[mv] Success - Minivend 3.14 on Win98

[Ed LaFrance <edlafrance@printexusa.com>]

******    message to minivend-users from Ed LaFrance <edlafrance@printexusa.com>     ******

Hello all -

I like to give something back to the Minivend community when I can.  I have 
just completed a successful install of Minivend 3.14-5 on Windows 98, using 
ActivePerl build 522 and Microsoft Personal Web Server 4.  Right now all my 
"online" mvend work resides in hosted domains - I live and work in a 
Windows and Mac world because it best represents my client base.  My idea 
with the Win98 install was to have an offline environment for doing 
minivend development and testing.  It looks promising, and while the ordeal 
- uh, experience - is fresh in my mind, I wanted to post some notes to the 
list for any other brave souls who wish to take the challenge. I welcome 
any requests for further details.

First, the machine:

Processor	-	Pentium I 133MHz
OS		-	Windows 98 Second Edition
Memory		-	64MB
(it ain't a rocket, but response time is liveable)


Software Manifest:

* Minivend 3.14-5, Windows distribution
* ActivePerl, build 522
* Microsoft Personal Web Server, 4.0 (from the Win98 2nd Ed. CD-ROM)


Installation Proceedure

This is not intended as a replacement for the Installation instructions the 
are distributed with the archive, rather, it is just a "firsthand" 
account.  Be sure to read README-Win.txt, located in the Mvend install 
directory, after step 3.

1. Installed MS Personal Web Server, accepting all defaults, Reboot;
2. Installed ActivePerl, accepting all defaults, Reboot;
3. Extracted Files from Minivend distribution archive (zip file);
4. Launched "setup.bat" to install Minivend, accepted most defaults;
5. Allowed Minivend installer to retrieve any recommended Perl libraries 
(if any), installer program launched Minivend server successfully, then 
opened my browser and with an HTML-based catalog configuration wizard;
6. Quite my browser and used "makecat,bat" in the /mvend/ directory to make 
a demo catalog - I'm used to the command line, so doing this instead of the 
browser-based "wizard" in step 5 was just my choice.  This was where I had 
to do the most editing of defaults and options, as I had installed Personal 
Webserver and my "virtual home" in a different location than makecat 
predicted. I think I am also using a newer version: my personal server 
install included a /cgi-bin/ directory.  This step is probably most likely 
to trip someone up, so be familiar with the directory structure in your 
personal web server directory.  I named the server "127.0.0.1" according to 
README-Win.txt;
7. Added the directory which contains the demo catalog splash page and 
image files to the "published directories" list in Personal Web Server;
8. Fired up the Mivivend server (using /mvend/minivend.bat, if not already 
running), fired up my browser, and entered the store!  The URL to the 
splash page was http://127.0.0.1/simple.

IMPORTANT NOTES:  The "frames" link for the store on the splash page works, 
but frames seems buggy in this environment.  At one point I lost the 
frameset entirely after clicking on a link in the store. Noframes works 
well and seems more stable, BUT THE NOFRAMES LINK ON THE SPLASH PAGE DID 
NOT WORK AT ALL. My browser kept sending requests to minivend and never got 
the pages, then I got robot warnings in the server window.  Instead, I 
bypassed the noframes page and went to the index page directly: 
http://127.0.0.1/cgi-bin/simple.exe/index.  Worked fine!

CLOSING COMMENTS:
I did not install BLAT (for the emailing of orders).  I will probably take 
a crack at that sometime soon.  Mike warns that some functionality 
(particularly Perl-related content) won't work in a standard/proper manner 
- or not at all - in this implementation.  I also have my doubts as to 
whether or not this is a good option for an online server - Active Perl 522 
doesn't fork, so multiple requests would bog down even a very fast machine 
- but for offline work on straightforward Minivend content, it holds 
advantages, especially for those of us who must FTP everything to remote 
servers.

Good luck and success to all!

- Ed L.

- Ed
Printex Marking Technologies
12113 Kirkham Rd.
Poway, CA  92064  U.S.A.
858-513-2418
800-982-1928
858-513-2419 FAX
http://www.printexusa.com

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