security.

See the ChangeLog for more details.

Known limitations:

OpenBiblio test suite ran successfully on the following configurations:

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Ubuntu 9.04 (GNU/Linux) Ubuntu 9.04 (GNU/Linux)
PHP Version: 5.6.0alpha3 VC11 EasyPHP 5.3.1 XAMPP for Linux 173a 4.3.9 XAMPP for Linux 149a
Web Server: Apache 2.4.7 VC11 Apache 2.2.14 Apache 2.0.52
MySql Version: 5.6.15 (lower versions of 5.6 count results incorrectly) 5.1.41 4.0.21
Browser: Firefox 28.0
Internet Explorer 11.0.4
Firefox 3.6.27 Firefox 3.6.27

System requirements:

This release is still compatible with ancient versions of PHP and MySQL. Make sure to use versions that are updated for security.

Commonly used scenarios for making a system meet the requirements: Find more reading, tutorials, etc. in the documentation section of OpenBiblio's home.

Install Instructions:

For systems that meet the requirements: jump to step 5 and finish the procedure.

When using phpMyAdmin for setting up the database:

Procedure

Steps 1-4: detail is out of date, but the basics are still valid.
  1. Install a web server such as Apache that is compatible with PHP. If you install Apache, get familiar with starting and stopping your Apache Web Server. If you are running Windows 95 or Windows 98 there will be "Start Apache" and "Stop Apache" icons that will help you start and stop your web server. You may want to consider adding the "Start Apache" icon to your startup folder. If you are running NT or Windows 2000 you can add Apache as a service which will be running, even if you are logged off. If you are running Linux your Apache server should be packaged with your Linux installation and will start when you start Linux.
  2. Add PHP to your web server as a CGI or a module. If you are using Apache 2.0, I would highly recommend that you install PHP as a module instead of a cgi application. In my experience the Apache PHP module performed over 4 times faster than the cgi PHP. See Example 3-9. PHP and Apache 2.0 as Module in the PHP Manual for more info on how to install PHP as a module.

    OpenBiblio uses session data. Therefore, you will need to make sure PHP sessions are turned on. Be sure to create a directory for your session data on your server and specify the session.save_path in your php.ini file. The default php.ini sets session.save_path to "/tmp". Therefore, you have to create a directory called c:/tmp (for Windows) users. However, I usually create a more descriptive name inside my PHP directory and then change my php.ini file to match it.

    Example php.ini directive:

    session.save_path = d:\PHP\sessiondata

    See section XCIII. Session handling functions in the PHP manual for more details on PHP sessions.

  3. Install the MySQL database from http://www.mysql.com/. Get familiar with starting and stopping your MySQL Server. See Starting MySQL on Windows 95 or Windows 98 for more information.

    If you are running NT or Windows 2000, setup MySQL as a service so it starts whenever the machine powers up. See Starting MySQL on Windows NT or Windows 2000 for more information on starting MySQL as a service.

    If you are running Linux, MySQL should be packaged with your Linux installation and will start when you start Linux.
  4. Get familiar with logging into MySQL with your admin account within a DOS prompt window. You can use the following command sequence as a test.
    C:\>c:\mysql\bin\mysql -uroot mysql
    Enter password: *********
    Welcome to the MySQL monitor.  Commands end with ; or \g.
    Your MySQL connection id is 8 to server version: 3.23.26-beta
    
    Type 'help;' or '\h' for help. Type '\c' to clear the buffer
    
    mysql> show databases;
    +--------------+
    | Database     |
    +--------------+
    | mysql        |
    +--------------+
    6 rows in set (0.00 sec)
    
    mysql> exit
    Bye
    
    C:\>
    
  5. Create an OpenBiblio database. To do this, log into MySQL with your admin account and run the following SQL command.
    mysql> create database OpenBiblio /*!40100 default character set latin1 */;
    
    New: The conditional comment /* ... */ is executed on MySQL 4.1.0 or higher and specifies latin1 as the default database character set for the database created.

    You might discover issues when the database character set is not latin1.
    database character set tab Admin: Library Settings, field HTML Charset comment
    latin1
    (recommended)
    iso-8859-1
    (initial value, set by install)
    No issues.
    utf8 UTF-8 Issues for multibyte characters
    • Search?
    • PDF layouts

    New: When OpenBiblio HTML Charset setting is UTF-8, PDF layouts can display some multibyte characters correctly by converting to single byte.

    To check to make sure the OpenBiblio database was created properly, run the following command.
    mysql> show databases;
    +--------------+
    | Database     |
    +--------------+
    | mysql        |
    | OpenBiblio   |
    +--------------+
    
  6. Create an OpenBiblio database user. To do this, login to MySQL under the admin userid and run the following SQL command, substituting obiblio_user and obiblio_password with the userid and password of your choice.
    mysql> 
        -> 
    grant all privileges on OpenBiblio.* to obiblio_user@localhost
    identified by 'obiblio_password';
  7. Verify your OpenBiblio database and user by logging into the new MySQL database under the new user.
    C:\mysql\bin\mysql -uobiblio_user -pobiblio_password OpenBiblio
    
  8. Copy the openbiblio directory and all of its contents into your web server's htdocs root or any subdirectory within the htdocs root.
  9. Edit the database_constants.php file (located in the main openbiblio directory) with the text editor of your choice. Change the username and password to match the new MySQL user and password that you created in the previous steps.
  10. Create the OpenBiblio database tables. To do this run the install php script located at http://localhost/openbiblio/install/index.php, assuming you placed the openbiblio directory in the root htdocs directory.
  11. For security: Remove the openbiblio/install directory completely to prevent unauthorized use of install or upgrade tools.
  12. For security: Verify that the display_errors setting in php.ini is 'Off' to prevent unintended information disclosure.
  13. Access your new library automation system at http://localhost/openbiblio/index.php, assuming you placed the openbiblio directory in the root htdocs directory. Enter "admin" for both the userid and password whenever you are prompted to signon. You can change the admin password from the "Admin" tab -> staff list, where you can also add more library staff members.

Updating from a previous version of OpenBiblio:

NEW: Updates from openbiblio.de versions (e.g. 0.5.1.7) can now be performed automatically.

The following patches that were used in openbiblio.de are not incorporated in version 0.7.2:
Membership-Feature
Tested: field member.mbrshipend does not interfere with 0.7.1 and data remains untouched.
Untested suggestion: apply the patch to your updated OpenBiblio.
Add Browse by Subject
Add picture to Bibliography
New Member Screen (barcode entered automatically for new members)

  1. Rename your old openbiblio installation directory so that you don't lose its contents. We'll call the old directory openbiblio-old.
  2. Copy the new openbiblio directory and all of its contents into the directory where the old openbiblio installation was.
  3. Copy the database_constants.php file from the openbiblio-old directory into the new openbiblio directory, replacing the database_constants.php file there.
  4. Backup your database. See your MySQL documentation for instructions.
  5. Update your OpenBiblio database tables by using the conversion tool located at http://localhost/openbiblio/install/index.php, assuming you placed the openbiblio directory in the root htdocs directory. When installed on a remote host, the first part of the address will be different. If the tables are already OK, the tool will say so.
  6. For security: Remove the openbiblio/install directory completely to prevent unauthorized use of install or upgrade tools. If present, also remove the openbiblio/tests directory.
  7. For security: Verify that the display_errors setting in php.ini is 'Off' to prevent unintended information disclosure.
Updates from 0.7.0: 0.7.2 is a bugfix release to 0.7.0: it can run without upgrading the database. However, step 5 is recommended. This cleans unused entries from the database and lifts some restrictions.